Collection

Minutes of general and committee meetings, 1925-1990; subscription books, 1925-1990; membership card with rules, 1985; tickets for annual dinner, 1985-1987.

1 box

The Rooks was one of several friendly societies existing for Fleet Street employees, providing financial and career assistance where seen as appropriate. The society was a combination of exclusivity and secrecy; thus, job information was imparted to friends and contacts of Rooks members, but the presence of several Rooks who were prominant trade unionists in the compositor associations means that the minutes reveal little about recruitment procedure, adhering to the union policy of no outside interference. The Rooks disbanded in 1990, when Fleet Street ceased to exist as the newspaper capital of the United Kingdom. The society was founded in 1925.

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Open

English