Neil Greatrex (1 April 1951,

Basford, Nottinghamshire Basford is a northerly suburb of Nottingham, England, incorporated into the city in 1877. It gave its name to Basford Rural District, which existed from 1894 to 1974. The ward population at the 2011 census was 16,207, estimated at 16,779 in 2 ...

, England – 9 July 2019) was an English miner, trade unionist, fraudster and president of the

Union of Democratic Mineworkers The Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) was a British trade union for coal miners based in Nottinghamshire, England, established in 1985, after the 1984–85 miners' strike, when the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Mineworker ...

(UDM).

Early life

He attended Greenwood Drive Junior School and Mowlands Intermediate School in

Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in the Ashfield District of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of 25,265 (according to the 2001 National Census), it is a part of the wider Mansfield Urban Area. The Head Offices of Ashfield Distr ...

. He then went to Ashfield Comprehensive School (

Ashfield School, Kirkby-in-Ashfield Ashfield School is a large secondary school with academy status located in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England, which educates pupils with ages 11–19. The school has approximately 2,500 students, split into six houses – Trent, Ch ...

Career

From a mining family, his grandfather, father, and three older brothers also worked as miners, one of his first jobs at the pit was working with the pit ponies. He worked at Bentinck Colliery, on the B6018 in the south-west of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from 1965 to 1985.

UDM

The UDM was formed in 1985 after the

miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...

led to a split from the National Union of Mineworkers.

Personal life

He married Sheila Waterhouse in 1972 and had two daughters (born 1975 and 1982). He lived in

Teversal Teversal is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, west of Mansfield, close to Sutton-in-Ashfield and the boundary with Derbyshire. Former names include ''Tevershalt'', ''Teversholt'', ''Tyversholtee'', ''Teve ...

. With Mick Stevens (UDM general secretary), Greatrex appeared in court on 20 May 2011, accused of stealing almost £150,000 from a fund intended to help sick miners. Their trial began in March 2012. Greatrex abused his position as a trustee of the fund by paying for work on his own home. On 3 April 2012 the jury found Greatrex guilty of all 14 charges, they found Stevens not guilty.Ex-Union of Democratic Mineworkers leader Neil Greatrex guilty of theft
BBC News, 3 April 2012 Greatrex was advised by the judge to expect a custodial sentence. He was jailed for four years. In December 2012,

Birmingham Crown Court The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, in Dalton Street, Birmingham, England. History Until the mid-1980s, all Crown Court cases were heard in the Victoria Law Courts in Corporation Street. ...

ordered Greatrex to repay over £200,000. Greatrex died on 9 July 2019 from complications of a brain haemorrhage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatrex, Neil 1951 births 2019 deaths English fraudsters English miners Trade unionists from Nottinghamshire People from Kirkby-in-Ashfield Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales