Herbert William Wynn (12 September 1901 – 22 February 1966) was an English

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and politician. Wynn left school at the age of thirteen to work at the

Moorgreen Moorgreen is a hamlet in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is north west of London, north west of the city of Nottingham, and north east of the nearest town Eastwood. It is a linear settlement within the civil parish o ...

Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

. He was a prominent activist during the

1926 UK General Strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government ...

, but was subsequently victimised and had to leave

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. In 1927, he found work at the Coppice Colliery, where he was soon elected as

checkweighman {{Short description, Occupation within mining, especially coal A checkweighman (occasionally checkmeasurer or checkweigher) is a person who is responsible for weighing coal or another mined substance, and thereby determining the payment due to each ...

. He was also active in the Labour Party, and served on

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

for three years from 1927, while also chairing

Heanor Heanor (/ˈhiːnə/) is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. It lies north-east of Derby and forms, with the adjacent village of Loscoe, the civil parishes in England, civil parish and town council-administered area of He ...

District Labour Party, and being vice-president of the

Ilkeston Ilkeston ( ) is a town located in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, England, with a population of 40,953 at the 2021 census. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/textiles, have now all but disappeared. Part of t ...

Divisional Labour Party.J. E. Williams, ''The Derbyshire Miners'', p.867 Wynn objected to

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

's policies and, in protest, he resigned from Labour in 1929 and joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

(CPGB). He subsequently became chair of both the CPGB's Chesterfield area, and its East Midlands district. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wynn was prominent in the "Aid to Russia" campaign, and this raised his profile in the

Derbyshire Miners' Association The Derbyshire Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1880 to represent coal miners in northern Derbyshire, as a split from the South Yorkshire Miners' Association. Although it initially aimed to ...

(DMA). He won election to its executive in 1942, beating

Harold Neal Harold Neal (3 July 1897 – 24 August 1972) was a British Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Clay Cross from a 1944 by-election to 1950, and after boundary changes, for Bolsover from 1950 until his retirement in 19 ...

. The following year, he won the post of treasurer of the DMA, then in 1947 he became general secretary of the reconstituted

Derbyshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers The Derbyshire Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1880 to represent coal miners in northern Derbyshire, as a split from the South Yorkshire Miners' Association. Although it initially aimed t ...

. By the mid-1950s, Wynn had become disillusioned with the CPGB, and he resigned from the party in 1956, following the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

. He rejoined the Labour Party, and served as secretary of the Derbyshire miners until his death in 1966."Mr Bert Wynn", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 23 February 1966

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wynn, Bert 1901 births 1966 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Members of Derbyshire County Council English miners English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors British trade union leaders