Edward Hughes (22 March 1856 – 10 March 1925) was a British

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. Born in Berthengam in Flintshire, Hughes worked above ground at a local coal mine from the age of seven. He later moved to work at Mostyn Quay Colliery, then Hanmer Colliery. In 1875, he moved to Easington in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

to work at

South Hetton South Hetton is a former mining village in the County Durham district of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated to the east of Durham and to the south of Sunderland as the crow flies. It had a population of 2,618 ac ...

Colliery, where he was active in supporting a strike in the mid-1880s. He returned to North Wales in 1887 to work for the

Point of Ayr Colliery Company The Point of Ayr Colliery Company was formed in 1883, and was the third company to attempt to extract coal from the North Wales Coalfield using a pit head at Point of Ayr, in Flintshire, Wales. The two previous attempts were carried out by the P ...

, where he led a three-week strike, and was subsequently elected as the pit's first

checkweighman {{Short description, Occupation within mining, especially coal A checkweighman (occasionally checkmeasurer or checkweigher) is a person who is responsible for weighing coal or another mined substance, and thereby determining the payment due to each ...

.Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.II, p.200 Hughes was a founder of the North Wales Miners' Federation, becoming its Financial Secretary in 1893. In 1897, this post was renamed as "General Secretary" of the union, and from 1898 he additionally served as the union's full-time agent. He frequently served on the executive of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. Hughes was elected to Denbighshire County Council in 1901, serving until 1918. He died in 1925, still serving in his union posts, and was succeeded by his son, Hugh. During his time as general secretary of what had been renamed the "North Wales Miners' Association", membership had increased from under 3,000 to over 15,000. He was succeeded by his son, Hugh Hughes.Joyce Bellamy, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.191-192

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Edward 1856 births 1925 deaths Councillors in Wales People from Flintshire Welsh trade unionists People from South Hetton