Mary Macarthur 1880 - 1921
Mary was at the centre of the 1910 Cradley Heath women chainmakers' battle for their right to a minimum wage. It was only one of many, up and down the country, that she fought and won. A woman of strong socialist convictions, her greatest strength lay in her powers of persuasion and the ability to communicate with everyone from the aristocracy to the poorest of workers. She inspired everyone she met. Joseph Mallon, one of Mary's contemporaries, said of her, "Breathlessness is her dominant characteristic. She is always at top speed. She whirls from meeting to meeting, strike to strike, congress to congress, the street shouting behind the dust and rattle of her car."
Charles Sitch 1887 - 1960
Charles Sitch took a leading role in the 1910 Cradley Heath women chainmakers' strike. He was the son of a prominent trade unionist, Thomas Sitch. He followed in his father's footsteps, and through the Trade Union Movement, and later as a Labour Member of Parliament, he served the interests of Black Country people for many years. His distinguished public service ended abruptly, in disgrace, in 1933.
Other Key Personalities
Mary Macarthur and Charles Sitch were only two of many people involved in the 1910 strike and subsequent building of the Cradley Heath Workers' Institute. This section tells the story of just some of them.