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Thomas Halliday (18 July 1835 – 24 November 1919) was a British
Thomas Halliday (18 July 1835 – 24 November 1919) was a British 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 Prestolee
Prestolee is a small village in Kearsley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell and is one of a cluster of villages between Bolton and Kearsley, which includes Stoneclough and Rin ...
near Bolton, Lancashire
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th centu ...
, Halliday's father was killed in a mining accident when Tom was only two years old. Six years later, Halliday went to work at the same pit. After being badly injured falling partway down a shaft, he worked in a textile warehouse for a time, before returning to the mines, where he worked alongside his new stepfather.John Saville, "Halliday, Thomas (Tom) (1835-1919)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.III, pp.91-94
Halliday continued to work as a miner into his twenties, spending time in County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
and Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. He became interested in trade unionism, and in 1862 founded the Wigan Miners' Provident Benefit Society, followed in 1863 by the Farnworth and Kearsley District Miners' Union. This second union employed Halliday as its full-time agent, and through this role, Halliday became active in Alexander Macdonald Alexander or Alex MacDonald may refer to:
Politics
* Alasdair Óg of Islay (died 1299), Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill
* Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, or Alexander MacDonald (died 1449), Scottish nobleman
* Alexander MacDonald, 5 ...
's Miners' National Association (MNA).
Halliday and William Pickard became critical of Macdonald's cautious approach to trade unionism, and founded a new Amalgamated Association of Miners
The Amalgamated Association of Miners (AAM) was formed in 1869 in Lancashire, at a time of increasing industrial conflict in the British coalfields.
History
The union was founded by Thomas Halliday and William Pickard, two miners' union agents who ...
(AAM), with Halliday as President. This new association advocated more militant action, including solidarity strikes, but continued to co-operate with the MNA, and even welcomed Macdonald to speak at its conferences. The AAM was initially successful, expanding across Great Britain and winning several strikes, proving particularly prominent in South Wales. This inspired Halliday to stand as a Liberal-Labour candidate in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
at the 1874 UK general election
The 1874 United Kingdom general election saw the incumbent Liberals, led by William Gladstone, lose decisively, even though it won a majority of the votes cast. Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives won the majority of seats in the House of Common ...
, taking 25% of the vote, but only third place.
Following a downturn in the industry, the AAM went bankrupt in 1875 and was absorbed by the MNA (by then, renamed as the "Miners' National Union"). Halliday was elected as the secretary of the MNU, but in 1877 stood down to try to re-establish the AAM, working with William Abraham William Abraham is the name of:
* William Abraham (Irish politician) (1840–1915), Irish Parliamentary Party Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons
* William Abraham (trade unionist) (1842–1922), Welsh Liberal-Labour Member of Parl ...
. Although he spent the next three years attempting to resurrect it, he was unsuccessful. He moved to South Wales, where he sold supplies to small collieries.
References