South Wales Miners Federation

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0097 COLL MISC 0895
Held at	: British Library of Political and Economic Science   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.lse.ac.uk/library ›
Full title	: South Wales Miners Federation
Date(s)	: 1913-1950
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 1 folder
Name of creator(s)	: South Wales Miners Federation

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF) or "The Fed" as it was sometimes known was founded in 1898. William Brac of the South Wales branch of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) became Vice-President, and the Lib-Lab MP for the Rhondda William Abraham (1842-1922), who was prominent within the Cambrian Miners' Association, became the President. Abraham was also Teasurer of the MFGB. He was often referred to as "Mabon" (Welsh for the bard) by miners. A few months after its founding the SWMF became affiliated with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. In 1899 it had 100,000 members, and by 1914 it had 200,000, making it the largest group affiliated to the MFGB. It became the largest unit within British coalmining unionism. In 1912 the SWMF secured a minimum wage for coalminers by advocating the first Britain-wide coal strike. However, the failure of the 1926 General Strike saw a decline in the SWMF's membership from 136,000 to 60,000 by 1932. Relevant publications include: The Fed: A History of the South Wales Miners in the Twentieth Century (1980) by Hywel Francis and Dai Smith.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers and pamphlets relating to the South Wales Miners' Federation, including: Correspondence regarding the settlement of individual wage disputes, 1913-1914 (four letters); Bethesda Support Fund for the 1895-1897 strike: yearly report; the South Wales Wages Agreement, 22 Apr 1910; the Lodges of the Anthracite district: Appeal for Financial Support from the Abercrave and International Workmen.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

One folder.

Conditions governing access:

OPEN

Conditions governing reproduction:

APPLY TO ARCHIVIST

Finding aids:

NO FURTHER LIST REQUIRED

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Allied Materials

Related material:

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Output from CAIRS using template 14 and checked by hand on May 8, 2002

Rules or conventions:

Date(s) of descriptions:
May 8, 2002