Edward Jones (24 February 1896 – 6 February 1978) was a Welsh trade union leader.

Born in Llangollen, in Denbighshire, Jones became an apprentice baker when he was fifteen, but later followed his father and elder brother into coal mining, working at Wynnstay, Gresford and then Llay Main. He joined the North Wales Miners' Association (NWMA), representing Llay Main on its council, and then becoming the union's president.^[1]

General Secretary of the NWMA, Hugh Hughes, died in 1932, and while it was temporarily run by the district executive, in 1934 it finally ran an election for his replacement. Jones defeated president Thomas Jones and Robert Ellis from Hafod to win the post. His first act was to rename the union as the "North Wales and Border Counties Mineworkers' Association". He worked to increase union membership, represented the union at inquiries into the Gresford disaster, and led a largely unsuccessful five-week strike at Bersham. He managed to gradually build up a branch at Point of Ayr, leading eventually to the dissolution of the rival Point of Ayr Industrial Union.^[1]

The NWMA was part of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and in 1944 this became the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), with the NWMA becoming its North Wales Area. This meant less autonomy, but Jones came to greater national prominence, winning election to the national executive committee of the NUM, on which he was known as a right-winger. He was offered a post with the National Coal Board in 1949, but turned it down as it would have meant moving away from Wales.^[1]

By 1954, Jones was the longest-serving member of the NUM's executive, and he won election as the union's vice president. He defeated Alex Moffat to retain the vice-presidency in both 1955 and 1959, and also served a term as secretary of the Miners' International Federation. Following the death of president-elect Alwyn Machen in 1960, Jones spent a few months as acting president of the union, retiring in 1961.^[1]

In his spare time, Jones represented the Labour Party on Wrexham Borough Council, and was also a magistrate.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Keith Gildart, "Jones, Edward ('Ted')", Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol.XIV, pp.188–199

Trade union offices Preceded byHugh Hughes General Secretary of the North Wales Miners' Association 1934–1961 Succeeded byJos Ellis Preceded byErnest Jones Vice-President of the National Union of Mineworkers 1954–1961 Succeeded byFred Collindridge Preceded byErnest Jones Secretary of the Miners' International Federation 1960–1962 Succeeded byDennis Edwards

v t e Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Presidents	1889 Pickard 1904 En. Edwards 1912 Smillie 1922 Smith 1929 Richards 1931 Eb. Edwards 1932 Lee 1934 J. Jones 1939 Lawther 1954 E. Jones 1960 Machen 1960 Ford 1971 Gormley 1982 Scargill 2002 Lavery 2012 Wilson
Vice-Presidents	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
General Secretaries	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
Treasurers	1889 En. Edwards 1904 Abraham 1918 Robson 1921 Richardson
Affiliates and areas	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
Strikes	1893 1912 1926 1969 1972 1974 1984–1985