Thomas Ashton (trade unionist)

Thomas Ashton PC DL (23 March 1844 – 12 October 1927) was a British trade unionist.

Born in Openshaw, Ashton worked as a coal miner from the age of 12, and in 1865 became secretary of the Bradford and Clayton miners' lodge. This dissolved two years later, but Ashton re-established it in 1873, facing victimisation, but also being elected as checkweighman. He subsequently led the formation of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, and was its secretary from 1881.^[1]

Ashton next worked with Ben Pickard to establish the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and he was appointed as its first secretary. Although he personally supported the Conservative Party, he did not attempt to influence the union's political views, which initially followed Pickard's liberalism. He also worked with Pickard to establish the Miners' International Federation, and was its secretary from 1890 until 1914.^[1]

In 1917, Ashton was appointed to the Privy Council. He retired from all his union posts in 1919.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Howell, David, "Ashton, Thomas (1844–1927)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, retrieved 4 October 2014

Trade union offices
Preceded by New position	Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation 1881–1919	Succeeded by Post vacant
Preceded by New position	General Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain 1889–1919	Succeeded by Frank Hodges
Preceded by New position	Secretary of the Miners' International Federation 1890–1921	Succeeded by Frank Hodges

[odnb-1] Howell, David, "Ashton, Thomas (1844–1927)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, retrieved 4 October 2014

[1]

v t e Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Presidents	1889 Pickard 1904 En. Edwards 1912 Smillie 1922 Smith 1929 Richards 1931 Eb. Edwards 1932 Lee 1934 J. Jones 1939 Lawther 1954 E. Jones 1960 Machen 1960 Ford 1971 Gormley 1982 Scargill 2002 Lavery 2012 Wilson
Vice-Presidents	1889 Woods 1909 Smillie 1912 Harvey 1914 House 1917 Smith 1922 Walsh 1924 Richards 1929 Eb. Edwards 1931 Lee 1932 J. Jones 1933 Davies 1934 Lawther 1939 Bowman 1950 E. Jones 1954 T. Jones 1961 Collindridge 1963 Bullough 1969 Schofield 1973 McGahey 1987 Thompson 1989 Vacant 1992 Cave 2002 Stanley 2010 Wilson 2012 Thomas
General Secretaries	1889 Ashton 1919 Hodges 1924 Cook 1932 Eb. Edwards 1946 Horner 1959 Paynter 1968 Daly 1984 Heathfield 1992 Scargill 1992 Vacant? 2002 Kemp 2007 Kitchen
Treasurers	1889 En. Edwards 1904 Abraham 1918 Robson 1921 Richardson
Affiliates and areas	Bristol Cleveland Cokemen Colliery Officials and Staffs Cumberland Derbyshire Durham Forest of Dean Kent Lancashire and Cheshire Leicestershire Midland Counties (Cannock Chase North Staffordshire Old Hill Pelsall Shropshire Warwickshire West Bromwich) Northumberland North Wales Nottinghamshire Scotland (Ayrshire Fife and Kinross Lanarkshire Mid and East Lothian Mid and West Lothian Stirling) Somerset South Derbyshire South Wales Yorkshire
Strikes	1893 1912 1926 1969 1972 1974 1984–1985

See also

References