Workers' Circle Friendly Society

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Secular Jewish friendly society and mutual aid organisation in the United Kingdom

Workers' Circle Friendly Society
Type Friendly society
Founded
Founder(s) Groups of Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants including anarchists, Bundists and socialists
Dissolved Active into late 20th century (records to 1984)
Registration ID
Status
Headquarters London (East End origins)
Location United Kingdom
Area served
Services
Registration
Key people
Website
Remarks


Workers' Circle Friendly Society, also known as the Arbeter Ring (Yiddish: אַרבעטער־רינג), was a secular Jewish mutual aid and friendly society established in the United Kingdom by Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe.[1] Founded through the 1911 merger of the Arbeiter Ring Verein (formed June 1908) and Freie Arbeiter Ring (formed July 1909), it provided sickness benefits, unemployment support, self-education, literary activities, and cultural engagement for working-class Jews rejecting the religious and class biases of existing Jewish friendly societies.[1]

The organisation promoted progressive, secular Jewish working-class culture in the East End of London and other cities, organising across occupations to strengthen communal solidarity and mutual aid.[2] It expanded to branches in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and West London, and played a role in anti-fascist activities in the 1930s.[1]

The Workers' Circle maintained independence from philanthropic funding, relying on member contributions and grassroots efforts, embodying principles of working-class self-reliance and secular Jewish identity.[2] It operated a rest home, published histories (including a Diamond Jubilee booklet in 1969), and engaged in propaganda against fascism both domestically and internationally.[1]

History

The Workers' Circle originated from two independent groups of Russian Jewish immigrants in London's East End who sought an organisation free from religious orthodoxy and bourgeois influence.[1] The Arbeiter Ring Verein began with twelve members in June 1908 in Tower Hamlets, while the Freie Arbeiter Ring formed with five members in July 1909. The groups merged in July 1911 to create the unified Workers' Circle Friendly Society.[1]

Membership grew through branches in major cities with Jewish working-class populations. By the interwar period, it had established cultural facilities, including Circle House (expanded in 1924), which housed a Yiddish library, secular school (shule), lectures, and events.[3]

The society actively opposed fascism in the 1930s, forming a Propaganda Committee and participating in anti-fascist efforts in Hackney and beyond.[2] During the Second World War, it continued mutual aid functions amid wartime challenges.[1]

Post-war, the Workers' Circle persisted with branches, financial records, and activities documented until at least 1984, though its influence declined with the broader erosion of friendly societies following the welfare state.[1]

Activities

The Workers' Circle provided sickness pay, unemployment relief, and funeral benefits typical of friendly societies, while emphasising cultural and educational programmes in Yiddish.[1] It organised lectures, literary groups, secular schools for children, and social events to sustain progressive Jewish working-class identity.[2]

The society maintained a rest home for members and engaged in anti-fascist propaganda. Membership cards, rules, and jubilee publications (1929, 1959, 1969) document its organisational life.[1]


Known branches and numbers

The following lists documented branches with their associated numbers where recorded in archival sources:

  • London (East End founding branch, often referred to as the central or No. 1 branch)[1]
  • Leeds (established early in the society's provincial expansion)[1]
  • Liverpool[1]
  • Manchester[1]
  • Glasgow[1]
  • West London (formed later as the society expanded beyond the East End)[1]
  • Glasgow Jewish Workers Circle, No. 18

Additional branches existed in various periods, with some sources indicating up to 20–25 branches at the organisation's peak in the interwar years, though specific numbers for all are not comprehensively listed in surviving public records.[2] Some branches operated under variant names or merged over time, and branch numbers occasionally shifted with reorganisations.

The society also maintained affiliated groups such as women's branches, youth sections, and cultural circles without separate branch numbers.[1]

See also


External links

Workers Circle Friendly Society Records at The National Archives

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 The National Archives, WORKERS CIRCLE FRIENDLY SOCIETY RECORDS (1909) - 1984 The National Archives, accessed 19 February 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Hackney History, The Workers' Circle – fighting anti-semitism in Hackney Hackney History, 8 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Yiddish Book Center, Jewish Neighborhoods: London Yiddish Book Center, accessed 19 February 2026.
  4. ↑ HEBREW ORDER 0i DRUIDS. Until the new title "Order Shield of David" is registered, this Order must continue to be known as the Hebrew Order of Druids. Whether the members will easily exchange the now well-known letters "H.O.D." for "O.S.D." remains to be seen. Certain it is that members of Jewish Friendly Societies hold dearly to a name. Indeed, whenever an amalgamation is proposed between anytoy two Lodges or Societies, the greatest diffictilty is the name. They hold to a "title" denoting a locality, or the name of a person who has done no more than enrol himself a member, as tenaciously as if either were a tradition. That the "H.O.D." have now broken from this and become the "O.S.D." - Order of Shield of David - is a matter on which they deserve to be congratulated. (JC, 09-10-1914)
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