1942 Betteshanger miners' strike facts for kids
The 1942 Betteshanger Miners' Strike was a big event that happened in January 1942 at the Betteshanger coal mine in Kent, England. This strike started because the miners had to work in a new part of the mine, called No. 2 coalface. This area was much narrower and harder to dig coal from than their old working areas. Because of the tough conditions, the miners couldn't dig as much coal as the mine owners wanted. The owners then refused to pay the miners their usual minimum daily wage, saying the miners were working too slowly on purpose.
A person called in to help solve the problem said that the miners should be able to reach the targets. However, the miners disagreed and decided to stop working on January 9. During World War II, there was a special rule called Order 1305 that made it illegal to strike unless the problem was first sent to the government's Ministry of Labour. Because of this rule, some of the striking miners faced legal action. Three union leaders were sent to prison, and 1,085 other miners were fined. These actions made the miners even more determined. After the strike went on for three weeks, the government started talking with them. They reached an agreement to pay the miners their minimum wage again, and the men went back to work on January 29. The imprisoned leaders were set free on February 2, and the fines were cancelled in July 1943.
Why the Miners Went on Strike
To keep coal production high during the Second World War, the British government created a rule called Order 1305 in 1940. This rule made it against the law for workers to go on strike. They could only strike if the Ministry of Labour didn't try to solve their problem within 21 days. This rule was supported by important groups representing both employers and workers.
Betteshanger was the biggest coal mine in the Kent Coalfield. Thousands of miners worked there, digging coal from about 457 meters (1,500 feet) underground. The mine had a history of workers standing up for their rights. Many miners who started working there after it opened in 1927 had been banned from other mines because of their actions during the big general strike in 1926. The Betteshanger miners had also gone on strike in 1938 to protest how young workers were treated.
The 1942 strike began because the mine owners decided to open a new coal digging area, called No. 2 Face, in November 1941. It was very hard for miners to dig the amount of coal the mine manager wanted, which was about 4 tonnes (4 long tons) per day, from this new area. The mine managers said the miners were working slowly on purpose. But the miners said it was because the working conditions were extremely difficult. The coal seam in No. 2 Face changed a lot, making conditions different every week. Miners said that sometimes the seam was as low as 0.6 meters (2 feet) high. This meant they had to work on their knees in a very small space. They also complained about bad air and broken equipment, which they said took an hour each shift to fix. The miners believed the managers opened this difficult No. 2 Face so they could close off an easier, more productive area called the Eastern Face. They thought the owners wanted to save the easier coal for after the war, when government help might stop.
The mine managers didn't agree with the miners' reasons. Instead of paying the agreed minimum wage, they decided to pay only for the amount of coal actually dug. The miners' union disagreed with this, but they couldn't make progress. Even the union's president and secretary quit because of the problem. The government's Department of Mines agreed to help settle the dispute and sent a lawyer named Sir Charles Doughty to make a decision. Sir Charles was experienced in solving problems in coal mining. On December 19, he decided that the 4-tonne target for No. 2 Face was possible to reach. He also said that the pay per tonne was fair. However, he did suggest an extra bonus of 1 shilling and 1 penny for coal dug from No. 2 Face because of the tough conditions.
The Strike Begins
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The mine managers started paying the lower wages on January 8. When the miners found out, they began their strike the next morning. Some reports say 1,600 miners went on strike, while others say 2,000. This number didn't even include the workers above ground who couldn't work because no coal was being brought up. The strike got a lot of attention. Strikers were interviewed, and many newspapers wrote about it. Most of the news stories were negative, saying the miners were not being patriotic by striking during wartime. The miners disagreed, pointing out that they had kept working even during air raids, including one that hit the mine buildings. They also noted that 250 miners had joined the local Home Guard defense group and continued to do their duties during the strike.
Despite advice from the Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, it was decided to take legal action against the striking miners. There was some confusion because the rule, Order 1305, was written quickly and wasn't very clear. There was a worry that some miners might not have known it was illegal to strike. So, government officers were sent to explain the rule to the miners. The strike continued, and a trial was held in Canterbury on January 23. The miners marched to the court with bands and many women and children. The miners were especially worried about being sent to prison, as this could stop them from finding work at other mines in the future.
The three union leaders involved in the strike faced legal problems for breaking their work contracts and also for breaking Order 1305. The first part of the case focused on whether the miners had acted against their country. But then, the charges were dropped, which meant the miners couldn't respond to the claims. The second part of the case focused on whether the miners had given the required 21 days' notice to the government before striking, not on whether their pay dispute was fair. The leaders were found responsible. One leader was sentenced to two months in prison with hard labor (meaning they had to do difficult work), and the other two received one-month sentences. The 35 miners who worked on No. 2 Face were fined £3, and 1,050 other striking miners were fined £1. If these fines weren't paid, the miners would also face prison with hard labor. One of the imprisoned union leaders, Tudor Davies, was a well-known person in the community and even a local judge himself.
How the Strike Ended
The government received a huge number of letters supporting the strikers, saying that the sentences given by the court were too harsh. Before the trial, some miners had thought about giving up the strike and going back to work. Their families were struggling through a cold winter without coal, which they usually got cheaply from the mine. Some families even had to burn furniture to keep warm. However, the trial and the prison sentences seemed to make the miners even more determined. A vote among the men on January 26 confirmed that the strike would continue into its third week. Other coal mines in the area even held one-day strikes to show support for the Betteshanger workers.
The government was very keen to end the strike. They worried it could spread to other mines and hurt coal production at a very important time during the war. Talks were held at Maidstone Prison between David Rhys Grenfell, who was in charge of mines for the government, Ebby Edwards, a leader of the Mineworkers' Federation, and the three imprisoned union officials. A solution was reached on January 28. The mine owners agreed to pay a minimum wage, as long as the miners agreed to let an independent person decide if managers thought work was being slowed down on purpose. The union officials agreed to this, and the miners also voted to approve the terms. The men went back to work the next day.
The agreement was almost exactly what the miners had originally asked for. Grenfell asked the government to free the three officials. On February 2, after 11 days in prison doing hard labor (like sewing mail bags), the men received a special pardon from King George VI and were released. Out of all the miners who were fined for striking, only nine actually paid their fines. The government found it hard to find enough prison places for everyone else and worried the strike might start again. So, they cancelled all the fines in July 1943. One newspaper at the time claimed the strike caused the war effort to lose about 9,000 tonnes (9,000 long tons) of coal.
What Happened Next
The three officials were the last people to be sent to prison under Order 1305 during the war. Other people might have gone to prison for these types of actions, but only if they didn't pay their fines. The Betteshanger strike was the most talked-about strike during the war and the only one that affected coal mines during World War II. After work started again at Betteshanger, the government purposely limited how much coal the mine could produce. The mine kept its strong tradition of workers standing up for their rights. It was the last mine in the country to go back to work after the big miners' strike of 1984–85. The Betteshanger mine, which was the last one left in Kent, finally closed in 1989.
Order 1305 was not removed until 1951. Even though it was meant to stop strikes, there were actually more strikes between 1940 and 1951 than there were from 1931 to 1939. Because of this, a government report in 1968 used Order 1305 and the Betteshanger strike as an example of how making strikes illegal doesn't always work. However, some experts say that because economic conditions during the time of Order 1305 made strikes more powerful, it's possible there would have been even more strikes without the order. In total, about 109 legal cases were brought against 6,000 workers during World War II, though many of these cases were dropped or the workers were simply told to behave.
