The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Nottinghamshire, England.
A Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was founded in the 1860s, but became moribund by the 1870s, although some branches remained active, including trade unionists such as Samuel Smith, Aaron Stewart and William Hardy. In 1881, they constituted a new Nottingham Miners' Federation based on the rules of the old union, and by 1884 membership had risen to more than 2,000. That year, two unsuccessful strikes took place and membership halved. In response, the union elected new officials and adopted a new name, the "Nottinghamshire Miners' Association", and constitution.Alan R. Griffin, A History of the Nottinghamshire Miners, Part I, pp.11-39 In 1889, the Association was a founder member of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain.Alan R. Griffin, A History of the Nottinghamshire Miners, Part I, p.64
In 1926, at the height of the General Strike, General Secretary George Alfred Spencer, on behalf of the Nottinghamshire Miners Association, negotiated a deal with the local mine owners which brought him into conflict with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, who wished to see the strike continue. Unhappy with the influence of the MFGB, Spencer led a breakaway from the NMA, supported by moderates such as John Hancock, setting up the Nottinghamshire and District Miners' Industrial Union (NMIU) based mostly in The Dukeries. The NMIU lasted for eleven years separate from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. In 1937, an agreement was reached between the NMA and the NMIU and they merged to form the Nottinghamshire Miners' Federated Union, with Spencer becoming the President.
In 1945, the union became the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. Following the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the majority of members broke away to form the Union of Democratic Mineworkers.
Presidents 1881: Joseph Allen 1883: Joseph Hopkin 1884: Charles West 1888: Aaron Stewart 1897: William Hardy 1899: John E. Whyatt 1907: Charles Bunfield 1909: William Carter 1910: John E. Whyatt 1912: George Alfred Spencer 1918: Frank Varley 1929: Bill Bayliss 1930: Val Coleman 1932: Herbert Booth 1937: Bernard Taylor 1937: George Alfred Spencer 1945: Bill Bayliss 1952: E. J. Ley 1956: Alf Eggleshaw 1957: Jack Tighe 1971: Len Clarke 1979: Ray Chadburn Keith Stanley
General Secretaries 1881: William Kay 1884: Aaron Stewart 1887: William Bailey 1893: John Hancock 1897: Aaron Stewart 1910: Charles Bunfield 1914: 1918: George Alfred Spencer 1926: William Carter 1932: Val Coleman 1945: Herbert Booth by 1955: Albert Martin 1971: Len Martin 1977: Joe Whelan 1983: Henry Richardson
References