A SYMBOL of a County Durham town’s industrial past has gone back on display for the first time in decades.
The silk banner, made in 1919 for the National Union of Railwaymen Shildon Works No. 2 Branch, was kept in storage in recent years because its fabric had become very fragile.
After being repaired, the banner - which depicts Shildon Works at its peak and is one of the earliest surviving NUR banners - has been installed at the Shildon Railway Institute.
On Saturday, the club held an event to celebrate the banner going on display at its new home.
Read more: From the Archive: Shildon Wagon Works
Rail historian Gerald Slack, who worked with the Auckland Railways Group to have the banner repaired by a leading restorer, said: “When we were granted custodianship of it in 2016, by the National Railway Museum, we were saddened by its poor condition as a consequence of unfavourable storage and the ravages of time and acutely aware of the imperative to restore it to save it for posterity and displayed in the town.
“There was also a personal interest in restoring and displaying the banner as both my grandfather and great grandfather worked at Shildon Works, as did many members of my wife's family.”
The repaired banner will be displayed in a protective case made by Institute member Selwyn Jenkin.
The 103-year-old banner is thought to be one of the earliest NUR banners still in existence, having been commissioned only six years after the Union’s founding, and the survival of the delicate silk damask fabric is worthy of celebration in itself.
It was made by George Tutill and Co, a London company founded in 1837 and the best-known banner makers in Britain at the time.
They were tremendously expensive, so seen as symbolic of the power and success of each union branch.
Mr Slack said: “Shildon Railway Institute is absolutely the right place to display the banner.
“Standing close to the Shildon Works site, its own history is entirely synonymous with the legacy of the works.”
The NUR was formed in 1913, just less than two months after the current Shildon Railway Institute building was opened, replacing an older building nearby.
In 1990, the NUR merged to become part of the national Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).
Representatives of RMT branches from across the North displayed modern branch banners during the unveiling ceremony and there was performance by musician Sam Slatcher featuring songs about the town and its rail history.
Michael Lynch, the General Secretary of the RMT, attended the event after a donation from the RMT boosted Mr Slack’s appeal to fund the banner repair.
Union branches also supported the Institute in an appeal at the end of 2020.
Mr Slack said: “We remain ever grateful to the RMT for kick starting the appeal.
“Also to the local people and enterprises that contributed to the appeal, and the unstinting support of Shildon Football Club, the Town Crier and Mike Amos.”
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