Amalgamated Society of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain Amalgamated Society of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain The Amalgamated Society of Steel and Iron Workers of Great Britain was a trade union representing workers in iron- and steelworks, principally in Scotland. The union was founded in Glasgow in 1888 and was originally named the Associated Society of Millmen. John Hodge of the British Steel Smelters Association (BSSA) acted as the union's first secretary, but he stood down a year later, when members elected their own representative, John Cronin. The union grew rapidly, despite charging new members a one-off fee of 5 shillings, membership reaching 3,000 by 1892,
John Bull as "virile, strong, and stubborn," like a bull. A typical John Bull Englishman is referenced in Margaret Fuller's "Summer on the Lakes, in 1843" in Chapter 2: "Murray's travels I read, and was charmed by their accuracy and clear broad tone. He is the only Englishman that seems to have traversed these regions, as man, simply, not as John Bull." In Jules Verne's novel "The Mysterious Island" a character calls some unseen adversaries "sons of John Bull!", which is explained with: "When Pencroft, being a Yankee, treated any one to the epithet of 'son of John Bull,' he considered he