One o
f the most interesting stories from the early days is about The Tolpuddle Martyrs – particularly interesting because of the Australian connection!
The Tolpuddle Martyrs is name the given to a group of English labourers who were part of one of the earliest trade unions in the world. Originating is the small town of Tolpuddle, England, this group of workers are a significant part of trade union history.
In 1830 the wage of an agricultural labourer was nine shillings (which would only be enough to buy a family enough bread for a week, let alone other food, rent and goods. Ref: http://www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/story_before_wages.htm )
In the following years their wage was reduced to eight shillings, and then to seven and in 1834 it went down to a mere six shillings. This was an extremely low wage and many found this too hard to live off. Their diet was basic - tea, bread and potatoes. As a result, the people were badly nourished.
It was for these reasons, that sometime between 1831 and 1833, that the men of Tolpuddle decided to stand up for their rights and formed a union. They called it the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers (FSAL).
The union began to grow and after gaining more and more members, they decided they were powerful enough to stop work, demanding that they be paid 10 shillings a week before they would return.
Their strike created a lot of interest throughout rural southern England. In March 1834 this caused the Government to arrest six of the FSAL members - James Brine, James Hammett, George Loveless, James Loveless (George's brother), George's brother in-law, Thomas Standfield and his son, John Standfield.
The six were arrested for unlawful assembly and charged with 'administering unlawful oaths'. The Unlawful Oaths Act had been passed in 1797 to deal with a navy officers rebelling against authority. It was for breaking this law that they were brought to trial.
The jury found them all guilty as charged. The judge, under pressure from the Government, sentenced the six men to seven years transportation to the penal colony in New South Wales, Australia, 'not for anything they had done, but as an example to others'.
However the six men had became popular heroes with the public, and a large protest movement formed. One of their supporters, Lord John Russell, argued to the prime Minister for their release. In his statement he said ‘that if being members of a secret society and administering secret oaths was a crime, the reactionary Duke of Cumberland as head of the Orange Lodges was equally deserving of transportation.’
In March 1836, in the face of public outcry and pressure, the Government was forced to cancel the mens’ sentences and they were set free.
After their release, most of the men moved on. Only one of the six, James Hammett settled again in Tolpuddle, where he died in 1891. Among the others, three migrated to Canada, where John Standfield eventually became the Mayor of his district.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs contributed a proud chapter in the history of Trade Unionism. In 1934 on the centenary of their trial, The Trades Union Congress (the peak organisation representing unions nationally in Britain and internationally around the world) built six memorial cottages in the village and founded the Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum.
The house of Thomas Standfield, where the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers met, can still be seen in the village. The Dorchester court, built in 1796/7, in which the Martyrs were tried is now open to the public.
Once a year, in July the village is host to a major gathering and march of Trades Union members.
Some relevant websites
Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum Dorset website Brittannia website