# United Patternmakers' Association

The United Patternmakers Association (UPA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.

## History

The association was founded in 1872 to represent skilled patternmakers in England, following a strike by patternmakers along the River Tyne and River Wear for a nine-hour day. Originally based in London, it transferred its headquarters to Manchester in 1896, to Leeds in 1903, then to Eccles in 1908, returning to London in 1912.
The Associated Patternmakers of Scotland union merged into the UPA in 1912. In 1918, the union balloted its members on joining the new Amalgamated Engineering Union, but this was not approved.
During the 1930s, George Buchanan was the union's president, and the union focussed considerable attention on anti-fascist activity. It was initially sympathetic to the Independent Labour Party's split from the Labour Party, although by 1935 Buchanan's union backing was withdrawn. It retained a strong craft unionist approach, and resisted the prevailing trend of admitting workers in allied trades.
In 1969, the union renamed itself the Association of Patternmakers and Allied Craftsmen. By 1979, its membership stood just under 10,000, mostly in the English Midlands. Only three members were women. In 1984, it merged into the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section.

## Election results

The union sponsored candidates in numerous Parliamentary elections between 1909 and 1974, most of whom were elected. Almost all ran as Labour Party candidates, the exception being Buchanan in 1931 who was refused Labour Party endorsement, and instead stood for the Independent Labour Party. He ran for that party again in 1935, on this occasion without official backing from the union, although it did set up a voluntary fund for his support, to which members could choose to donate. By 1945, he had returned to the Labour Party.
| Election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Position |
| 1909 by-election | Sheffield Attercliffe | Joseph Pointer | 3,531 | 27.5 | 1 |
| 1910 Jan general election | Sheffield Attercliffe | Joseph Pointer | 7,755 | 56.1 | 1 |
| 1910 Dec general election | Sheffield Attercliffe | Joseph Pointer | 6,532 | 55.0 | 1 |
| 1922 general election | Glasgow Gorbals | George Buchanan | 16,478 | 54.5 | 1 |
| 1923 general election | Glasgow Gorbals | George Buchanan | 17,211 | 67.2 | 1 |
| 1924 general election | Glasgow Gorbals | George Buchanan | 19,480 | 65.9 | 1 |
| 1929 general election | Glasgow Gorbals | George Buchanan | 25,134 | 74.8 | 1 |
| 1931 general election | Glasgow Gorbals | George Buchanan | 19,278 | 58.1 | 1 |
| 1931 general election | Stoke | Ellis Smith | 13,264 | 30.3 | 2 |
| 1935 general election | Stoke | Ellis Smith | 20,992 | 52.7 | 1 |
| 1945 general election | Glasgow Gorbals | George Buchanan | 21,073 | 80.0 | 1 |
| 1945 general election | Stoke | Ellis Smith | 29,551 | 69.1 | 1 |
| 1950 general election | Stoke-on-Trent South | Ellis Smith | 34,339 | 64.5 | 1 |
| 1951 general election | Stoke-on-Trent South | Ellis Smith | 35,261 | 65.8 | 1 |
| 1955 general election | Stoke-on-Trent South | Ellis Smith | 31,003 | 63.6 | 1 |
| 1959 general election | Stoke-on-Trent South | Ellis Smith | 29,578 | 59.3 | 1 |
| 1964 general election | Stoke-on-Trent South | Ellis Smith | 28,928 | 60.6 | 1 |
| 1974 Feb general election | Stretford | Kenneth Anthony | 19,641 | 35.2 | 2 |

## Officials
### General Secretaries

    1872: R. C. Douglas
    1872: R. Reay
    1884: William Mosses
    1917: Alan Findlay
    1941: Wilfred Beard
    1967: Samuel McLaren
    1969: Gerry Eastwood

### Presidents

    1872: N. Charlton
    1876: C. Mothersdale
    1880: S. T. Taylor
    1884: R. Brown
    1884: T. Souter
    1885: John Livingston
    1888: George E. Wilson
    1891: Thomas Goodall
    1892: Joseph W. Field
    1893: Joseph Taylor
    1894: William Williams
    1895: Fred W. Kent
    1896: John Mills
    1897: Ed Appleby
    1899: J. M. Whittaker
    1900: Thomas Battison
    1901: J. M. Whittaker
    1902: A. Mackenzie
    1903: Arthur Pearson
    1909: John Mills
    1913: Albert E. Wardale
    1932: George Buchanan
    1946: Ellis Smith
    1966: Victor MacDonald
    1977: