Pitman who played a key role in pivotal strike

A CENTURY on from the 1926 General Strike, the often-overlooked story of an “ordinary”

- SAM VOLPE

North East workers demonstrating during the General Strike of May 1926

North East miner who played a key role in the strike has been highlighted by experts including one from Beamish Museum.It is the story of Will Lawther, who rose to become Sir William, and president of the National Union of Mineworkers.

As revealed by research for a new podcast series produced by genealogy brand Findmypast, he started life as one of 15 children in Choppington and followed his father into life working in pits around Northumberland and County Durham.

He worked at pits in places from Stakeford Lane to Guidepost - and later became synonymous with Chopwell when Durham had one of the first Labour councils and the area was a “red village” with streets named after Karl Marx.

William ran to be an MP several times, unsuccessfully in the early 1920s. But in 1929 he became the Labour MP for Barnard Castle.

Between these years though, in 1926, his role as a staunch trade union man saw him play a central role in the 1926 General Strike.

The strike was called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to begin at one minute to midnight on May 3, 1926, after a dispute involving mine workers.

Across the country, mineworkers had been fighting with mine-owners over worsening pay and conditions.

After the mineworkers, including Sir William, had taken action, by mid-1926 1.5 million people across a range of other private industries chose to strike in solidarity.