South Wales Miners Federation

Papers and pamphlets relating to the South Wales Miners' Federation, including: Correspondence regarding the settlement of individual wage disputes, 1913-1914 (four letters); Bethesda Support Fund for the 1895-1897 strike: yearly report; the South Wales Wages Agreement, 22 Apr 1910; the Lodges of the Anthracite district: Appeal for Financial Support from the Abercrave and International Workmen.

The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF) or 'The Fed' as it was sometimes known was founded in 1898. William Brac of the South Wales branch of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) became Vice-President, and the Lib-Lab MP for the Rhondda William Abraham (1842-1922), who was prominent within the Cambrian Miners' Association, became the President. Abraham was also Teasurer of the MFGB. He was often referred to as 'Mabon' (Welsh for the bard) by miners. A few months after its founding the SWMF became affiliated with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. In 1899 it had 100,000 members, and by 1914 it had 200,000, making it the largest group affiliated to the MFGB. It became the largest unit within British coalmining unionism. In 1912 the SWMF secured a minimum wage for coalminers by advocating the first Britain-wide coal strike. However, the failure of the 1926 General Strike saw a decline in the SWMF's membership from 136,000 to 60,000 by 1932. Relevant publications include: The Fed: A History of the South Wales Miners in the Twentieth Century (1980) by Hywel Francis and Dai Smith.

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