University of Nottingham special collections

We are delighted to have been able to add a page to our Archives and Resources Committee listings for the University of Nottingham. The university’s Manuscripts and Special Collections include collections from the Institute for Workers’ Control, the Feminist Archive (East Midlands), the Nottingham Clarion Choir, Nottingham and District Trades Union Council, and the papers of individual activists including Ken Coates MEP, Fred Westacott, and … Continue reading University of Nottingham special collections

Cash boost for working-class history projects

Historic England has announced funding for 56 new working-class history projects over the next two years. Awards under the £875,000 Everyday Heritage Grants programme range from £6,800 to £25,000 per individual project. Among those to receive funding are the Tolpuddle Old Chapel Trust, which gets £9,978 for its Tolpuddle Family Lives: A People’s Heritage project, and LGBT+ Northern Social Group, which gets £10,940 for Pink Triangles and … Continue reading Cash boost for working-class history projects

Labour history books in paperback

Two more books in the Studies in Labour History series will soon be published in paperback. The series is published by the Society in association with Liverpool University Press and currently includes nineteen books. Workers of the Empire, Unite: Radical and Popular Challenges to British Imperialism, 1910s-1960s, by Yann Béliard and Professor Neville Kirk, is due out on 1 March 2024. An important contribution to … Continue reading Labour history books in paperback

Small grants scheme backs six BME history projects

Six awards have been made in the latest funding round for BME history projects. Administered by the Social History Society, the BME small grants scheme is a partnership between the the SHS, Society for the Study of Labour History, the Economic History Society, History UK, History of Education Society (UK), History Workshop Journal, Royal Historical Society, and Women’s History Network. It was set up in … Continue reading Small grants scheme backs six BME history projects

E.P. Thompson at 100: the personal and political

Had he lived to see it, Edward Palmer (E.P.) Thompson would have turned 100 on Saturday 3 February. To mark the occasion Calderdale TUC, with support from the Society for the Study of Labour History, Yorkshire CND, Calderdale National Education Union, and the Independent Working Class Education Network, organised a celebratory commemorative event. The venue, Trinity Sixth Form Academy, located in the town centre of … Continue reading E.P. Thompson at 100: the personal and political

Border Mills: Lives of Peeblesshire Textile Workers

The 2024 Ian MacDougall Memorial Lecture takes place at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh – Thursday 4 April 2024, 5 pm. It will be delivered by Caroline Milligan. Based on a series of oral history interviews made by the late Ian MacDougal with mill workers between 1996 and 2004, Border Mills: Lives of Peeblesshire Textile Workers is a new book that … Continue reading Border Mills: Lives of Peeblesshire Textile Workers

Alex Doyle (Leeds) on the Cuban labour movement’s opposition to colonialism and imperialism, 1898-1914

Having spent a long time studying Cuba from afar, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to visit and experience the country beyond the written word. My research looks at workers’ movements and imperialism in early twentieth century Cuba. With the help of funding from the Society for the Study of Labour History, I was able to visit the country to consult new archival material, … Continue reading Alex Doyle (Leeds) on the Cuban labour movement’s opposition to colonialism and imperialism, 1898-1914

Society urges government to drop ‘elitist’ and ‘foolhardy’ plan to destroy historic wills

The Society for the Study of Labour History is calling on the Ministry of Justice to drop plans which would see the destruction of millions of original wills dating as far back as 1858. In a written response to the government’s consultation exercise, the Society argues that the plan is both elitist and flawed. Jump to our response. The proposals were put forward by the … Continue reading Society urges government to drop ‘elitist’ and ‘foolhardy’ plan to destroy historic wills

One hundred years on: the first Labour government

One hundred years ago today, the first Labour Government took office. Led by James Ramsay MacDonald as prime minister and foreign secretary, the men (though no women) in its ranks included former coal miners and textile workers, a railwayman, an iron founder, and even a labour historian. Many had worked for decades on behalf of the Independent Labour Party or their trade union before entering … Continue reading One hundred years on: the first Labour government

Inside the archive of Labour MP Ann Clwyd

Rob Phillips outlines the work of the Welsh Political Archive to make a huge archive donated by the former Labour MP Ann Clwyd, who died in 2023, available to researchers. Ann Clwyd, former Labour MP for the Cynon Valley, enjoyed a long and colourful political career. Prior to her election at a by-election in 1984 she had been a Member of the European Parliament for … Continue reading Inside the archive of Labour MP Ann Clwyd