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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. |
It's a particularly cold and bleak February in Watnall in 1908 and the miners at the New Watnall pit are into the second month of a pay strike. There's limited coal for their house fires and with the men on reduced Union-provided strike pay only, food is getting harder to come by too. Over 3,000 men work at the Barber Walker pits, that's a lot of local families suffering.
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.
In a series of letters shown below, the story of his involvement unfolds. Colonel Rolleston gets increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress by the Union and its chief strike negotiator Mr. George Hancock is the subject of the Colonel's stern words. He eventually sends all the letters to the editor of the Notts Evening Post for publication, perhaps hoping to name and shame the Union and get the talks going. They were published on Monday January 27th 1908 on page 5. They contain what seems to be a decent offer from the company so you can understand the Colonel's exasperation.
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| Colonel Rolleston and wife Lady Maud of Watnall Hall |
What happened afterwards?
- John George Hancock was Secretary for the Nottinghamshire Miners’ Association.
- 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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Watnall Hall, Nottingham, 16th Jan., 1908.
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 situation...
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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Notes and Sources
Notts Evening Post archives; Healy Hero mining website.
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| Source - Durham Mining Museum |
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