Cumberland BC: The Cumberlander Articles Section
Local · 21st July 2007
Dwayne Rourke
I have only ever seen one picture of Ginger Goodwin and it clearly depicts a man of peace.
The following article is excerpted with permission from Wikipedia: Albert Goodwin on Wikipedia
Note: Colored text is hyper-linked to other websites.
Albert "Ginger" Goodwin (born Treeton, Yorkshire, England, May 10, 1887 – 27 July 1918) inspired the first General Strike in Canada on August 2, 1918 in Vancouver, British Columbia. This strike preceded the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, an important moment in Canadian labour history.
Goodwin was a coal miner for most of his life. He mined in England, in Nova Scotia, and on Vancouver Island. It appears that the vicious coal strike on Vancouver Island in 1912-13 radicalized Goodwin's views. In the process he moved around in mining and union jobs. Ginger was elected Vice-President of the British Columbia Federation of Labour in 1917 and secretary of the Trail Mill and Smeltermen's Union, Local 105 of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. Ginger also ran unsuccessfully for the Socialist Party of Canada in Trail in 1916.
In the First World War, Ginger was examined and considered temporarily unfit for military duty because he was suffering from miner's Black Lung and bad teeth. The conscription board reversed its decision after Ginger led the strike at the Trail, B.C., lead/zinc smelter in 1917 for the eight hour day. As a pacifist opposed to the war, Ginger fled Cumberland for the bush where he successfully avoided capture for some months with the aid of his fellow workers from Cumberland.
Hunted by the police, Goodwin was located near his camp in the Vancouver Island mountains by the Dominion Police. Deputy Dan Campbell killed Goodwin in the hills surrounding Cumberland, British Columbia on July 27, 1918 for evading the World War I draft. Goodwin was given a large funeral, but Campbell, who claimed he fired in self-defense, was never tried for the death. His killing sparked the Vancouver general strike.
The Ginger Group, a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who split in 1924 and advocated socialism, were named after Ginger. The new highway near Cumberland was briefly named for Goodwin, though the resulting removal of the name signs indicates the continuing controversy over Goodwin's death and legacy.
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Further references to Ginger Goodwin:
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
Article: GINGER' KNEW WHAT SIDE HE WAS ON
Miner's Memorial Day Video Clips
The following article is excerpted with permission from Wikipedia: Albert Goodwin on Wikipedia
Note: Colored text is hyper-linked to other websites.
Albert "Ginger" Goodwin (born Treeton, Yorkshire, England, May 10, 1887 – 27 July 1918) inspired the first General Strike in Canada on August 2, 1918 in Vancouver, British Columbia. This strike preceded the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, an important moment in Canadian labour history.
Goodwin was a coal miner for most of his life. He mined in England, in Nova Scotia, and on Vancouver Island. It appears that the vicious coal strike on Vancouver Island in 1912-13 radicalized Goodwin's views. In the process he moved around in mining and union jobs. Ginger was elected Vice-President of the British Columbia Federation of Labour in 1917 and secretary of the Trail Mill and Smeltermen's Union, Local 105 of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. Ginger also ran unsuccessfully for the Socialist Party of Canada in Trail in 1916.
In the First World War, Ginger was examined and considered temporarily unfit for military duty because he was suffering from miner's Black Lung and bad teeth. The conscription board reversed its decision after Ginger led the strike at the Trail, B.C., lead/zinc smelter in 1917 for the eight hour day. As a pacifist opposed to the war, Ginger fled Cumberland for the bush where he successfully avoided capture for some months with the aid of his fellow workers from Cumberland.
Hunted by the police, Goodwin was located near his camp in the Vancouver Island mountains by the Dominion Police. Deputy Dan Campbell killed Goodwin in the hills surrounding Cumberland, British Columbia on July 27, 1918 for evading the World War I draft. Goodwin was given a large funeral, but Campbell, who claimed he fired in self-defense, was never tried for the death. His killing sparked the Vancouver general strike.
The Ginger Group, a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who split in 1924 and advocated socialism, were named after Ginger. The new highway near Cumberland was briefly named for Goodwin, though the resulting removal of the name signs indicates the continuing controversy over Goodwin's death and legacy.
_____________________________
Further references to Ginger Goodwin:
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
Article: GINGER' KNEW WHAT SIDE HE WAS ON
Miner's Memorial Day Video Clips
