Joe Arrived Dead

About the Book

Joe Arrived Dead is a well researched and intuitive study into the origins of a Yorkshire coal town and the people involved in its inception. It details subsequent events with particular reference to the effects on the communities of Hemsworth and Kinsley and the reactions of named local inhabitants.

Sufficient detail on subjects such as tthe "Board of Guardians", "the Yorkshire Miners Association" and the 'new' "Independant Labour Party" has been given to maintain relevance and perspective, but it is the author's obvious clear and overwhelming intention to place emphasis on the normally forgotten heroes rather than on the often reported few that makes Joe Arrived Dead so refreshing.

Wirtten with energy and humour, the obvious empathy the author has for those he is writing about is apparent throughout; he is convincing in his contention that we can and should all learn from events such as these.

The work will clearly be of great interest not only to local historians and descendants of inhabitants who kindly provided photographs and other materials for inclusion, but to those from geographically distant mining areas and those experienceing struggles in unrelated areas who have witnessed, endured, or been brought up on similar stories of the working man's indomitability against all odds.

About the Author

John Lynas was born in Burnbank, Scotland in 1945; it was in this predominantly mining area that his interest in the plight of the working man was sparked. He became committed to the trade union movement and went on to gain a degree in Economics and Politics after studying at Ruskin College, Oxford and Leeds University. Moving to Hemsworth he was a Town Councillor for Kinsley in the early 1980's when his interest in the birth of the colliery town developed and his research into the subsequent strike began.