The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was a

trade union 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 benefits ( ...

representing

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 ...

s in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. A

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was an early union representing coal miners in parts of the East Midlands of England. The union was founded around the turn of 1863 and 1864 by two miners: William Ball, and one other who died ...

was founded in the 1860s, but became moribund by the 1870s, although some branches remained active, including trade unionists such as Samuel Smith,

Aaron Stewart Aaron Stewart (5 October 1845 – 30 November 1910) was a British trade unionist. Life Born in Coleorton in Leicestershire, Stewart's father died when he was two years old, and he began working underground in a coal mine, illegally, at th ...

and William Hardy. In 1881, they constituted a new Nottingham Miners' Federation based on the rules of the old union, and by 1884 membership had risen to more than 2,000. That year, two unsuccessful strikes took place and membership halved. In response, the union elected new officials and adopted a new name, the "Nottinghamshire Miners' Association", and constitution. In 1889, the Association was a founder member of 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 ...

. In 1926, at the height of the

General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

, General Secretary

George Alfred Spencer George Alfred Spencer (1873 – 21 November 1957) was an English miner, trade union leader and Member of Parliament from 1918 to 1929 for Broxtowe. Family George Spencer was the second son of eighteen children. His youngest daughter was the wi ...

, on behalf of the Nottinghamshire Miners Association, negotiated a deal with the local mine owners which brought him into conflict with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, who wished to see the strike continue. Unhappy with the influence of the MFGB, Spencer led a breakaway from the NMA, supported by moderates such as

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

, setting up the Nottinghamshire and District Miners' Industrial Union (NMIU) based mostly in

The Dukeries The Dukeries is an area of the county of Nottinghamshire so called because it contained four ducal seats. It is south of Worksop, which has been called its "gateway". The area was included within the ancient Sherwood Forest. The ducal seats wer ...

. The NMIU lasted for eleven years separate from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. In 1937, an agreement was reached between the NMA and the NMIU and they merged to form the Nottinghamshire Miners' Federated Union, with Spencer becoming the President. In 1945, the union became the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. After the 1984-1985 miners' strike, the majority of members broke away to form 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 Mineworke ...

Presidents

:1881: Joseph Allen :1883: Joseph Hopkin :1884: Charles West :1888:

:1897: William Hardy :1899: John E. Whyatt :1907: Charles Bunfield :1909: William Carter :1910: John E. Whyatt :1912:

:1918:

Frank Varley Frank Bradley Varley (18 June 1885 – 17 March 1929) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Born in Alfreton in Derbyshire, Varley became a coal miner before winning election as a checkweighman. He undertook part-time study at th ...

:1929:

Bill Bayliss William Bayliss (19 December 1886 – 12 February 1963) was a British trade unionist. Born in Leicestershire, Bayliss left school at the age of twelve to work at a colliery. He joined the Leicestershire Miners' Association, but after becomi ...

:1930: Val Coleman :1932:

Herbert Booth Herbert Henry Howard Booth (26 August 1862 – 25 September 1926) was a Salvation Army officer, the third son of five children to William and Catherine Booth (Mumford), who later went on to serve as an independent evangelist. He oversaw t ...

:1937:

Bernard Taylor Bernard Taylor may refer to: *Bernard Taylor (author) (born 1934), British horror and suspense author *Bernard Taylor, Baron Taylor of Mansfield (1895–1991), British coalminer and politician *Bernard Taylor (boxer) (born 1957), American boxer *Be ...

:1937:

:1945:

:1952: E. J. Lee :1956: Alf Eggleshaw :1957: Jack Tighe :1971: Len Clarke :1979: Ray Chadburn :Keith Stanley

General Secretaries

:1881: William Kay :1884:

:1887: William Bailey :1893:

:1897:

:1910: Charles Bunfield :1914: :1918:

:1926: William Carter :1932: Val Coleman :1945:

:by 1955: Albert Martin :1971: Len Martin :1977:

Joe Whelan Joseph Patrick Whelan (1 March 1925 – 30 August 1982) was an Irish trade union leader, active in England. Born in Dun Laoghaire, Whelan joined the Royal Air Force in 1940, relocating to England. He served throughout World War II, and met ...

:1983: Henry Richardson

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1881 Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Politics of Nottinghamshire 1881 establishments in England Mining in Nottinghamshire Trade unions based in Nottinghamshire