Born in Tolpuddle on 11^th December 1811, James Hammett was raised a poor labourer. Of the six Tolpuddle Martyrs, Hammett had been the only one who had been to prison before. In 1829, aged 17, he had been arrested and convicted of stealing a piece of iron. Possibly working with another man, Richard Riggs, both were sentenced to four months hard labour at Dorchester Prison.

Hard labour at Dorchester Gaol consisted of tough and aimless tasks. Some prisoners would walk on a treadmill for hours at a time, while others would be forced to pick oakum, separating individual fibres from lengths of rope. These tasks were also intended to be painful for the prisoner, giving James Hammett some insight into the punishment that was to come.

Once released, Hammett returned to working in Tolpuddle for pitiful wages. Working for a wealthy landowner, Squire James Frampton, the labourers of Tolpuddle had received wage cuts from 9 shillings down to 7 shillings per week (with threats of further reductions). The amount needed to sustain an average sized family in the 1800s was estimated at 13 shillings per week.

It was because of this that the labourers of Tolpuddle came together to form, what they called, the ‘Friendly Society’. The aim of this group was to approach Squire Frampton, asking for better wages and conditions. James Hammett joined, along with this brother John whose wife was had just become pregnant.

What happened next, the arrest of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and their trial, would become nationally and internationally significant. To learn more about the arrest and trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, please click here.

After spending three days and three nights in a cell at Shire Hall following their trial, the Martyrs were sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. Five of the men were moved to Portsmouth on 27^th March 1834 to be placed upon the prison hulk ‘York’.

Prison hulks were out of date warships, no longer fit for service, used to house prisoners. Consisting of three decks which could hold between 500-600 people each, those aboard were bound in heavy iron chains. In such a tight condition, diseases such as scrofula, cholera, and smallpox spread like wildfire.

Conditions onboard the convict ships were not much better. The six men had to live and sleep in berths 5ft 6 inches square, and were only released for two hours twice a day for fresh air and exercise. With non-existent hygeine arrangements in the berths, plus sickness and overcrowding, the conditions were awful. Many people died on the voyage, with the odds of surviving the journey being one in three.

Hammett went ashore on the 4^th September 1834. Him and his fellow Martyrs (aside from George Loveless who was yet to journey to Australia) were held in the penal barracks at Sydney. The men were essentially auctioned off to different landowners and masters, who were said to pay only £1 for each man. Separated, they would be forced to different areas of Australia to work.

Sent to Woodlands Farm on the Molomglo Plains, Hammett underwent a 400-mile journey, supplied with 22 days rations to get him there. The journey, unsurprisingly, took longer than 22 days, with Hammett suffering from painful feet from his time on the prison hulk.

Once at Woodlands Farm, he was assigned to work for a man named Edward John Eyre. Unlike some of the other Martyrs, Hammett struck some luck with his employer. A humanitarian, Eyre had been appointed as protector of aborigines in Southern Australia and had some consideration for those in his workforce. Although the exact work that Hammett carried out is unknown, it likely that his prospects were made slightly brighter by his employer.

Eventually, after a wave of support back in England, the Tolpuddle Martyrs were granted unconditional pardons on the 14^th March 1836. It would not be until 1839, however, that Hammett returned to England. Disappearing from the records for a while, he had been sent to Windsor Penal Settlement, serving an 18-month prison sentence for assault. The particulars of this case aren’t known; however, this delayed Hammett’s release and return. He would finally embark on his return journey five years and five months after his original conviction.

When he returned home, Hammett chose not to remain with the other Martyrs, who had purchased an 80-acre farm in the village of Greensted, just north of London. The land was bought using money donated to the ‘Friendly Society’ whilst the six men were in Australia. Hammett, however, returned to Tolpuddle, choosing a life of relative obscurity.

Becoming a builder’s labourer, Hammett did not write about his experiences while serving his sentence. It wasn’t until 1875 that he was pulled into the light once more. Over 2000 people attended a large ceremony in Braintspuddle, near Tolpuddle, to commemorate the sacrifice and importance of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to the unionist’s story. Organised by the Agricultural Labourers’ Union, Hammett was presented an illuminated testimonial, a purse of gold sovereigns, and a gold pocket watch. These gifts represented, in their words: “the esteem and regard in which you [James Hammett] are held by us as one of the Early Martyrs to the cause of Unionism”.

It was at this ceremony when Hammett finally spoke about the fateful night the six men had been arrested. There had never been any proof that James Hammett had attended the ceremony of the spy, Edward Legg. George Loveless had also denied that James was at the ceremony at all. There was, however, another Hammett in attendance that night. James’ brother, John Hammett, had been there when the illegal oath took place.

There are different theories as to why James took his brother’s place. One is that John Hammett’s wife had recently become pregnant, so to ensure that she wouldn’t be left to raise her family alone, James took responsibility for the actions of his brother. There are, however, some discrepancies around this theory. It could have been more simple, that James just wanted to protect his brother.

Whatever the reason, by taking his brother’s place James protected him from the fate of transportation to Australia.

His devotion towards his family remained a constant throughout his life. Not wishing to be a burden as he got older, Hammett moved himself to the workhouse, were he passed away on the 21^st November 1891. He was buried in St. James Church, Tolpuddle, where his gravestone is visited every year during the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and Rally by leaders of local trade unions.

James Hammett’s experiences throughout his conviction in Australia showed tremendous courage but also compassion for his family and those around him. At the ceremony in 1875 commemorating Hammett’s contribution to the Trade Union movement, Hammett said:

“It appears a great deal better than what I got 41 years ago. Isn’t that better than having seven years put on you, and that for a wrong cause? We only tried to do good to one another, the same as you’re doing now”.