Peter Heathfield
Peter Heathfield (2 March 1929 – 4 May 2010)[1][2] was a British trade unionist who was general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) between 1984 and 1992, including the period of the miners' strike of 1984/85.
He was born in Somercotes, near Alfreton in Derbyshire, moving to Chesterfield with his family as a child. After leaving school he worked in a colliery drawing office, before starting underground work at the Williamthorpe coal mine. He became active in the North Derbyshire region of the NUM, and the local Labour Party, and attended education courses at Sheffield University's extramural department. He also became a local councillor in Chesterfield, and unsuccessfully sought nomination as a Labour candidate in the 1964 General Election for Ilkeston.[1]
In 1966, he was elected to a full-time post in the NUM, rising to become vice-president of the Derbyshire NUM in 1970 and Derbyshire area secretary in 1973. Although tipped to become national president of the NUM in 1981, he stood aside to support the younger Arthur Scargill as the left-wing candidate.
In January 1984, he was elected general secretary of the NUM, taking over the post in March, five days before the strike began. He backed Scargill's handling throughout the dispute, retiring from the position of general secretary in 1992.[1]
Personal life
He was married to Betty Heathfield, but they separated in 1989 and later divorced. He remarried in 2001.
Death
Peter Heathfield died in 2010, aged 81. He was survived by his second wife and his four children from his first marriage.
References
- ^ a b c Geoffrey Goodman Obituary: Peter Heathfield, The Guardian (website), 4 May 2010
- ^ Paul Haste Obituary Archived 2012-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, Morning Star, 4 May 2010
Trade union offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Herbert Parkin | General Secretary of the Derbyshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers 1973–1984 | Succeeded by Gordon Butler |
Preceded by Lawrence Daly | General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers 1984–1992 | Succeeded by Arthur Scargill |
- v
- t
- e
- 1889 Woods
- 1909 Smillie
- 1912 Harvey
- 1914 House
- 1917 Smith
- 1922 Walsh
- 1924 Richards
- 1929 Eb. Edwards
- 1931 Lee
- 1932 J. Jones
- 1933 Davies
- 1934 Lawther
- 1939 Bowman
- 1950 E. Jones
- 1954 T. Jones
- 1961 Collindridge
- 1963 Bullough
- 1969 Schofield
- 1973 McGahey
- 1987 Thompson
- 1989 Vacant
- 1992 Cave
- 2002 Stanley
- 2010 Wilson
- 2012 Thomas
- 1889 Ashton
- 1919 Hodges
- 1924 Cook
- 1932 Eb. Edwards
- 1946 Horner
- 1959 Paynter
- 1968 Daly
- 1984 Heathfield
- 1992 Scargill
- 1992 Vacant?
- 2002 Kemp
- 2007 Kitchen
- 1889 En. Edwards
- 1904 Abraham
- 1918 Robson
- 1921 Richardson
- Bristol
- Cleveland
- Cokemen
- Colliery Officials and Staffs
- Cumberland
- Derbyshire
- Durham
- Forest of Dean
- Kent
- Lancashire and Cheshire
- Leicestershire
- Midland Counties (Cannock Chase
- North Staffordshire
- Old Hill
- Pelsall
- Shropshire
- Warwickshire
- West Bromwich)
- Northumberland
- North Wales
- Nottinghamshire
- Scotland (Ayrshire
- Fife and Kinross
- Lanarkshire
- Mid and East Lothian
- Mid and West Lothian
- Stirling)
- Somerset
- South Derbyshire
- South Wales
- Yorkshire