New book revives life of Burton activist with all proceeds to local charities
A new local history book about a forgotten Burton story has gone on sale with all profits going to YMCA Burton and SARAC (Sexual Abuse Rape Advice Centre).
The book, called ‘Friendship, Love & Truth’, is written by journalist Elaine Pritchard and tells the story of Burton man Vale Rawlings and his lifelong fight for justice, fairness and a better life for people in his hometown.
It was launched at Burton library in December and in its first month on sale, £1,000 has already been raised and split 50/50 between the charities.
Vale was born in 1887 and grew up on Bond Street. He had a strong social conscience and supported the Co-operative Movement from his teens.
In 1911 he was instrumental in forming the first Workers’ Union branch in Burton upon Trent and played a key role in securing the first minimum weekly wage for brewery labourers, along with an agreement on maximum working hours.
This put an estimated £30,000 a year extra (worth more than £3 million today) into the pockets of Burton’s working-class families.
In 1914, Vale supported young women from a factory making flypapers on Mosley Street when they went on strike for better pay. While speaking to the girls on their picket line he was arrested by a 6ft police inspector and accused of punching him in the chest. Vale was only 4ft 11ins and an experienced activist and campaigner.
He always denied the assault charge, eyewitnesses swore in court it never happened and his supporters said he had more sense that to hit a police inspector in broad daylight. But Vale was convicted and jailed.
His case was raised several times in Parliament by Keir Hardie and the Labour Party founder travelled to Burton and addressed a crowd of thousands outside the Town Hall. Vale’s case was reported by most newspapers across the country.
In 1917, Vale was jailed again, this time for being a Conscientious Objector and refusing to follow orders. The minimum height for serving in the Army was 5ft 2ins and Vale had congenital heart disease.
Elaine’s book considers the reasons why Vale was conscripted and looks at both cases in detail, drawing on eyewitness accounts and official documents from the time.
The book also explores Vale’s support locally for the votes for women campaign and looks at his time as a local councillor between the wars when he led calls for more council houses, improved sanitation and a Burton bypass.
Speaking at the book launch last month, Catherine Miles of Burton YMCA said the work of SARAC and YMCA was a modern translation of the ideals Vale demonstrated in his life; his commitment to support vulnerable people, his campaign work and his belief in community, social justice and fairness.
Caroline Fotheringham, of SARAC talked about the relevance of Vale’s work today and praised the book for bringing history to life.
She singled out a chapter about a vulnerable woman called Constance Shreeve who Vale tried to help before her tragic death in 1929 in Burton Workhouse. She said the story of Constance was heart-wrenching and so relatable to the work SARAC does today.
‘Friendship, Love & Truth’ also contains the full script of a play Elaine wrote about Vale, called ‘Strikers!’, which was performed at Burton Town Hall in December 2024 and raised £2,156 for the two charities.
The book costs £15.99 and is published by Goldcrest Books. It can be bought by emailing Elaine at [email protected]
Picture: An image of Vale Rawlings taken from a 1914 commemorative postcard issued by the Independent Labour Party to mark Vale’s release from prison. Courtesy of the Vale Rawlings family.