Curly Owen
1959The Newsletter Read the scan at ETOL (PDF) →Title, extent and credit checked against the scan (17 October 2026, from the scan: page 7, headline 'CURLY OWEN' across both columns, unsigned; the split had filed column 1 under the 'Peter Fryer' line of a p. 6 advertisement and column 2 under the headline). The text is machine-read and not corrected: for anything you quote, read the scan.
Curly Owen is a Yorkshire miner employed at Brodsworth Colliery. Several weeks ago he wrote a letter to “The Miner,” a rank-and-file paper published by the Bradford branch of the N.U.M. In his letter he made certain allegations concerning the breaking of safety rules down the pit, and attacked the local union ofilicials for lack of initiative in dealing with complaints. As a result of this letter an enquiry was held at Brodsworth, and following the enquiry large posters were put up all over the pit. The posters claimed that there was no truth in the allegations made, and accused Curly of being “Anti-social” and “Malicious trouble-maker.” The posters were signed by all the branch officials—except three committee men who refused to sign—and the group manager, agent, and under-manager, When the local officials joined forces with the management
to prepare the chopper for Curly’s neck they neglected to take into account the opinions and feelings of the Brodsworth men, On Saturday, November 21, at the Miners’ Welfare Institute, they were called to account by 400 angry Brodsworth miners. For 34 hours they faced a continual barrage of heckling and abuse, and when the local Stalinist on the committee who had put his name to the poster apologized, and said that he “Would never do it again” he was howled down. The President was finally compelled to accept a resolution calling for a ballot vote in the pit. The men will be asked to voie whether the action of the committee was right or wrong. If the feeling of these men is anything to go by, there can be no doubt whatever which way the vote will go.