Herbert Smith (17 July 1862 – 16 June 1938) 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 ...

and

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

. Born in

Kippax, West Yorkshire Kippax is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the east of the city, near to Garforth and Great Preston. The Kippax and Methley ward of Leeds City Council was part of t ...

, Smith was orphaned at a young age and spent time in a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

before being adopted by a local couple, one of whom was a miner. He later said that he never went to school.''Leeds Mercury'', Thursday 14 September 1933 p7 col4: Never went to school
/ref> Smith then studied in

Glasshoughton Glasshoughton is a neighbourhood of Castleford in West Yorkshire, England, that borders on Pontefract. The appropriate Wakefield ward is called Castleford Central and Glasshoughton. It is home to the Xscape leisure centre and ski slope, the J ...

and

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

, and began working as a miner at the age of ten. Smith became active in his union, being elected to the branch committee at the age of seventeen, then in 1894 becoming a checkweighman. In 1896 he became Chairman of

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

, and in 1906 he became President of the

Yorkshire Miners' Association The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union. It is now an integral part of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). History The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the ...

. 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 ...

, and was elected to the

West Riding County Council West Riding County Council (WRCC) was the county council of the Administrative counties of England, administrative county of the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1 April 1889 to 31 March 1974. The council met at County Hall, Wakefield, County Hall i ...

in 1903, and stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

at the December 1910 general election. He was later elected as a councillor in

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

.Smith, Herbert
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' Smith was also involved in the Miners' International Federation, serving as president from 1921 until 1929, and in

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 ...

(MFGB), becoming its president in 1922. He was active in support of 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 ...

of 1926, but resigned as MFGB President in 1929, objecting to the organisation's agreement to lengthen miners' hours. Despite standing for re-election to the post in 1930 and 1931, he was unsuccessful, but he did serve as Mayor of Barnsley in 1932. Smith became nationally known for leading rescue efforts following mining disasters, starting with the Wellington Pit Disaster in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

in 1910, and including the Bentley Pit Disaster of 1931 and the

Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery Wharncliffe Woodmoor 1, 2 and 3 colliery (part of Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery Company Ltd, the Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery Company was formed in 1873 when it purchased the New Willey Colliery, which had been sunk in 1871) was a coal mine tha ...

Disaster of 1936.

References

Bibliography

* Lawson J. J. (1941) ''The Man in the Cap: The Life of Herbert Smith'' London: Methuen & co. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Herbert 1862 births 1938 deaths English adoptees Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Vice Presidents of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) People from Kippax, West Yorkshire Politics of Barnsley Mayors of Barnsley