The Cambrian Colliery Dispute (The Tonypandy Riots)   

In the early twentieth century the Cambrian Combine was one of the most powerful entities in the coal industry in the Rhondda. The clash between this power wielded by the coal owners in the shape of the Combine and that of the workers in the form of the Cambrian Lodge of the South Wales Miners Federation led to one of the bitterest disputes in South Wales' industrial history. Ultimately this dispute led to the incident that has become known in popular history as 'The Tonypandy Riots'.
The dispute originated at the Combines' Ely Pit in Penygraig, owned by the Naval Colliery Company and centred on the management's decision to open up a new seam, the Upper Five Foot or Bute seam. Prior to opening a new seam a test period was mined at the seam to determine its output, and a price was set per ton for the miners who would work the seam. During the test period at this seam in 1909 management alleged workers had deliberately worked slower than they were able, in order to raise the price per ton of the seam when it was actually in production. The workers on their part alleged that it was a particularly difficult seam to work with many 'abnormal places'. Finally the management offered 1s.9.d per ton for workers mining the seam, whereas workers demanded 2s.9.d, arguing that at the price offered they would not be able to mine enough coal to make a reasonable wage.

The two sides in the dispute were deadlocked, and on August 1st 1910 the colliery owners posted lockout notices, not just for the 80 men affected by the dispute over the seam, but for all 800 men employed at the colliery. The lockout began on September 1st 1910. On September 5th the workmen at two other Naval pits came out on strike in sympathy with the workers at Ely Pit, and the other Cambrian and Glamorgan Collieries' workers voted on September 7th to follow a week later. At that time William Abraham MP (Mabon) dissuaded them from this course of action after promising the men a coalfield wide conference to address the issues of the dispute.

At an Executive Council of the South Wales Miners Federation held on September 16th it was recommended that; ' the conference tomorrow to agree that the whole of the workmen employed at the Cambrian Combine be given permission to tender their notices upon the 1st of October next, to terminate their contracts and that a weekly levy be made upon all members of the Federation to provide necessary financial support'. The conference was held next day at Cory hall with 248 delegates representing over 147,000 men and a decision was made to ballot on whether to accept this recommendation or if all the members of the Federation should strike in sympathy with the Cambrian workers. The vote was in favour of providing support for the Cambrian strikers. All workers within the Cambrian combine duly gave the period of notice whilst frantic moves went on to prevent an all out strike. Mabon himself secured an increased offer of 2s1.3d a ton but the Cambrian Lodge also rejected this offer. At the same time D.A Thomas, head of the Combine, attended a meeting of the powerful Coal Owners association in Cardiff, at which time the owners pledged an indemnity to owners of affected pits as well as a promise not to employ striking miners elsewhere within the coalfield.
Thus with battle lines drawn and a hardening of attitudes on both side the strike officially began on the 1st November 1910. The coal owners immediately drew up plans to import labour into the coalfield, and expecting trouble asked the Chief Constable of Glamorgan, Captain Lionel Arthur Lindsay, for increased police protection. This request was acceded to and extra police were drafted in from Swansea, Cardiff and Bristol. On the miners side the Trade Disputes Act of 1906 gave them the right of 'peaceful picketing' and at a meeting on the 7th November the strikers declared 'we intend to prevent any officials from Mr.Llewellyn downward from entering the colliery yards'. Given such an inflammatory mix of thousands of pickets, the threat of imported labour, and increased police presence in the community, together with the ill feeling already engendered by the lockout and strike, trouble was perhaps inevitable. Indeed that Autumn of 1910 was one of the most volatile the mining industry had yet seen, strikes had already broken out in other parts of the coalfield such as Aberdare, and by November nearly one sixth of all miners in South Wales were on strike.

The miners had decided that at 5a.m. on the 7th November all striking miners should demonstrate at their respective pits. At shortly after 5a.m Noah Rees, secretary of the Cambrian Lodge together with W.H.Mainwaring and a 'trumpeter' went through the streets calling the miners to action. In order to prevent anyone from attending work that day, strikers as well as congregating at the entrances to the mines also took up station at all the streets and lanes leading to the mines in order to turn back anyone attempting to get to work.

Miners' wives and children joined their husbands and fathers on this picket duty. The miners' campaign was successful, with work being prevented at all but one of the Cambrian Combine pits, namely the Glamorgan Colliery at Llwynypia which Leonard Llewellyn, its manager, had turned into a 'Fortress'. In addition to picketing to prevent any access to the collieries, miners also forced their way into the Cambrian colliery in order to put out the boiler fires and stop the ventilation fans, thus preventing anyone working in the colliery.
By 10.30 p.m. that evening the one working pit of the Cambrian Combine, Llwynypia was surrounded by striking miners, inside was Leonard Llewellyn, and around sixty officials and draughtsmen of the colliery keeping the machinery of the pit working and the mine free from water. Rumours outside had it that Llewellyn had imported stokers from Cardiff who were acting as 'blackleg' labour. In addition to the workers manning the colliery, the premises also contained Captain Lindsay and over one hundred policeman. This concentration of manpower at Glamorgan Colliery is a testament to the importance of the site to both sides of the dispute, containing as it did the electric generator and pumping station that kept the mines free from water. It was at this power station that the strikers had their first brush with the law, and the events that were subsequently known as the Tonypandy Riots really began. Although the crowd, by now numbering in the thousands on the most part listened to their leader, Will John, and his appeal for calm. A small percentage of the crowd lining the embankment above the power station began stoning the building below and some of the wooden fencing surrounding the colliery was pulled down. Serious disorder ensued with the police and strikers involved in hand to hand fighting, finally the police after repeated baton charges succeeded in driving the crowd away from the colliery site towards Tonypandy just after midnight. At Tonypandy square, between 1 and 2 a.m., fifty constables from Cardiff used truncheons to further disperse the crowds that had subsequently gathered there.


At one o'clock on the morning of the 8th November, Captain Lindsay fearing the scale of the disorder and the possibility of losing control of the situation telegraphed for army reinforcements, Tidworth barracks replied saying that contingents of cavalry and infantry would arrive at Tonypandy at 9a.m. that morning. When they didn't arrive he telegraphed Winston Churchill, the then Home Secretary and stated:'All the Cambrian collieries menaced last night. The Llwynypia Colliery savagely attacked by large crowds of strikers causing many casualties on both sides. Am expecting two companies of infantry and 200 cavalry today.' Unbeknownst to him however, Churchill on finding out about the unapproved troop movements had already stopped the reinforcements at Swindon, fearing some said a repeat of the incidents of 'Bloody Sunday, when in 1887 at Trafalgar Square troops with fixed bayonets faced rioters. He sent a telegram to Lindsay stating, 'infantry should not be used until all other methods have failed'. Instead of the military he sent 70 mounted and 200 other constables of the Metropolitan Police Force as reinforcements to the authorities already in the area. Cavalry were also offered, to be sent into the district as a precautionary measure under the control of General MacReady. Lindsay on hearing of the contingent of Metropolitan Police being sent to his aid refused the use of the cavalry saying the police reinforcements should be sufficient, as such the cavalry were halted at Cardiff.
On Tuesday the 8th November the workmen on strike were paid off by the companies of the Cambrian Combine and proceeded to the Tonypandy Athletic Ground for a mass meeting. The local stipendiary magistrate Lleufer Thomas spoke to the men and read out a message from the Home Secretary who maintained his intent to hold back the soldiers and send only police in to maintain the peace. The tone was conciliatory and was well received by the strikers, promising as it did to arrange meetings with the Board of Trade to resolve the dispute. The miners then formed an orderly procession and proceeded once again to the Glamorgan Colliery, arriving about 4p.m. Within the hour however what was described as 'serious rioting' had once again occurred. Mounted police attempted to disperse the strikers and hand to hand combat between strikers and the police took place lasting over two hours. Finally the police managed to split the strikers into separate groups, some being driven up the valley towards Llwynypia and others down the valley towards Tonypandy. Scores of not hundreds of police and rioters were left injured. It was what happened next that has gone down in history as the Tonypandy Riots. Strikers on being driven to Tonypandy proceeded to smash the shop windows of the town, and also those of a number of private dwellings. Contemporary reports state that of all the shopping district only two shops retained their windows and were not looted by the rioters, one a jewellers which had roller shutters and the other a chemist owned by a former Welsh rugby International. The five constables on duty in Tonypandy at the time, together with dozen reinforcements from the Colliery finally managed to clear the streets. Due to the seriousness of this continued rioting Churchill telegrammed General MacReady stating, 'As the situation appears to have become more serious you should if the Chief Constable or Local Authority desire it move all the cavalry into the district without delay'. Churchill also spoke to Lindsay and MacReady and agreed to send another contingent of 200 Metropolitan policemen leaving London on Wednesday 9th November at 3a.m. However by the time that 150 police arrived at Tonypandy Square at 11p.m. on the Tuesday 8th November the disturbances were over. Although no authentic record exists of casualties of these disturbances, as many of the miners would have refused treatment in fear of being prosecuted for their part in the riots, nearly 80 policemen were injured and over 500 other persons, one Samuel Rhys later dying of his injuries.
Controversy has dogged the history of the Tonypandy Riots with many on the miners side blaming the press, who were seen as being sympathetic to the owners cause, for exaggerating the extent and numbers involved. Indeed Keir Hardy in a parliamentary debate following the riots claimed that the 'window smashing' was the work of less than a hundred, of the thousands of striking miners. He also ascertained that had the police not all been guarding the mine owners' property the disturbance would very quickly have been stamped out.
In the days that followed the riot, local shopkeepers took to closing early in case of a repetition of the troubles of that night, and troops in the shape of the 18th Hussars arrived to take up station at the Llwynypia Colliery. Despite the numbers involved only thirteen miners from Gilfach Goch were prosecuted for their part in the events of the 7th and 8th of November 1910. Their trial was held on the 14th December, for 'intimidating a colliery official,' at Pontypridd. Fearing a repeat of the rioting, the authorities had reinforced the town with 400 policemen, two troops of infantry and a squadron of the 18th Hussars. For the six days of the trial up to 10,000 men, including drum and fife bands marched in procession from the Valley to Pontypridd in support of their colleagues in the dock. Being prevented from entering the town they held mass meetings at the Rocking stone on the Common. On the final day of the trial only 600 men marched to Pontypridd for the verdicts and sentencing. Many staying away to avoid the possibility of being caught up in mass rioting and fighting with the authorities. Of the accused some were sent to Cardiff Prison via a special train for periods ranging from two to six weeks, whilst the others were either fined or discharged.
Although this marked the end of the 'Tonypandy Riots' sporadic violent skirmishes erupted throughout the remaining period of the strike. Thus in April 1911 The Rhondda Leader reported 'Blaenclydach Terror' and relates a number of incidents of strikers intimidating 'blacklegs', stoning the police and the looting of a number of shops as well as the burning down of a local slaughterhouse. The strike finally ended which ended in August 1911, with the workers forced to accept the 2s 1.3d. negotiated by William Abraham MP prior to the strike beginning. The workers actually returning to work on the first Monday in September.
This has been only a brief outline of the events surrounding what has become known as 'The Tonypandy riots', for a more detailed description of these events, recommend reading is 'The Tonypandy riots' by G.Evans and D.Maddox and also 'South Wales Miners, a history of the South Wales Miners federation 1898-1914' by R.Page Arnot.