Labour history societies in the North West and North East of England and in Australia have published the 2023 issues of their journals (in the case of Australia’s Labour History, the second issue of the year) with articles looking back to the general election of 1923 that produced the 1924 Labour government, and beyond to the growth of the co-operative movement in the North East. … Continue reading Labour history journals round-up, 2023
If you were not able to be at the Durham Miners Gala in 2023 – or were there and would like to relive the day – you can watch the full fifteen-minute official film of the event on the Gala’s Facebook and YouTube channels from Monday 20 November at 7pm. While you are waiting, here’s the trailer. The is set to premier live on the … Continue reading Durham Miners Gala 2023 official film
The Labour Movement originated not in a single event or location but over time and as the result of events in many places. Among the most important of these was the West Riding of Yorkshire, where the Independent Labour Party was formed in the 1880s. In the second annual John L. Halstead Memorial Lecture, Professor Keith Laybourn spoke on ‘The Rising Sun of Socialism: The … Continue reading Video: The Rising Sun of Socialism and the Labour Movement in West Yorkshire 1884-1914
The 2023 Labour History Review essay prize has been awarded to Manuel Herrera Crespo, PhD researcher at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, for his essay ‘Porque no ha cambiado nada: The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the end of the Cold War’. The judges commented that this was: ‘A well-crafted, persuasive analysis… Meticulously researched.’ The prize includes an award of £500. John Russell, teaching associate at Queen Mary … Continue reading Society names Labour History Review essay prize winners for 2023
Applications for funding in the current round of the BME Small Grants scheme are now open. The deadline for receipt of applications is 5pm on 1 December 2023. The fund aims to support research, events and activities undertaken by BME historians or focused on the histories of BME people The scheme was launched in 2019 in recognition of the under-representation, structural inequalities and racism afflicting … Continue reading Funding round for 2023 BME history projects now open
Vic Clarke reports on the conference ‘Organise! Organise! Organise! Collective Action, Associational Culture and the Politics of Organisation in Britain and Ireland, c1790-1914’ A rainy July day greeted us at Durham for the triumphant start of the Organise! conference, the first dedicated completely to political organisation in Britain and Ireland over the long nineteenth century. Papers ranged the chronological length and geographic breadth of the … Continue reading Organise! Organise! Organise! From messy politics to the paperwork of petitioning and memories of protests
The Annual General Meeting of the Society for the Study of Labour History will take place at 12.15 on Saturday 28 October 2023. All members are welcome. The agenda and other items relating to the AGM can be found in Members’ Resources. The second annual John L Halstead Memorial Lecture will take place in the afternoon. Professor Keith Laybourn will speak on ‘The Rising Sun … Continue reading Society for the Study of Labour History AGM 2023
The West Yorkshire town of Halifax was absolutely at the centre of the great strike wave associated with Chartism in 1842. And in the summer of 2022, the 180th anniversary of these strikes for bread and the ballot were commemorated at events backed by Calderdale Trades Council, the Society for the Study of Labour History and others – to great acclaim. Now there is a … Continue reading Bread not bayonets: Chartism and the strikes of 1842 on film
A new posthumously published article by the late Malcolm Chase appears in the current issue of the Journal of Victorian Culture thanks to the efforts of his family and friends1. It deals with the champion of working-class self improvement Samuel Smiles, and is made available on open access here. The article is based on papers which were never published, but which Malcolm gave in person, … Continue reading Samuel Smiles and working-class politics: a new work from the late Malcolm Chase
Factory magazines enabled independent researcher Lily Ford to uncover women’s experience in the aircraft factories of the First World War, with the help of an SSLH research bursary. My research uncovers the women behind the scenes in British aviation. It offers a new view of the development of flight in Britain from the 1890s to the 1940s, and looks at areas where women were involved … Continue reading ‘Glimpsus Ankli and Veenecki’: catching sight of women workers in First World War aircraft factories
Society for the Study of Labour History 