Midland Counties Miners' Federation
The Midland Counties Miners' Federation was a trade union, representing coal miners in the West Midlands region of England.
| Founded | 1886 |
|---|---|
| Date dissolved | 30 June 2011 |
| Members | 35,600 (1907[1]) |
| Head union | Miners' Federation of Great Britain (1889–1944) National Union of Mineworkers (1944–2011) |
| Affiliation | Miners' Federation of Great Britain |
| Key people | Enoch Edwards (President) Albert Stanley (Secretary) |
| Office location | Hednesford, Staffordshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
History
The union was founded in 1886. It initially had seven affiliates, including the North Stafford Miners' Association, the Old Hill and Highley District Miners, Enginemen and Surfacemen's Association, the Pelsall District Miners, the Shropshire Miners' Association, and the West Bromwich District Miners.[2] It affiliated to the Miners' Federation of Great Britain.[3]
By 1893, the federation's affiliates also included the Bristol Miners' Association, Forest of Dean Miners' Association, Somerset Miners' Association, and Warwickshire Miners' Association.[4][5] The first three of these accepted reductions in wages which went against federation policy, and therefore left in 1894, recombining as the South-Western Federation.[6]
In 1945, the union became the Midland Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, with less autonomy than before. It dissolved in 2011.[7]
Affiliates
| Name | Founded | Joined | Members (1907) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannock Chase Miners', Enginemen's and Surfacemen's Association | 1876 | 1886 | 7,500[8] |
| North Stafford Miners' Association | 1869 | 1886 | 16,709[8] |
| Old Hill and Highley District Miners', Enginemen's and Surfacemen's Association | 1870 | 1886 | 1,116[9] |
| Pelsall District Miners' Association | 1887 | 1887 | 6,120[8] |
| Shropshire Miners' Association | 1886 | 1886 | 1,600[8] |
| Warwickshire Miners' Association | 1885 | 1890s | 9,000[8] |
| West Bromwich Miners' Association | 1869 | 1886 | 2,300[8] |
Leadership
Presidents
- 1886: Enoch Edwards
- 1912: Samuel Finney
- 1930s: F. J. Hancock
- 1941: John Blakemore?
- 1950s: Arthur Baddeley
- 1963: Jack Lally
- 1983: John Connon
Secretaries
- 1886: Samuel Henry Whitehouse
- 1888: Benjamin Dean
- 1890: Albert Stanley
- 1915: John Baker?
- 1930s: George Henry Jones
- 1948: J. H. Southall
- 1963: A. M. Jones
- 1983: Jim Colgan
- 1990s: Joe Wills
References
- Report on Trade Unions in 1905-1907. London: Board of Trade. 1909. p. 121-124.
- Robin Page Arnot, The Miners, vol.1, p.105
- Robin Page Arnot, The Miners, vol.1, p.251
- Robin Page Arnot, The Miners, vol.1, p.224
- Roy Gregory, The Miners and British Politics 1906-1914, p.168
- Robin Page Arnot, The Miners, vol.1, p.298
- Trade Union Certification Officer, "Annual Return for a Trade Union: National Union of Mineworkers (Midlands Area): 2010"
- Report on Trade Unions in 1905-1907. London: Board of Trade. 1909. p. 10-11.
- Gregory, Roy (1968). The Miners and British Politics 1906-1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 168. Figure is for 1910.