Oliver Harris (January 1873 – January 1944) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

trade union leader and politician. Born at Rock, near Blackwood, in South Wales, Harris became a coal miner. He was interested in politics, and by 1894 was a member of

Mynyddislwyn Mynyddislwyn was a civil parish and urban district in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It was abolished in local government reorganisation in 1974. It is named for the Mountain in its centre MynyddIslwyn (Islwyn Mountain or Islwyn's Mountain, Isl ...

parish council, and secretary of the local branch of Cymru Fydd. Mynyddislwyn became an

Urban District Council In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...

in 1903, Harris remaining a member, and serving a term as its chair. By 1906, he was a member of the Pochin Lodge of the

South Wales Miners' Federation The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF), nicknamed "The Fed", was a trade union for coal miners in South Wales. It survives as the South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. Forerunners The Amalgamated Association of Miners (AA ...

(SWMF), and he was elected as auditor of the union's Tredegar District; in 1908, he served as the district president. In 1912, he was elected as checkweighman at the

Oakdale Colliery Oakdale Colliery was a coal mine located in the Sirhowy Valley, one of the valleys of South Wales. In the early years of the twentieth century the need for coal was growing both in America and Europe, and local business men in Wales were looking f ...

. In 1919, he became the statistical secretary of the SWMF, and from 1921 was also its treasurer. While in the role, he supported the union's policy in the

1926 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 governm ...

, and was strongly opposed to the right-wing South Wales Miners' Industrial Union, arguing that trade unions must always be antagonistic to employers. In 1932, Harris was elected as the union's general secretary, narrowly defeating

S. O. Davies Stephen Owen Davies ( – 25 February 1972) was a Welsh miner, trade union official and Labour Party politician, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Merthyr Tydfil, previously Merthyr for nearly 38 years, from 1934 to 1972. In 1970, well past 8 ...

. The post of treasurer was abolished, and Harris became known as a practical, moderate administrator, but not a strong personality. He pushed through a rationalisation of the number of union districts, saving money, but also prioritising the role of "combines", bringing together union lodges which represented workers for the same company. He also served on the executive 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 ...

, and on many other committees, including becoming a governor of the

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. Harris retired in April 1941, moving to Marshfield, where he died three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Oliver 1873 births 1944 deaths Councillors in Wales General secretaries of British trade unions Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians People from Blackwood, Caerphilly Welsh trade unionists