Amalgamated Association of Miners

Last updated
Amalgamated Association of Miners
Predecessor Miners' National Union
Successor Miners' National Union
Founded23 August 1869 (1869-08-23)
Dissolved24 August 1875
Location
  • United Kingdom

The Amalgamated Association of Miners (AAM) was formed in 1869 in Lancashire, at a time of increasing industrial conflict in the British coalfields.

Contents

History

The union was founded by Thomas Halliday and William Pickard, two miners' union agents who had grown disillusioned with the cautious approach of the Miners' National Union (MNU) of Alexander Macdonald. In contrast, they placed an emphasis on being a centralised union, offering systematic support for local strikes. Founded on 23 August 1869, Halliday served as its president, and he called a national conference for January 1870. [1]

The 1870 conference attracted delegates from Wales and Staffordshire, in addition to Lancashire, and established it as a national organisation. While differing from Macdonald's union, it was happy to collaborate on matters of mutual agreement, and Macdonald spoke at several AAM conferences. [1]

By June 1871, the union had 9,000 members in the Aberdare and Rhondda valleys, and in the same year won a major twelve-week strike in Aberdare and the Rhondda in 1871, cementing its position in South Wales. [2]

A second major strike in South Wales in 1873 was also successful, while miners in Lancashire saw their wages rise greatly without having to take industrial action. However, from mid-1873, mine-owners formed their own organisations to target the union, while a downturn in the industry combined to see the union decline. [1]

In 1874, Halliday sought election as MP for Merthyr Boroughs but although he polled well he was comfortably defeated by the sitting Liberal members, Henry Richard and Richard Fothergill. [3]

The last great industrial battle fought by the AAM was in 1874 but Halliday's hardline stance was rejected by the majority of his followers. Thereafter the AAM went into rapid decline. By 1875, it was bankrupt. [1] It was dissolved at a conference held in Shrewsbury on 24 August, with members advised to join the MNU, and Halliday taking a place on its committee. [4]

In 1877, a new Amalgamated Association of Miners was formed, based on the surviving districts in South Wales. Halliday was again secretary, while William Abraham was president, and Edward Williams of Aberdare was treasurer. [5] Although Halliday devoted three years to the union, it was unsuccessful. [1]

Districts

By the 1873 conference, the union claimed 99,399 members, located in a large number of districts. The union's policy was to admit miners in any unrepresented location as a new district, then in the longer term, to merge small districts together. [6]

District [6] FoundedMembership (1873) [6] 1873 delegates [6]
Aberavon ?819David Rees
Aberdare 18719,600J. Griffiths, H. Harries, H. Hopkins, J. Jonathan, R. Jones, W. Lewis, W. Medlicott, G. Mills, David Morgan, J. Price, J. Robson, Henry Thomas, J. Thomas, N. Thomas, G. Vatie, W. Whitcombe, D. Williams, M. Williams, G. Woodford
Abersychan18721,582John Dagger, William Williams
Abertillery18712,736W. Allsopp, W. Burland, S. Jones, S. Lewis, J. Morgan, A. Phillips
Argoed ?248John A. Lloyd
Begelly ?316Isaac Thomas
Blackwood ?239None
Blaenavon ?1,016Thomas Griffiths, Levi Parry
Bristol ?2,320G. Bright, J. Burlton, G. Ford, S. Smith, J. Spicer
Brynmawr ?2,111Joseph Baugh, James William Fairbanks, Joseph Palmer
Burnley and Church ?1,460Thomas Beaumont, Jabez Edwards
Caerphilly ?462Thomas Willis
Cannock Chase ?2,701J. Edwards, W. Legert, L. Humphreys, George Pickard, J. Southall, E. Townsend
Cwmbran ?951Thomas Ephraim, Charles Vaughan
Darran ?509None
Farnworth and Kearsley18692,520J. Brooks, J. Fletcher, G. Gooke, B. Hall, R. Heyes, W. Hobson
Forest of Dean 18704,000J. Bagott, R. Baker, G. Goode, J. Miles, Timothy Mountjoy, G. Sneensman, J. Thomas
Goginan ?222William Evans
Hollingwood ?212None
Llantwit and Taff's Well ?1,265Francis Edmunds, Daniel Morgan
Loughor 18723,393 William Abraham, W. Evans, D. Harris, J. Hughes, T. Morgan
Maesteg ?1,213William Evans
Maesycwmmer ?102None
Merthyr and Dowlais ?4,056Daniel Evans, Isaac Kernick, John Williams, William Williams
Neath 18692,010James Jones, Benjamin Williams
New Tredegar1871878E. Hughes, T. Lloyd
North Staffordshire 18698,800J. Bayley, J. Berks, William Brown, D. Brunt, T. Clark S. Cumberbatch, E. Ellis, W. Elsby, Moses Foulkes, J. Johnson, J. Kidd, B. Langley, E. Lyons, T. McDermott, H. Oakes, H. Pierce, W. Pugh
North Wales18713,192Joseph Dodd, David Griffiths, Isaac Roberts, Isaac Llewellyn Thomas, John Evan Thomas, Amos Turley, William Venables
Ogmore1871542None
Oldham ?1,200None
Old Tredegar ?1,943Richard Davies, Henry Jeffries
Pengam ?503George Bolton, Thomas Lawrence
Penmain ?85None
Radstock 18722,174George Carter, T. Curtis, B. Fish, J. Hobs, J. Young
Rhondda Valley 18725,141J. Andrews, G. Coles, D. Davies, E. Evans, J. Francis, Bethuel Heycock, Lewis Morgan, J. Salathil, J. Trucker, E. Williams
Rhymney18711,570W. Baker, J. D. Thomas, E. Williams
Salop ?2,663Edward Brock, Thomas Edwards, Benjamin Garadrell, John Jones, Enoch Potts
South Staffordshire 18695,810G. Carter, L. E. Coleshill, R. Cotterell, Benjamin Dean, J. Fellows, C. Gething, W. Lloyd, H. Randall, T. Unstone, W. Westwood
St Helens and Haydock ?2,128Richard Marsh
Swansea Vale ?2,150David Edwards, John Stephens
Tamworth ?1,124John Albrighton, Josiah Baybould
West Bromwich 18693,260J. Adams, Henry Barnes, J. Foy, Thomas Griffiths, H. Rust, J. Wadeley, S. Wilding
West Cumberland 18722,500 Andrew Sharp, James Simpson
Wigan 18626,856J. Colinson, H. Highton, W. Higson, T. Oakes, G. Silcock
Worsley ?800George Seddon, Joseph Smith

Related Research Articles

Aberdare Human settlement in Wales

Aberdare is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550. Aberdare is 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Merthyr Tydfil, 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Cardiff and 22 miles (35 km) east-north-east of Swansea. During the 19th century it became a thriving industrial settlement, which was also notable for the vitality of its cultural life and as an important publishing centre.

Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Town in Cynon Valley, Wales

Mountain Ash is a town and former community in the Cynon Valley, within the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, with a population of 11,230 at the 2011 Census, estimated in 2019 at 11,339. It includes the districts and villages of Cefnpennar, Cwmpennar, Caegarw, Darranlas, Fernhill, Glenboi and Newtown, all within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Aberdare lies about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north-west, Cardiff 19 miles (31 km) south-east, and Penrhiwceiber a mile to the south-east. It divides into two electoral wards: West covers the town centre and the districts of Miskin, Darranlas, Fernhill and Glenboi, and East the districts of Cefnpennar, Cwmpennar, Caegarw and Newtown.

Abercynon Human settlement in Wales

Abercynon, is both a village and a community in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to the south, Navigation Park to the east, and Glancynon to the north.

South Wales Valleys Group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales

The South Wales Valleys are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run north–south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys", they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.

Rhondda Urban area and district in South Wales

Rhondda, or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. It embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley – so that the singular "Rhondda Valley" and the plural are both commonly used. In 2001, the Rhondda constituency of the National Assembly for Wales had a population of 72,443; while the Office for National Statistics counted the population as 59,602. Rhondda forms part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough and of the South Wales Valleys. It is most noted for its historical coalmining industry, which peaked between 1840 and 1925. The valleys produced a strong Nonconformist movement manifest in the Baptist chapels that moulded Rhondda values in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also famous for male voice choirs and in sport and politics.

Hirwaun Human settlement in Wales

Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is 4 miles (6 km) NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a population of 4,851. increasing at the 2011 census to 4,990. The village is on the Heads of the Valleys Road and at the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Lewis Jones, writer, and political activist of the left, was born in Clydach Vale in industrialised South Wales.

Abercwmboi Human settlement in Wales

Abercwmboi is a village in the Welsh county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, United Kingdom.

Cwmdare Human settlement in Wales

Cwmdare is a village very close to Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's history is intertwined with coal-mining, and since the decline of the industry in the 1980s, it has become primarily a commuter base for the larger surrounding towns of Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, as well as the cities of Cardiff and Swansea.

William Abraham (trade unionist) Welsh trade unionist

William Abraham, universally known by his bardic name, Mabon, was a Welsh trade unionist and Liberal/Labour politician, and a member of parliament (MP) from 1885 to 1920. Although an MP for 35 years, it was as a trade unionist that Abraham is most well known. Initially a pioneer of trade unionism, who fought to enshrine the principle of workers' representation against the opposition of the coal-owners, he was regarded in later life as a moderate voice believing that disputes should be solved through conciliation rather than industrial action. This drew him into conflict with younger and more militant leaders from the 1890s onwards. Although the defeat of the miners in the Welsh coal strike of 1898 was a clear defeat for Mabon's strategy, his prestige was sufficient to ensure that he became the first president of the South Wales Miners' Federation which was established in the wake of the dispute. Abraham was noted for his powerful speaking voice, and was a renowned orator in English and Welsh.

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.

Maerdy Colliery was a coal mine located in the South Wales village of Maerdy, in the Rhondda Valley, located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Opened in 1875, it closed in December 1990.

David Morgan was a Welsh miners' agent and trade unionist who played a prominent role in the history of industrial relations in the South Wales Coalfield from the 1870s until his death in 1900.

The Forest of Dean Miners' Association was a trade union for coal miners in the Forest of Dean area of England.

The Miners' National Union (MNU) was a trade union which represented miners in Great Britain.

Thomas Halliday (trade unionist)

Thomas Halliday was a British trade unionist.

William Pickard was a British trade unionist.

The Cambrian Miners' Association, also known as the Rhondda District Miners' Association, was an early trade union representing coal miners in the Rhondda Valley, in Wales.

The Anthracite Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in parts of Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan and Breconshire, in South Wales.

The Aberdare, Merthyr and Dowlais Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in part of Glamorgan in South Wales.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 John Saville, "Halliday, Thomas (Tom) (1835-1919)", Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol.III, pp.91-94
  2. Jones 1984, pp. 200–01.
  3. Pretty. "Morgan (Dai o'r Nant)": 501.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Miners' conference at Shrewsbury". Cardiff Times. 28 August 1875.
  5. "Formation of a new colliers' union". Cardiff Times. 11 August 1877.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Amalgamated Association of Miners". Cardiff Times. 11 October 1873.

Sources