"The Commercial Traveller" was the official magazine of the National Union of Commercial Travellers (UK). My grandfather, John Clarke Marshall, was a commercial traveller in porcelain, china and glass in the UK between 1920 and 1960. I believe that an obituary about him was written in The Commercial Traveller in 1980 (he died in Feb 1980). If anyone knows where I could locate copies of this magazine for 1980 I would be grateful if you could let me know.

Ian Marshall.

Try the British Library. It (and a few branches) has this magazine.

Their website is:
http://www.bl.uk/

Thanks. I have already tried the British Library, and they were unable to locate a copy.

According to this reference, the NUCT "was dissolved in 1970 and the remaining members joined ASTMS."

Could his obit have been in a different union journal? since NUCT didn't exist in 1980?

Elsewhere I found ASTMS = Association of Supervisory, Technical and Managerial Staffs OR Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (I keep seeing both!)

See this page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Scientific,_Tech...

Perhaps the latest union has records???

The NUCT also had this journal:

Travelling on. Quarterly Journal of the National Union of Commercial Travellers

It's listed in the British Library catalog, but I don't see an end year for publication...

Thanks for your comments. I was aware of NUCT being subsumed with the other union you mention. They are both part of Unite now, i believe. Warwick University hold the archives for NUCT and they can't find anything either. So, all possible leads have drawn a blank, I'm afraid.

Perhaps small, local libraries would have back issues? I don't know how you would find those, however.

Also -- I'm completely guessing on this -- there may be some kind of archivist or librarian at the union itself..?? Maybe you could contact the Union directly.

I have contacted Unite Union and they couldn't help me. I have also contacted the local branch of the Union and they couldn't help either.

Thanks for the suggestions.