Who was Vale Rawlings?
Weeks before the outbreak of World War One, Vale Rawlings was a household name. The story of how he was jailed for assault, after supporting striking factory girls on Mosley Street, hit the headlines of newspapers across the country. Was he framed? Many people thought so at the time. Keir Hardie was among MPs who raised his case in the Commons and the founder of the Labour Party came to Burton to campaign for a retrial. Tickets are now on sale for a one-off reading of the new play 'Strikers! The Vale Rawlings Story' at Burton Town Hall on Friday December 6 at 7.30pm.
The 'Flycatcher' girls
A manufacturing chemist business from Derby set up a factory in Mosley Street, Burton upon Trent, during the long, hot summer of 1914. A mostly female workforce, many aged 13-16, were making sticky flypapers. When they learned they were earning a quarter of what women in the Derby factory were earning, they went on strike.
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Vale, a founder member of the Burton branch of the Workers' Union, went down to support them and advise them on how to put their case to the management. On Friday afternoon, June 12, in broad daylight and in full view of local residents and passers-by, Vale was arrested by a local police inspector who claimed the trade unionist had punched him in the chest. Vale was a slightly-built man, just 4ft 11 ins tall. The Inspector was a well-built, 6ft-tall man. Vale always denied the assault and eye witnesses swore in court it didn't happen.
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Colleagues argued that as an experienced trade unionist he would not be so foolish as to punch a police officer. Two police constables backed up their Inspector's story - although none of the three could remember which hand Vale used to strike the Inspector. Eye witnesses said this was because Vale was holding papers in one hand and a pencil in the other when he was alleged to have hit the Inspector.
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The magistrates convicted him of assault as well as a second charge of assaulting a non-striking girl who said he had caught her arm and pushed her into a wall. He refused to pay fines and costs totalling £2 and 10 shillings and opted to go to prison for three weeks. He went on hunger strike and continued to protest his innocence.
This novelty postcard shows how well-known Vale's story was in 1914. A reluctant police officer avoids a street brawl saying it 'ain't no 'Rawlings' job'.
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You can buy a reproduction of this postcard, and three others which you can see on our home page, from our shop on the ko-fi site.
Our grateful thanks go to members of the Vale Rawlings family, including his grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, who have supported this project and generously given their time and their knowledge.
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We are also grateful for the permission to use many photographs from the family collection on this website, social media and in the book about Vale that will follow in 2025.