The Pentonville Five were five

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

s who were imprisoned in July 1972 by the

National Industrial Relations Court {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The National Industrial Relations Court (NIRC) was established on 1 December 1971 under Section 99 of the Industrial Relations Act 1971. The NIRC was created by the Conservative government of Ted Heath as a way to l ...

for refusing to obey a court order to stop

picketing Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in (" crossing the pick ...

a container depot in East London. Their arrest and imprisonment led to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC) calling a

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 ...

Injunction

The events took place against the background of a clash between the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

government of

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

and the trade union movement, involving the first national miners’ strike in Britain since 1926, with mass

, and clashes between police and workers. Dockers at the Chobham Farm container depot,

Temple Mills Temple Mills is a district located on the boundary of the London boroughs of London Borough of Newham, Newham and London Borough of Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest, with a small part also in London Borough of Hackney, Hackney in east London. Temp ...

, Newham, were unofficially striking and picketing the site. The

(NIRC) had issued an injunction barring further picketing, following an application by Midland Cold Storage Company.

Arrest

Picketing continued despite the injunction. Five

shop stewards A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

were named by private investigators for the cold storage company – Conny Clancy, Tony Merrick, Bernie Steer, Vic Turner and Derek Watkins. Warrants were issued by the court for their arrest for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

, and they were imprisoned on 21 July 1972.

Protests

Following their arrest, a rolling series of strikes began to cause work stoppages until there was virtually an unofficial national strike. The

(TUC) then called for an official national strike on 31 July, demanding the release of the five shop stewards. Thousands of striking workers marched through North London to

Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...

Release

The "Five" were released within a week of their arrest when the

Official Solicitor The Office of the Official Solicitor is a part of the Ministry of Justice of the Government of the United Kingdom. The Official Solicitor acts for people who, because they lack mental capacity and cannot properly manage their own affairs, are unable ...

Norman Turner, on receipt of the papers, successfully applied to the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

. The Official Solicitor is a court official who represents those who are unable to represent their own interests. For this case, he was assisted in the Court of Appeal by barrister

John Vinelott Sir John Evelyn Vincent Vinelott (15 October 1923 – 22 May 2006) was a leading barrister at the Chancery bar and an English High Court judge in the Chancery Division from 1978 to 1994. He was born in Gillingham, Kent, and studied at Queen E ...

, later a High Court judge. The Official Solicitor was successful in his application to overturn the arrest warrants, on the grounds that the National Industrial Relations Court had insufficient grounds to deprive them of their liberty and that the evidence of the private investigators was insufficient.

Legacy

Vic Turner continued to work in the docks, transferring from the

Royal Docks Royal Docks is an area and a ward in the London Borough of Newham in the London Docklands in East London, England. The area is named after three docks – the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are ...

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

. However he left the docks under the voluntary redundancy scheme and started working for

Newham London Borough Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a dir ...

. He was then elected a councillor and served for many years before being elected mayor. During this period he was also presented with the Transport and General Union Gold Medal for his work for the union.

Deaths

* Vic Turner died on 30 December 2012, at the age of 85. * Cornelius "Conny" Clancy died in Hackney in 2016, at the age of 70. * Tony Merrick died in August 2020, at the age of 83. * Derek Watkins later suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and died on 21 August 2021, at the age of 83. * Bernie Steer died on 21 July 2022, at the age of 83. He was the last surviving member of the group.

Film

The radical film group

Cinema Action Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

made a documentary called ''Arise Ye Workers'' during the struggle, which was released in 1973. The film won the Silver Dove at the Leipzig Film Festival and was screened by the jailed dockers on the anniversary of their release from jail.

References

* ''Death of The Docks'', Colin Ross, 2010.

External links

{{Portal, Organized labour
1972: A great year for the workers
by Tony Cliff, published 6 January 1973

Grahamstevenson.me.uk

Five men, six days: Pentonville voices
recordings of interviews at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. 1970s in the United Kingdom Labour relations in the United Kingdom