Author: EditorMC

I am a former journalist by trade, turned labour and family historian with a special interest in Chartism. I launched the Chartist Ancestors website since 2003, and am currently a member of the Society for the Study of Labour History executive committee, managing its website and social media in my free time.
Books etc

Book: Minutes of Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades Union Council

“All help possible will be given”: The complete Minutes of the Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades Union Council, 1895 – 1919. Transcribed by Bernadette Hyland, edited by Michael Herbert. Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades Union Council was set up in 1895 and continuing in existence until 1919 when it merged with the men’s trades council to form a single body. During its quarter of a … Continue reading Book: Minutes of Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades Union Council

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Labour history news, SSLH news

ILHS marks fifty years of Saothar

The Irish Labour History Society has marked the publication of the fiftieth volume of its journal, Saothar, with an event at the Irish Labour history Society Archives and Museum in Dublin. Guest speaker was Dr Joan Allen, chair of the Society for the Study of Labour History, who also contributed an article titled ‘Saothar: fifty years of publishing on labour history’ to the special issue. … Continue reading ILHS marks fifty years of Saothar

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Events

CfP: The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research

To commemorate the centenary of the British General Strike and miners’ lock-out, Newcastle University’s Labour & Society Research Group (LSRG) is organising a conference that revisits the historical experience of 1926 through the lens of new scholarship that is concerned with the global, spatial and maritime turns in labour history. Titled ‘The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research’, the conference will take … Continue reading CfP: The British General Strike of 1926: New Directions of Research

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Events

Lunchtime lectures in Manchester

Manchester (with Liverpool and Chester) Branch of the Historical Association is running a series of lunchtime lectures, taking place at Friends’ Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS. Admission is free for members of the Historical Association and £4 for non-members. All lectures begin at 12 midday. Saturday, 18 October 2025. Talk by Dr. Natalie Zacek (University of Manchester) on Manchester and Transatlantic Slavery. Saturday, … Continue reading Lunchtime lectures in Manchester

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Events, Grants

Roundtable: the politics of overseas labour migrations from India c1833 to 1967

‘Freedom and Whatever that Means: a roundtable discussion on the politics of overseas labour migrations from India between c1833 and 1967’ takes place on 23 October 2025 from 3pm to 6pm at the Graham Wallace Room, Old Building, London School of Economics. Attendance is in-person or online via Zoom. Please register using the links below. The event is supported by a grant from the Society … Continue reading Roundtable: the politics of overseas labour migrations from India c1833 to 1967

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Events, Grants, Labour history news

Exhibition: working-class community and mutual aid during the First World War

Remembering to Help, Helping to Remember, an exhibition funded by an SSLH grant, has opened at the Heugh Battery Museum in Hartlepool. Michael Reeve reports. Stories of the struggles, heroism and sacrifice of ordinary people in wartime continue to emerge in social history and war studies. While we have learned much from conventional military history about how wars were fought, social and cultural histories of … Continue reading Exhibition: working-class community and mutual aid during the First World War

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Labour history news

Exhibition marks 200 years of trade union history

Two hundred years of trade union history is celebrated and commemorated in an exhibition now running at the LSE Library. Organised jointly by the London School of Economics and the TUC Libraries Collection at London Metropolitan Museum, the exhibition takes as its starting point the Combination Act of 1825 which permitted trade unions to organise but severely restricted their activities. The exhibition is built around … Continue reading Exhibition marks 200 years of trade union history

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Events, Labour history news, SSLH news

Chartism Day 2025 report: landscape and the crowd, emancipation and revolution

Academic and independent historians, Chartist enthusiasts and the Chartism curious gathered in Huddersfield for the annual Chartism Day event, the latest in a series of conferences that first ran in 1993. With centuries of history as a site of working-class radicalism from Luddism to Owenite socialism and beyond, Huddersfield proved to be the ideal venue for Chartism Day 2025. Taking place at Heritage Quay, a … Continue reading Chartism Day 2025 report: landscape and the crowd, emancipation and revolution

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Labour history news, SSLH news

Marking the centenary of the General Strike

Next year marks one hundred years since the General Strike of 1926. The Society for the Study of Labour History is proud to be a part of a national partnership of fifteen museums, libraries and groups working together to commemorate the strike. Find out how you can support this partnership. This project is supported by: Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, Campaign for Trade … Continue reading Marking the centenary of the General Strike

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Steven Cox (Liverpool John Moores) on the legacy of Labour Party Young Socialists

My dissertation focuses on the individual and political legacy of the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS) with particular emphasis on the period 1979 – 1991. This period covers the ideological polarisation of Britain under Thatcher’s premiership. It was also a time when the LPYS grew dramatically to nearly 600 branches by 1985, only to contract and ultimately be closed down by the Labour Party in … Continue reading Steven Cox (Liverpool John Moores) on the legacy of Labour Party Young Socialists

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