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Sidney Weighell

(1922-2002), General Secretary to the National Union of Railwaymen

Sitter in 8 portraits
Left school at fifteen to become a fireman employed by the London and North Eastern Railway. Like his father, grandfather (a passenger guard), and brother (a driver), he immediately became active in the largest railway union, the National Union of Railmen (NUR). For two years, from 1945 to 1947, he was a professional footballer for Sunderland, after which he returned to the railways. He was elected to the NUR executive in 1953 and became a full-time union official the following year. In 1975, after more than thirty years as a union activist and full-time official, Weighell was elected General Secretary, a position he held until his resignation in 1983.

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Sidney Weighell, by Hans Schwarz - NPG 5793(2)

Sidney Weighell

by Hans Schwarz
pastel, crayon and ink on paper, 1984
NPG 5793(2)

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