In 1999 the Working Class Movement Library was fortunate to acquire a very rich collection of material from the trade union, APEX, which represented clerical, professional and administrative staff. Most came from the GMB union after APEX merged with it, but some extra material derives from the estate of Professor Arthur Marsh, of Oxford University, who with Victoria Ryan, wrote the only modern history of 'the Clerks'.1

Organising this material is a substantial and still ongoing project. In essence there are two archives - the trade union material itself, and the material (including tapes and transcripts of interviews) generated by March and Ryan in the course of researching their work.

APEX was formerly known as the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union. That name itself was chosen to mark the amalgamation in 1941 of two unions, the National Union of Clerks and Administrative Workers (founded in 1890 as the National Union of Clerks), and the Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries (formed in 1903 as the Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists). Initially the membership of the ASWT was not confined to women, but they always took the leading role, and the change of name to 'AWCS' in 1912 reflected the reality on the ground.

The AWCS called themselves 'Auks'. They adopted as their emblem and badge a depiction of what appears to the ornithologists among us to be a Great Auk. We have an example of this badge on display in the Library. Despite this perhaps unfortunate choice of symbol, the union, especially in the London area where its membership was mainly concentrated, proved to be a lively, controversial and sometimes provocative outfit. One of its leading members, Anne Godwin, was later to become only the third woman President of the TUC.

This listing of the ASWT and AWCS material from 1903 to 1941 represents the first stage in the process of organising the entire 'Clerks' collection.

Reference

1Marsh, Arthur & Ryan, Victoria, The Clerks: a history of APEX, 1890-1989, Malthouse P., 1997

Files 1-6

Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists/ Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries Executive Committee Meetings Minutes

Six bound volumes with contents pasted in:

1 [ASWT] 2 April 1903 - 11 Dec 1907
2 [ASWT/AWCS] 21 May 1908 - 5 Feb 1915 (18 Jan 1912 first meeting held under new name)
3 [AWCS] 16 Feb 1915 - 18 Jul 1922
4 [AWCS] 23 Jun 1922 - 10 Sep 1931
5 [AWCS] 14 Oct 1931 - 13 Nov 1935
6 [AWCS] 11 Dec 1935 - 3 Mar 1941

File 7

Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists/ Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries

Bound volume with contents pasted in:

[As ASWT]
Notice of inaugural meeting 23 Oct 1902 setting up provisional scheme for ASWT; Inaugural meeting 2 April 1903: report (with Sydney Webb in chair); General Meetings, 9 Oct 1903 - 14 Nov 1911; Rules; Annual reports, 1903/4, 1904/5, 1905/6, 1906/7, 1907/8, 1908/9, 1909/10, 1910/11; Information for members; Recruitment material; Voting papers; Programmes of events.

[As AWCS]
Rules; Annual reports 1912/13, 1913/14, 1915/16, 1916; Information for members; Recruitment material; Reports; Events; Notices of general meetings, 1912-1917.

File 8

Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries General Meetings Minutes

14 Nov 1911 - 18 Nov 1940 [Becomes Delegate Conference, 16 Nov 1920]

Files 9-11 [in box file]

9 The Woman Clerk, v.2, no.1, Jan 1927 - v.6, no.1, Winter 1931 (lacks v.2, nos. 3,4,)
[+ photocopies of selected extracts of 1920 volume of an earlier series of this title]

10 Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries Newsletter, Jan 1932 - Jan 1941
[includes some separately printed Branch Notices]

11 Other Publications

The Cost of living for women clerical workers: some facts and figures, 1922
20pp

The Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries: what it is and what it has done, (by Dorothy Evans), 1927
16pp [photocopy]

The Woman clerk and her rights: being a brief survey of the work of the AWCS Legal Advice Bureau, 1929
12pp

Stevenson, Frances, The private secretary, 1931 (Careers series 1)
8pp

Woodyard, E.Maude, Careers for women in advertising, 1931 (Careers series 2)
8pp

Files 12-20 [in box file]

12 Annual Reports
Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists 1907/8; 1909/10
Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries 1915/16; 1916; 1917; 1920; 1931-1933; 1935-1939

13 Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries Annual Returns for a Registered Trade Union
1916-1937 [+ General Fund balance sheet, 1940 - typescript]

14 Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries Rules
[Including alterations. Various dates]

15 Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries
Recruitment leaflets

16 Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries
Branch notices

17 Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists/ Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries
Miscellaneous collection of loose items, some of it duplicated in the main files; includes a small amount of correspondence

18 AWKS Club Rules
n.d.

19 Women Clerks and Secretaries Friendly Society Rules
1912 41pp [with amendments inserted]

20 Marsh, Arthur & Ryan, Victoria
Notes and photocopies relating to the history of the ASWT and AWCS

File 21 In box file

Press cuttings
Collected by and relating to Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries: a few items for 1919 and 1926, and substantial coverage from 1929-1939.