Herbert Smith (trade unionist)
Encyclopedia
Herbert Smith was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 trade unionist and miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....

.

Born in Kippax
Kippax
Kippax may refer to:* Kippax, West Yorkshire, village in England* Alan Kippax, Australian cricketer* Kippax Centre, Australian Capital Territory, a suburban centre in Canberra, Australia* Kippax Uniting Church and Community Centre....

, Smith was orphaned at a young age and spent time in a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...

 before being adopted by a local couple, one of whom was a miner. Smith then studied in Glasshoughton
Glasshoughton
Glasshoughton is an area of Castleford in West Yorkshire, England, that borders on Pontefract. It is home to the Xscape indoor ski slope and leisure centre, the Junction 32 Outlet Shopping Village, a DIY superstore, a hotel, a pub and a number of fast food restaurants, which were built on the site...

 and Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

, and began working as a miner at the age of ten. Smith became active in his union, being elected to the branch committee at the age of seventeen, then in 1894 becoming a checkweighman. In 1896 he became Chairman of Castleford Trades Council, and in 1906 he became President of the Yorkshire Miners' Association
Yorkshire Miners' Association
The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union.The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the West Yorkshire Miners' Association, agreed only because both organisations were weakened by unsuccessful disputes...

. He joined the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

, and was elected to the West Riding County Council in 1903, and stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 in Morley
Morley (UK Parliament constituency)
Morley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Morley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....

 at the December 1910 UK general election. He was later elected as a councillor in Barnsley
Barnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...

.

Smith was also involved in the International Miners Federation, serving a President from 1921 until 1929, and in Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), becoming its President in 1922. He was active in support of the UK general strike of 1926, but resigned as MFGB President in 1929, objecting to the organisation's agreement to lengthen miners' hours. Despite standing for re-election to the post in 1930 and 1931, he was unsuccessful, but he did serve as Mayor of Barnsley in 1932.

Smith became nationally known for leading rescue efforts following mining disasters, starting with the Wellington Pit Disaster in Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...

 in 1910, and including the Bentley Pit Disaster of 1931 and the Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery Disaster of 1936.
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