Well, a man's entitled to go home to bed, isn't he?

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Well, a man's entitled to go home to bed, isn't he?

Sir David Low (1891-1963)

Price

£1,750

Signed

Signed and inscribed with title

Medium

Ink

Dimensions

14 x 14 ½ inches

Illustrated

Manchester Guardian, 26 May 1954

Exhibited

'The Illustrators: The British Art of Illustration 1807-2026' Chris Beetles Gallery, London, November 2026-January 2027, no 88

At the time of Sir David Low’s cartoon, in May 1954, British train drivers, represented by the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) were engaged in major wage disputes and strike threats against the British Transport Commission. In July 1953, all three railway unions, the ASLEF, National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) and the Transport salaried
Staffs’ Association, claimed a general wage increase of 15% to the British Transport Commission. No agreement was reached and by December 1953, the Railway Staﬀ National Tribunal awarded an increase of four shillings a week for adult male workers, which was
deemed unacceptable by the unions. The unions instructed its members to strike on 20 December, though a settlement was reached on 16 December to postpone the strike. The BTC agreed to examine its whole wage and salary structure with the unions, though this promised review was the start of long-drawn-out negotiations that were still ongoing by the time of this cartoon. Another issue that especially
concerned ASLEF was footplatemen's and firemen's
‘lodging turns’ (having to sleep away from home between shifts). The fireman of Sir David Low’s cartoon represents the ongoing dispute with the British railwaymen over hours and overtime.

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