Joseph Lynch (29 December 1883 - 1972) 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 ...

. Born in

New Whittington New Whittington is a village located in the Borough of Chesterfield, in Derbyshire, England, near to Whittington Moor and Old Whittington. It is also to the west of Barrow Hill and Staveley. In 2011 the Barrow Hill and New Whittington ward ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

,J. E. Williams, ''The Derbyshire Miners'', p.264 to Michael Lynch, a Coal Miner from

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, Ireland and Mary Ann (Lavender). Lynch studied economics at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

and

Nottingham University College , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, and sat the commerce examinations of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, coming in first place, and the

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, where he took second place.J. E. Williams, ''The Derbyshire Miners'', pp.586-588 In 1912, he was employed by the

Derbyshire Miners' Association The Derbyshire Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1880 to represent coal miners in northern Derbyshire, as a split from the South Yorkshire Miners' Association. Although it initially aimed to ...

(DMA) as its first clerk. While in this post, he wrote ''Business Methods and Accountancy in Trade Unions'', which became an important text for the trade union movement, was also an active member of the Labour Party in

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, and also won a place on the union's executive. In 1928, Lynch stood for election as treasurer of the DMA against eleven other candidates, including Samuel Sales. In contrast to almost all other office-holders in mining trade unions, he never worked as a coal miner himself. He complained that, during the election, he was falsely accused of being a member of the

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and of misusing his office to circulate an election address, and he was narrowly defeated by Oliver Wright. However, when Wright died in 1938, Lynch defeated twelve other candidates, including Sales and

Harold Neal Harold Neal (3 July 1897 – 24 August 1972) was a British Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Clay Cross from a 1944 by-election to 1950, and after boundary changes, for Bolsover from 1950 until his retirement in 197 ...

, to win the post.

Harry Hicken Henry Hicken (2 April 1882 – 20 September 1964) was an English trade unionist. Born in North Wingfield in Derbyshire, Jarvis left school at the age of twelve to work at Pilsley Colliery, then moved to Parkhouse Colliery and Williamthorpe ...

, general secretary of the DMA, resigned in 1942, and the executive posts in the union were rearranged. Lynch was appointed as the new general and financial secretary without an election being held. During his period of office, the union became the

Derbyshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers The Derbyshire Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1880 to represent coal miners in northern Derbyshire, as a split from the South Yorkshire Miners' Association. Although it initially aimed to ...

. He retired in 1947.J. E. Williams, ''The Derbyshire Miners'', p.884-885 He died in

in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Joseph Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alumni of Ruskin College British trade union leaders People from the Borough of Chesterfield 1883 births 1972 deaths