Welcome to the SSLH

Founded in 1960, the Society for the Study of Labour History (SSLH) is the UK’s principal organisation dedicated to the study of labour history.

Membership is open to everyone who would like to learn more about labour history and heritage whether on a professional or amateur basis.

The SSLH publishes the journal the Labour History Review, organises regular conferences and actively promotes the preservation of historical resources connected to the labour movement.

What’s new

Documents & objects

Digitised and online: the Labour Union Journal

A late-nineteenth century labour journal once described as ‘the most flourishing organ of the labour movement in the whole country’, has recently been digitised by the British Newspaper Archive. The Bradford Labour Union was a forerunner of the Independent Labour Party, and later the Labour Party. Its organ, The Labour Union Journal, was first published… Continue reading Digitised and online: the Labour Union Journal

Documents & objects

Appeal for help locating a Peace Pledge Union poster

The Peace Museum is looking for help locating a historic poster originally printed by the Peace Pledge Union as part of their upcoming exhibition. The museum, which explores the history and untold stories of peacemakers, reform and peace movements, has issued an appeal to all who may have information about the poster. The museum hopes… Continue reading Appeal for help locating a Peace Pledge Union poster

Labour history news

Rediscovered Peterloo ephemera digitised

Dr Janette Martin (John Rylands Library) has announced the rediscovery, cataloguing and digitisation of a large bound of newspapers, pamphlets and other materials related to the Peterloo Massacre. Historians of the labour movement will be delighted to hear that the University of Manchester has catalogued and digitised a large bound volume of Peterloo related newspapers,… Continue reading Rediscovered Peterloo ephemera digitised

MA & BA bursaries

Cian Ireland (University of York) on worker and trade union responses to deindustrialisation in Wales

Jim Tomlinson has argued that deindustrialisation was the ‘meta-narrative’ of post-war British history. 1 In Wales, its historical economic reliance on extractive industries such as coal and slate saw their decline begin earlier in the twentieth century. Therefore, deindustrialisation has arguably been a ‘meta-narrative’ in Wales for decades longer. My dissertation looks at the history… Continue reading Cian Ireland (University of York) on worker and trade union responses to deindustrialisation in Wales

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