A Martyr for early worker’s rights movements. He was one of the six agricultural labourers that became known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the other five being George Loveless and his brother James, Thomas Standfield and his son John and James Brine. In 1833 the six who were from Tolpuddle a village in Dorset, England formed a Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers in order to protest against the gradual lowering of agricultural wages. Although their wages had already dropped to seven shillings a week and were due to reduce by a further shilling, they refused to work for less than 10 shillings. In 1834, James Frampton, a magistrate and local landowner in Tolpuddle, wrote to Home Secretary to complain about the union, who recommended Frampton invoked the Unlawful Oaths Act 1797, an obscure law promulgated in response to the Spithead and Nore mutinies which prohibited the swearing of secret oaths. It was known that membership of some societies involves the swearing of secret oaths. The men were arrested, found guilty and sentenced to 7 years’ penal transportation. While serving their sentences in Australia back in England they became popular heroes and 800,000 signatures were collected for their release. Their supporters organised a political march, one of the first successful marches in the United Kingdom, and all were eventually pardoned in March 1836. Although the other five left the colony shortly after, he was detained in Windsor charged with an assault, and did not arrive back until August 1839. The other 5 had initially settled in other parts of England, but eventually emigrated to Canada. He was the only one of the six to return to the village of Tolpuddle and later died in Dorchester workhouse. The story of Tolpuddle has enriched the history of trade unionism and there is a annual festival there, organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) featuring a parade of banners from many trade unions. There is a Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum in the village in front of which is a sculpture of the martyrs, made in 2001. In addition the following places are named in their honour: Tolpuddle Street, Islington, London, Tolpuddle Way, Kirkdale, Liverpool and Tolpuddle Vineyard, Richmond, Tasmania.