William Aucott (20 July 1830 – 27 December 1915) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbor ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, Aucott was prevented from attending school as his father was a Chartist and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. Instead, he worked from home making stockings and taught himself to read. When he was sixteen, he moved to

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

, where he found work at John Bagnall and Sons as an assistant puddler. Four years later, he married his manager's daughter, and was working as a sub-contractor, being paid on a piecework basis by the manager, while paying his assistants himself.Eric Taylor, "Aucott, William", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.2, pp.22-25 Despite his position in the firm, Aucott was a supporter of

trade unionism 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 ( ...

and encouraged other workers to sign up. He began working for a variety of local ironworks, and became a well-known figure in the district. Always a supporter of

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

, his friendship with the Methodist minister Arthur O'Neill encouraged him to take up other radical causes, and he regularly spoke in support of

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

candidates in election in

. In 1863, Aucott was a founder of the Associated Ironworkers of Great Britain, a union for puddlers, based in

Brierley Hill Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, 2.5 miles south of Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a popu ...

. This collapsed five years later, but Aucott followed many of its members in transferring to the national

Amalgamated Malleable Ironworkers of Great Britain {{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom The Amalgamated Malleable Ironworkers of Great Britain was a trade union representing ironworkers in Great Britain. The union was founded by John Kane in 1862 as the Amalgamated Mallea ...

. In 1872, he joined the South Staffordshire Iron Trade Conciliation Board, an activity championed by the Malleable Ironworkers, sitting as one of twelve union representatives, and he was elected as the union's president in 1874. When agreements over pay collapsed in 1875, many puddlers in the area went on an unofficial strike, and ignored Aucott's requests to return to work. Aucott was a leading figure in creating a new wages board, established in 1876, chaired by

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...

, with Aucott as the vice-chair. However, he became increasingly frustrated with the difficulties of organising workers in the industry and, in 1877, resigned all his trade union posts to become the superintendent at the Wednesbury Corporation Baths. Despite this, he remained in contact with leading figures in the union movement, and in 1887 was elected as the first president of the new

Associated Iron and Steel Workers of Great Britain {{Short description, Union of Iron and Steel workers in Great Britain The Associated Iron and Steel Workers of Great Britain was a trade union representing people employed in iron- and steelworks in Britain. The union was founded in 1887, following ...

union. Two years later, he resigned from the baths to become the full-time secretary of the Midland Iron and Steel Wages Board. Through this, he frequently attended

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 ...

meetings, and supported the establishment of wages boards in other areas of the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Aucott became a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

in 1893, and retired from his position on the wages board in 1907.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aucott, William 1830 births 1915 deaths British trade union leaders People from Hinckley