Herbert W. Booth (died 1977 or 1978) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

. Booth worked as a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

and became active in the

Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Nottinghamshire, England. A Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was founded in the 1860s, but became moribund by the 1870s, although some branc ...

(NMA). He won an NMA scholarship to attend the

Central Labour College The Central Labour College, also known as The Labour College, was a British higher education institution supported by trade unions. It functioned from 1909 to 1929. It was established on the basis of independent working class education. The colle ...

. There, he met

A. J. Cook Andrea Joy Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2020, 2022). Cook has also appeared in ''The Virgin ...

, who became a lifelong friend. Booth returned to Nottinghamshire in 1914, where he joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP). He led a successful campaign against the NMA leadership's plans to leave the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

's (MFGB) political fund, and also began teaching classes on politics and economics to other miners; attendees included Jack W. Smith.Alan R. Griffin, ''The Miners of Nottinghamshire'', vol.II, p.39 Booth's left-wing group in the union proved popular and, in response, the NMA's president, George Spencer, began adopting more left-wing positions himself. However, in 1918, Booth took up a full-time post as agent and secretary of the

Forest of Dean Miners' Association The Forest of Dean Miners' Association was a trade union for coal miners in the Forest of Dean area of England. The union was founded in 1870, based in Cinderford in Gloucestershire. It initially prioritised calling for waste ground to be sold ch ...

, and in his absence Spencer became the NMA's general secretary and returned to more right-wing views. Booth returned to Nottinghamshire in 1922, when he was elected

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 ...

Annesley Annesley is a village and civil parish in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, between Hucknall and Kirkby-in-Ashfield. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 1,162 (including Annesley Woodhouse to the west). Annesley Hall ...

Colliery; in his absence, he had lost some support, and Spencer felt able to lead a major split in the union after the

UK general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...

. Booth remained loyal to the NMA, and was rewarded by election as its vice-president. In 1932, changes in the union's leadership led to a series of elections; Booth stood unsuccessfully for the posts of general secretary and financial secretary, before winning one to become president. As president, Booth focused on promoting reunification with the rival Nottinghamshire Miners' Industrial Union (NMIU). This was unpopular with some NMA activists, but was supported by Cook, who had become secretary of the MFGB. In 1937, Booth stood down as president to become a full-time agent for the union. Later that year, the NMA merged with the NMIU to form the Nottinghamshire Miners' Federated Union; the rationalisation of posts in the new union led to Booth losing both his work as an agent and his position on the executive committee. Despite being temporarily sidelined, Booth remained a prominent figure among Nottinghamshire miners. In 1944, the NMFU became the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. New rules on maximum ages of union officers forced general secretary Val Coleman to retire in 1945, and Booth won election as general secretary of the union. He retired a few years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Herbert Year of birth missing Trade unionists from Nottinghamshire 1977 deaths