THOMAS ASPINWALL – Miners Agent
I first became interested in Thomas Aspinwall when a family member tracing our ancestry discovered that contrary to information passed down from the previous generation my paternal grandmother’s surname at birth was Aspinwall. I was already aware of the Skelmersdale, Bickerstaffe, Rainford link and had just seen the Aspinwall memorial tablet in Wigan Infirmary with similar connections. It turned out that Thomas Aspinwall was my grandmother’s uncle and naturally I became intrigued to find out more about this apparently great man, a family member you could be proud of. This is a rather sketchy precis of his story.
Thomas Aspinwall was born in Bickerstaffe in 1846 the younger of three sons of James and Margaret Aspinwall. Some time before 1860 his family moved to Skelmersdale and in 1861 were living at 43 Sandy Lane there, his immediate family were:-
He went to work at the age of 14 in the collieries of Messrs. Bromilow Forster and Co. being elected the miners check-weighman in 1873. In 1880 after a strike, the mine owners objected to his return to work because of his advocacy on behalf of the men. The employer’s right to dismiss the check-weighman was contested but the local magistrates upheld the employer’s contention that according to the act of 1872 Aspinwall, although properly elected could not enforce his claim to act as check-weighman as he was not employed at the mine at which he was elected. Cases like this led to the amending act of 1887, which allowed the men to choose any person they thought fit to act as their check-weighman. Meanwhile Aspinwall was chosen miner’s agent for Skelmersdale and became a member of the Skelmersdale Local Board. In 1887 he was chosen to succeed William Pickard as agent to the Wigan, Pemberton, Standish, Aspull and Blackrod Miners’ Union, he also became Vice President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miner’s Permanent Relief Fund. In the same year he was appointed Overseer of the Township and retained his membership of the Skelmersdale Board. A keen reformer he was a strong supporter of the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan from its inception becoming a vice president.
He was a very skilled communicator and tireless in pursuit of improved conditions and safety in the mines, and protecting miners from the worst extremes of market forces. Very active in the Miners Federation the forerunner of the present trade union he regularly addressed meetings of miners and their representatives in all parts of the country, in 1891 addressing the International Miners conference in Paris and giving evidence to the Royal Commission on mining royalties. Also in 1891 he was accepted as the liberals labour candidate for Wigan and unsuccessfully contested two elections in 1892 and 1895.
Thomas Aspinwall died aged 54 at his home in Skelmersdale in 21st March 1901, he is buried in the local parish church of St Paul there, where he had been a regular attender and sidesman. His grave is marked with a large marble obelisk reflecting his standing in the community at the time of his death. Very large numbers including dignitaries from all walks of life are reported to have attended the funeral, which was delayed until the early evening to allow working miners to pay their respects.
A memorial tablet to his memory was commissioned from J Alberti of Manchester and erected at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in 1903, it can still be seen in a quiet corridor there today. The inscription reads:-
Source: "THE MINERS" A History of the Miner’s Federation of Great Britain 1889 – 1910 by R Page Arnott
Mr Brighouse, county coroner at a colliery inquest at St. Helens on Friday morning said he wished to express his deep regret at the death of Mr. Thomas Aspinwall of Skelmersdale, the miners' agent of the Wigan district. It was always a pleasure to him to have the interest of the miners looked after at his inquiries by an accredited representative, and Mr. Aspinwall carried out the duties of his office most efficiently and well, and showed no signs of partisanship; and if all interests were represented as he represented the interests of the miners and in that judicial and calm manner which was part of his nature, he felt certain there would be nothing to complain about. He regretted very much that an able man had gone from them.
Mr. Hall, the Government inspector, endorsed all the coroner said. He had met Mr. Aspinwall a great many times, and he was always struck by his shrewdness and impartiality, and his general fairness of all that he had to consider.
MINERS FEDERATION AND THE LATE AGENT
At the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, held in Manchester on Saturday, Mr. S. Woods in the chair, a resolution of sympathy with the family of Mr. Thomas Aspinwall, miners' agent for the Wigan and Skelmersdale districts, was adopted. A special deputation was appointed to represent the Federation at the interment.
THE FUNERAL
The funeral of the deceased gentleman took place on Monday afternoon amid signs of universal mourning and respect. Seldom, indeed, if ever, has Skelmersdale witnessed such a scene as that which was enacted when all that was mortal of its distinguished townsman was laid to rest in the graveyard of the old Parish Church, at which, in life, the deceased had been a frequent attendant and had been honoured with the position of warden, The interment had been delayed until late in the afternoon, so that the men that the deceased had so ably and zealously represented whilst with them might follow him after their day's work was done to the grave. And that this policy was a wise one was demonstrated by the long line of something like six hundred miners of the Skelmersdale district who joined in the funeral procession. These men wore, as a buttonhole, a white and black rosette, and the effect was most solemn. But the last tokens of respect were not confined to any one section of the community, for the elements of mourning were manifest on every hand. All along the route of the cortege, from the residence of the deceased to the graveyard, places of business were closed, and the windows of the houses were draped with drawn blinds, while a double line of eager and sympathising spectators marked the way of the dead in the streets, and quite a multitude of followers thronged the neighbourhood of the church, The long procession of mourners was headed by two local brass bands who played funereal music to the grave. It was a sad and solemn spectacle.
There were something like fifty representatives from the Wigan district, and these for the most part journeyed from Wigan to Skelmersdale in coaches. The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, of which the late miner's agent was a valued member, was represented by Messrs. Sam Woods (president), T Ashton (secretary), R Isherwood J.P. (treasurer), T Greenall (miners' agent Pendlebury), T Glover (miners' agent St Helens), Jesse Butler (Manchester), E Hickman (Pemberton), J Davies, W Jones, C Collier, S Heaton, J Taylor, D Macgowan, W Gallimore and W Siddall. The Wigan Miners' Association was represented by Messrs. Edwin Yates (president), Joseph Parkinson (secretary), Thos. Partington (treasurer), Emmanuel Taylor, Joseph Freer, C Collier, S Heaton and others. Messrs. George Sutherland J.P., John Hayworth, J Foster, J Fishwick, G Barton, Noah Hodgkinson, W Kersley, all of Wigan , were present. The Pemberton Miners sent Messrs. J Cheetham J.P. (secretary), Jonathan Banks, William Briant, John Atherton, John Taberner, William Black, Thomas Wilcock, George Stevens, Thomas Smallshaw, Alex Simm, and Joseph Cowley as their representatives, and the Park Lane Miners were represented by Mr. William Catterall, the Blackrod Miners by Mr. George Worthington, and others, the Standish miners by Messrs, Robert Simm (president), John Davies (secretary), W Harrison, and John Davies, and among other representatives were R Latham (Skelmersdale secretary), D McGowan (Blackburn), J Taylor (Pendlebury), J Davies (Standish), W Gallimore (Tyldesley), W Siddall (Hyde), Mr J Knowles of Messrs. Pearson and Knowles, Ince and Mr Will Taberner, secretary of the Wigan Infirmary, of which institution the deceased was a vice president, were also in attendance, and amongst others present were Superintendent R Jervis, Inspector Barnes, Dr. O'Reilly, Messrs. Paul Lea, J A Aspinwall, W T Egan, W Rotherham J Hall, H Hunter, J Pearce, J Phillipson, P Dickkinson, T Hulme, J Butcher, H Vallis, R Mercer, W Corns, J Corns, M Hallet, W Garner, T Ashcroft, R Cottom, R Kirkpatrick, P Loughran, J Ramsey. The various local bodies, such as the District Council upon which the deceased had served in a representative capacity, were well represented. The Miners' New Permanent Relief Society was represented by Messrs. R Roughley (president), E Walkden (secretary), John Norcross (treasurer) and Wm. Blackledge.
The chief mourners were Mr John Aspinwall, Mr Thomas Aspinwall, Mr James Aspinwall and Mr Robert Aspinwall sons of the deceased; Mr. J Lawrenson, Mr. Thomas Roughley and Mr R Marsh brothers in law, and Inspector Fyfe. The funeral service was fully choral and the officiating clergy in the church and at the graveside were the Rev J. J. Hulley vicar, the Rev D Greene, the Rev S Gasking, and the Rev W Skone. The funeral took place about six o'clock.
Among those who sent wreaths and floral tributes were the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners Federation, and the Wigan, Blackrod, Standish, and Pemberton Miners' Associations; Skelmersdale Miners' Permanent Relief Society, Crown Tontine Society, workmen of the Rainford Colliery and others.
Transcribed from the Wigan Observer 27 th March 1901.