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| A bleak February in 1908 - The strike affected all the local Barber Walker pits including New Watnall, Moorgreen, High Park, Brinsley and Selston. Here are the miners at High Park. |
Today's tale from Watnall Hall is about a rather forgotten but significant local miners' strike.
A frustrated Colonel Lancelot Rolleston of Watnall Hall, concerned at seeing his local villagers "in distress", attempts to step in as arbitrator between the miners, the union and the Barber Walker Company of Eastwood, their employer. The strike includes all the pits of Barber Walker Company and is over the price paid to the miners for the "getting" or digging out of coal following the introduction of new coal-cutting machines.
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| Colonel Rolleston and wife Lady Maud of Watnall Hall |
In a series of letters shown below, the story of his involvement unfolds. Colonel Rolleston gets increasingly frustrated at the delay and lack of progress by the union and its chief strike negotiator Mr. George Hancock gets the benefit of the Colonel's stern words...
"I can hardly believe that they are unable to decide on an answer to my letter in a shorter time than this, and I must point out that the present severe weather is seriously aggravating the distress from which some of the people in the district are already suffering in consequence of the strike, and that the slightest avoidable delay in the settlement of the dispute is inexcusable".
- John George Hancock was Secretary for the Nottinghamshire Miners’ Association (NMA). Former pit boy and lay preacher. In 1909 he was elected MP for Mid-Derbyshire which he held until 1923.
- Colonel Lancelot Rolleston was a local landowner and magistrate who lived at Watnall Hall.
- John William Fryar was a mining engineer in the Eastwood region and a representative on the council of the Institution of Mining Engineers.
THE EASTWOOD STRIKE. IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENCE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NOTTINGHAM EVENING POST.
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Watnall Hall, Nottingham, 27th Jan., 1908.
Believe me, yours faithfully, LANCELOT ROLLESTON.
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| Colonel Rolleston |
Dear Mr. Hancock, Although we only adjourned for a week, I thought it best to postpone invitations to the adjourned meeting until I had sufficiently informed myself of the position of both sides to warrant the hope of a satisfactory result of the meeting.
My attendance at several of the miners' meetings has acquainted me with the views of the men, and as regards Messrs. Barber and Walker, I have ascertained that the firm are willing to grant what the men desire, viz., a price list; that Mr. Fryar will meet any committee they appoint, with yourself or anyone else, to make the price list, it being understood that there will be no reduction, and no material increase on present prices.
That the firm will undertake further, as suggested, that wages shall be distributed as fairly as possible. The firm, as an alternative, will either (a) take Messrs. Oakes' or the Butterley lists complete, or (b) guarantee a list giving as good an average wage per man as either Messrs. Oakes or Digby. Any differences that may arise to be referred to an arbitrator under the above conditions.
With a view to avoiding unnecessary delay in the re-opening of the pits the firm is further prepared, on the first meeting of Mr. Fryar with the committee, to draw up and sign an agreement embodying the above conditions.
I am laying a copy of these propositions before Mr. Fryar, also for his confirmation, and should he approve of them and you also be willing to accept them, I suggest that a meeting be held between Mr. Fryar, yourself, and a deputation, if it suit your convenience, on Monday next, 20th January, at two p.m.
Believe me, dear Mr. Hancock, yours faithfully, LANCELOT ROLLESTON.
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Eastwood Collieries, near Nottingham. January 17th, 1908.
Dear Colonel Rolleston, I am obliged for your letter of the 16th inst., and think that it is a fair summary of the offers which have been made by the firm.
If Mr. Hancook is willing to accept any of these offers I will be glad to meet him as you suggest.-Believe me, yours sincerely, JHO. W. FRYAR
Colonel Rolleston, D.S.O., Watnall Hall, Nottingham.
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Miners' Offices, Nottingham-road, New Basford, Nottingham, January 17th, 1908.
Dear Colonel Rolleston, Am much obliged for yours just received, but don't see how it is possible for us to meet on Monday, because I must confer with the men's representatives before meeting the manager, and I cannot do this in the brief period intervening between now and Monday.
Will submit yours to them as soon as possible, and let you have their opinion thereon without any delay. Yours very sincerely, JNO. GEO. HANCOCK.
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Watnall Hall, Nottingham, 22nd January, 1908.
Dear Mr. Hancock, I cannot, I think, be accused of impatience if I write to remind you that it is now six days since I wrote you a letter, which you acknowledged on the following day, in which I communicated to you what seemed to me a very fair offer on the part of Messrs. Barber and Walker, and suggested Monday last, the 20th inst., as a date for the adjourned meeting for the discussion of the offer.
In your reply you said that before giving me an answer as to my suggestion you must confer with the men's representatives, and would then let me have their opinion without any delay.
I can hardly believe that they are unable to decide on an answer to my letter in a shorter time than this, and I must point out that the present severe weather is seriously aggravating the distress from which some of the people in the district are already suffering in consequence of the strike, and that the slightest avoidable delay in the settlement of the dispute is inexcusable.
I venture, therefore, to press you for a prompt reply, one way or the other, to the proposals I sent you last week, and, should you agree to them, to suggest Monday next, 27th. at 2 p.m. as the day and hour of the meeting.
Believe me, dear Mr. Hancock, yours faithfully, LANCELOT ROLLESTON.
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Watnall Hall, Nottingham, 27th January, 1908.
Dear Mr. Hancock, I greatly regret that you have not been able to send me any satisfactory answer to my proposals of the 16th January.
When I undertook to do my best to avert the misfortune of a prolonged strike I admitted that, unless both parties to the dispute honestly wished for a settlement, my efforts would be useless, but that what I could and would do was to ensure that the real position should be understood by everyone concerned.
I cannot better carry out this undertaking than by publishing our correspondence.
Believe me, dear Mr. Hancock, Yours faithfully, LANCELOT ROLLESTON.
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The newspaper went on to analyse the current situation. Not sure of the significance of selling off the pit ponies. Normally the pit ponies, which pulled coal waggons underground, were brought up for fresh air and exercise only during a period of prolonged working downtime like the summer holidays or a long strike. A scene from DH Lawrence's short story "Strike Pay" has a group of striking miners larking about with some recently re-surfaced pit ponies¹.
STRUGGLE PROCEEDING.
Every sign points to a prolongation of the disastrous fight. Not only has the council of the men's association strengthened the sinews of war by granting an increase of strike pay, but the colliery company are selling off a number of their ponies, their determination being to dispose of something like 150 of the animals.
Messrs. Barber, Walker, and Co. are the coal contractors to the Nottingham Board of Guardians. At this time of the year the workhouse and training institution consume over 100 tons of coal a week, and while the strike is in progress Babbington coal is being supplied.
MORE STRIKE PAY.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Notts. Miners' Association on Saturday, Mr. Hancock (the agent) alluded to the strike, explaining the attitude of the company towards the requests of the men and the present position of affairs. A committee representing the whole of the workmen affected at the different pits had unanimously decided to leave him at liberty to make any suggestions he thought well. He had very carefully considered the situation, and recommended that the pay should be continued as per rule until the next council meeting; that the allowances be immediately increased at the rate of 2s. per week for full members and 1s. for half-members; that, failing a settlement in the meantime, further advances of similar amounts should be granted at the end of a month. He also asked that the treasurer and himself should be invested with discretionary powers to enable them to deal with cases where members, through causes over which they had no control, were not entitled to payments according to rule; and recommended that the trustee be authorised to sign the cheques necessary to meet the expenses thus incurred.
The council unanimously adopted the agent's manner suggestion, thanked him for the in which he was dealing with the dispute, and resolved that, failing a settlement by the next council meeting, the members of the association should be recommended to double their subscriptions until it was ended, in order to meet the increased expenditure.
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| Feb 11th 1908 Notts Evening Post |
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| Arthur Markham with daughter Joyous in 1903 and below in later life as a successful business man and politician |
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| Sir Arthur Basil Markham, 1st Baronet (25 Aug 1866 - 5 Aug 1916) British industrialist and politician |
Notts Evening Post Tuesday Feb 11th 1908
THE EASTWOOD STRIKE.
NO SIGNS OF SETTLEMENT.
MEN'S MEETING AT EASTWOOD.
There is no break in the clouds which for nearly six weeks
have enveloped the industrial sky of Eastwood. The whole of Messrs. Barber,
Walker, and Company's pits remain idle, and the process of selling off the
ponies continues.
The only hope lies in the fact that Mr. A. B. Markham, M.P.,
has not abandoned his efforts to find a way of ending the dispute. No one who
knows Mr. Markham's pertinacity of character supposed for a moment that he
would throw up the sponge at the first rebuff, inflicted through the men's
rejection of arbitration; and although there is nothing definite on which to
build expectations it is a little encouraging to know that the member for the
Mansfield Division is still trying to fill the role of peacemaker.
On the face of it the difference between the parties now
seems slight. The company have agreed unreservedly to arbitration, and this
morning, at Eastwood, a prominent official of the union stated that the men
were willing for their committee to discuss the price list in detail with the
company, and then to refer those points on which agreement is found impossible
to arbitration. The objection to this course appears to be that it would make
any principle of give and take impossible so far as the preliminary
negotiations were concerned. For instance, there are certain directions in
which the company contend that they have hitherto been paying on a generous
scale, and they would hardly be likely to submit to the uncertainties of
arbitration if their hands were already tied as to those points whereon,
according to their judgment, they have been doing their men more than justice.
At the same time, as both sides profess their readiness to meet, it is
difficult to see why they should not do so. Even if complete failure ensued the
condition of affairs would be no worse than the one now prevailing, and such
meeting conceivably might, by clearing the air, pave the way to further
negotiations. Of course if, as Ald. Mellors hinted, one of the chief things to
be determined is whether all the men shall be compelled to join the union, then
arbitration obviously becomes a much more difficult matter.
ADVISING THE MEN.
This morning the Primitive Methodist Chapel at Eastwood was
packed with a meeting of the men. For an hour before the speech-making began,
the assembly was entertained to a very creditable concert, contributed to by
Messrs. E. Neale, W. Naylor, R. Pinner (clarionet), J. Purdy (cornet). T.
Cooper (piccolo)¹, and the Eastwood and Greasley Orchestral Band.
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| The old Primitive Methodist Chapel, Wellington Street. c.1966. Demolished late 1960's. Credit George L Roberts and Picture Nottingham |
Mr. John Martin, of Eastwood, a local preacher, who took the chair, delivered an address of a religious character, urging the man to make their difficulties a matter of prayer. Ald. Mellors prophesied a time when strikes and lock-outs would be regarded as base and demoralising. He congratulated the men on the moderation of their words and deeds. A coal owner whose pits were not far from Eastwood told him on Saturday that the company were in the wrong, and that he did not think the attempts at settlement had been placed fairly before the public. He (Mr. Mellors) thought the committee took the right course in regard to the arbitration proposals. (Cheers.) A strike might be hard for those who were ill-provided for and for tradesmen, but when they were fighting for what was right they often had to face hard things. He could not see why the company, if they had a good case, should not condescend to meet their own workmen, with the agent, and discuss the matter thoroughly. He thought there was something in the background. The owner of whom he had spoken paid much higher prices than those paid here. Until the company was prepared to meet the men on business lines the dispute would not be settled. (Cheers.) They would have to be very careful indeed in accepting arbitration. They knew the points requiring consideration.
LEEN VALLEY WAGES.
First there was the question of banksmen's wages. It was a
well-known fact that the banksmen under this company did not receive as much by
at least a shilling a day as the banksmen in the Leen Valley. Here they get
from 3s. to 4s. as against 5s. 7d. a day in the Leen Valley. Their leaders were
not asking for that, although it was the men's own fault that they were so far
behind. Had more of them been in the union, wages in this part of the county
would have been equal to those paid in the Leen Valley. He hoped the dispute
would be an object lesson, and that they would learn to stick together, so as
to improve their conditions. Roadsmen's wages were also much below those in the
Leen Valley. "The point which is most difficult to submit to arbitration
is that of compelling men to join the union," continued Mr. Mellors. "That
is one of the points you are out on. You are anxious that all men and boys
should belong to the association, and how could that be submitted to
arbitration? If you go back to work and see men there who into the association
you would become disorganised are not paying into this would perhaps strike
again." He went on to say that he did not desire to force anybody, but if
men would not pay into an association that had done so much for them they ought
to be paid on the 1888 prices. (Cheers.) He hoped they would not think of going
back until they had come to a thorough understanding. If the employers would
not meet them the only thing was to stand out until they did. Let it be
understood that the days of blacklegs were over. (Cheers.)
WAITING FOR THE SUMMER.
Mr. John Goddard, one of the union collectors, caused
amusement by remarking that he was not going to speak that morning, but would
reserve himself until the summer. They must be very careful about arbitration.
Last week they thought everything was settled, but now all the horses were out
of the pits again for a summer's run. If only the management would offer to go
through the price list, item by item with Mr. Hancock and the committee, the
men would acquiesce in a minute. But the office door was shut against them. The
men were fighting for the principle of recognition, and he appealed to them not
to lower the status of the committee and the agent. "Let the manager go
through each item with us, and then if there is anything that cannot be agreed
upon, let it go to arbitration," urged the speaker. It was, he added, a surprise
packet for the company when they found how many men were in the union. There
were not many out of the union now. Mr. Goddard concluded by appealing to the
men to continue to behave well "and not to give the policemen any
work."
Mr. T. Ball endorsed all that Mr. Goddard had said, and
referred to one or two cases of imposition on the distress fund. Last week the
distress cost the fund £40, and they were having to help some of the men in the
union.
So far as present arrangements are concerned, the next
meeting of the Eastwood men will be on Tuesday morning.
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| Friday Feb 21st 1908 Long Eaton Advertiser |
The Watnall Pit Riot of 1893
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Notes and Sources
Notts Evening Post archives.
Healy Hero mining website... "Strike at the Eastwood Pits - There was a strike at the Eastwood pits of Barber Walker Co over price lists lasting from 2nd January to 27th April 1908. There was a further 5% increase in rates from January. Following the settlement of the strike which arose from the introduction of coal-cutting machines, after a settling in period, more machines were ordered and when the Top Hard was exhausted at High Park which had a working height of around 4’ 9” (1. 45m), the Coombe coal was worked which had a lower height of 2’ 9” (0.83m). However it soon became obvious that machine holing at the lower height was advantageous and the men began to realise this. "
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| Source - Durham Mining Museum |
Here are the key details regarding the Nottinghamshire mining trade union scene in 1908:
- Union Name: The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association (formed in 1881).
- Affiliation: It was affiliated with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), which was a powerful national organization.
- Context of 1908:
- Membership: In 1907/1908, the association had over 28,000 members.
- Wage Agreement: On November 30, 1908, the association announced a wage settlement for 8,000 members in the Erewash Valley.
- Major Legislation: 1908 saw the passage of the Coal Mines Regulation (8 hours) Act 1908 on December 21st, which limited underground working hours, a key goal for the union.
- Key Personnel: Charles Bunfield was appointed full-time Assistant Secretary for the Nottinghamshire Miners' Association in 1908.
- Other Related Unions: The Midland Area of the National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies & Shotfirers was also active in the region during this period
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