The Tonypandy miners' dispute of 1910 was primarily caused by a change in the system of pay. Miners were paid according to the quantity of coal they produced, but if the seam they were working was particularly difficult, then their pay was subsidised with an 'allowance'. The pit owners wanted to discontinue the payment of allowances, and the miners were understandably vexed.

In October 1910, at the Cambrian Combine Colliery, around 800 miners who objected to the new pay system were locked out of the pit. Some 12,000 miners then went on strike, and the ensuing clashes between the strikers and police led to violence and rioting. Soldiers were sent in by the Home Secretary Winston Churchill, and remained there for many weeks. The miners were forced to accept the new terms and returned to work in October 1911.

One miner had lost his life, allegedly from a blow to the head from a police truncheon. It is ironic then that this truncheon was presented to 'S.W' as a reward for his services during that time.