Jack W. Smith

Jack W. Smith was a British trade unionist.

Born in Coalville, Leicestershire in 1882 or 1883, Smith worked at Linby Colliery from the age of thirteen. He joined the Nottinghamshire Miners' Association (NMA) and quickly became a key supporter of Herbert Booth, and he joined the British Socialist Party.

Smith later moved to Hucknall, where he stood for the Labour Party in local elections. He frequently came into dispute with the leadership of the NMA and, on one occasion, he broke the windows of their headquarters. Perhaps for this reason, he moved to Ellistown in Coalville, where he was elected agent for the Leicestershire Miners' Association (LMA), replacing Levi Lovett, and he was soon elected onto the executive committee of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), where he was a supporter of A. J. Cook. He organised swimming galas in the town, participating himself.

During the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, and the miners' strike which followed, Smith organised a fundraising caravan tour, where he spoke alongside the comedian Billy Burton. However, this was unpopular with some union members, who felt that he should be more involved in union business in the county. Although he returned, he went on a short awareness-raising tour of Russia in November. Through these activities, he split with the majority of his union's executive, in particular, the right-wing secretary Tom Gowdridge, who had encouraged miners to return to work.

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