William Dronfield (April 1826 – 24 August 1894) 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

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, Dronfield became a compositor. In 1849, he was a founder member of the Provincial Typographical Association,D. E. Martin,
DRONFIELD, WILLIAM
' and from 1852 to 1855 served as its President.A. E. Musson, ''Trade Union and Social History'' In 1858, many Sheffield compositors were involved in a dispute with the owner of the ''

Sheffield Times Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

'' newspaper. In order to build

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

for their cause, they founded the

Sheffield Association of Organised Trades The Sheffield Trades and Labour Council, usually known as the Sheffield Trades Council, is a labour organisation uniting trade unionists in Sheffield. Precursors The earliest recorded attempt to found an alliance of trade unions in the city is th ...

. Dronfield was elected as its first secretary, a post he held until 1867. Through this organisation, Dronfield became active in many national campaigns; in particular, against the Master and Servant Act, against which he helped organise a national conference in 1864. In 1865, Dronfield presented a paper on trade unions at the conference of the

National Association for the Promotion of Social Science The National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (NAPSS), often known as the Social Science Association, was a British reformist group founded in 1857 by Lord Brougham. It pursued issues in public health, industrial relations, penal ref ...

, a bourgeois organisation which aimed to include industrial relations in its remit. However, details of his speech and the debate sparked by it were omitted from the official report.The History of the TUC 1868-1968: Part one 1868-1899
A second intervention, calling for state aid for

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, was included. Disappointment at the body's indifference to labour matters convinced him of the need for a national trade union organisation. He called a conference in Sheffield in 1866 which organised the United Kingdom Alliance of Organised Trades, and he was elected as its secretary. Dronfield was appointed as the honorary secretary of the Sheffield Trades Defence Committee, founded in the aftermath of the Sheffield Outrages, and so gave evidence in support of the legalisation of trade union activity. Dronfield convinced two members of the Manchester and Salford Trades Council,

William Henry Wood William Henry Wood was a British trade union leader. Biography Wood was a compositor, and became the Secretary of the Manchester Typographical Society, serving until 1879. In 1864, he was elected as the first Secretary of the Manchester Trades ...

and

Samuel Caldwell Nicholson Samuel Caldwell Nicholson (died 1891) was a British trade unionist. Nicholson was a compositor who became the Treasurer of the Manchester Typographical Society. In 1864, he was elected the first President of the Manchester and Salford Trades C ...

, of the need for a national organisation, and this inspired them to call a meeting in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1868. Dronfield attended this as a representative of the Sheffield Association of Organised Trades, and played a prominent role in the proceedings. The meeting resolved to found 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 ...

. Dronfield supported the

Reform League The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the success ...

, and in order to further labour interests, he convinced

Anthony John Mundella Anthony John Mundella PC (28 March 1825The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857; Class Nu ...

to stand as the Liberal Party candidate for

in the 1868 general election. Mundella took a seat. Also in 1868, Dronfield became the secretary of the newly formed

National Education League The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control. The National Education League, founded 1869, developed from the Birmingham Education Lea ...

. He represented Sheffield at the Workmen's International Exhibition in 1870, and later became a sanitary inspector, calling for improvements to Sheffield's sanitation systems. Dronfield died in 1894 and is buried in

Sheffield General Cemetery The General Cemetery in the City of Sheffield, England opened in 1836 and closed for burial in 1978. It was the principal cemetery in Victorian Sheffield with over 87,000 burials. Today it is a listed Landscape (Grade II*) on the English Herit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dronfield, William 1826 births 1894 deaths British trade union leaders Trade unionists from Sheffield Burials at Sheffield General Cemetery