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.
Advice & reference, Topic guides

Sources for the Parliamentary Labour Party

The Society for the Study of Labour History produced a fact sheet on sources for the history of the Parliamentary Labour Party to coincide with the Parliamentary Labour Party Centenary Conference, London South Bank University, 24-25 November 2006. The guide was updated April 2019 and reissued in September 2024. Compiled by the Society’s Archives and Resources Committee, the guide includes information on the major archives … Continue reading Sources for the Parliamentary Labour Party

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Dan Horne (Northumbria) on the British Left’s response to fascism at home and in Europe

My dissertation examines the way in which the British Left contributed to the anti-fascist cause in 1930s Europe. I will observe how the British Left reacted to the rise of fascism within Germany, Austria and Italy, whilst also exploring their reaction towards Oswald Mosley and the BUF at home. This dissertation will attempt to draw attention to how key campaigners sought to gain wider support … Continue reading Dan Horne (Northumbria) on the British Left’s response to fascism at home and in Europe

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

James Squires (Sheffield Hallam) on the relationship between the CPGB and Labour Party

Thanks to the generosity of the Society for the Study of Labour History, I was able to spend a two-day research trip in London, and attended both the National Archives and the Marx Memorial Library. My research focuses on the relationship between the Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) throughout the 1920s. This trip complemented my existing research, and has given … Continue reading James Squires (Sheffield Hallam) on the relationship between the CPGB and Labour Party

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Oliver Cooper (Sheffield) on researching the language of discourse in the 1926 General Strike

The bursary generously provided by the Society for the Study of Labour History allowed me to travel to the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick for holdings relating to the 1926 General Strike. The title of my MA thesis is ‘Towards a Semantic History of the 1926 UK General Strike’. My research used materials from the archive of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), … Continue reading Oliver Cooper (Sheffield) on researching the language of discourse in the 1926 General Strike

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SSLH news

National Archives to illuminate 1920s Britain for A-level syllabus with in-depth online resource

The National Archives have posted online an array of fascinating documents and pictures that illuminate the history of the 1920s – a decade that saw enormous changes in British society – and a University of Huddersfield professor is the expert guide to the rich resources now available. Professor of History Keith Laybourn, President of the SSLH, expert for the period, was commissioned to provide accompanying online essays covering … Continue reading National Archives to illuminate 1920s Britain for A-level syllabus with in-depth online resource

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Books etc

Essays on Chartism in Huddersfield

The Charter, Our Right! Huddersfield Chartism Re-consideredEdited by John A. Hargreaves, featuring essays by Alan Brooke, Matthew Roberts, Malcolm Chase and John Halstead.Published by the Huddersfield Local History Society. “The Huddersfield district lay at the centre of many of the social and political protest and reform movements of the first half of the nineteenth century – Luddism, the war of the unstamped press, the ten-hours … Continue reading Essays on Chartism in Huddersfield

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Labour history news

Peterloo: digitised sources available

Working in partnership with the School of Social Sciences’ sociology department, The University of Manchester Library has digitised a unique collection of documents reflecting the events, and aftermath, of the Peterloo Massacre. This set of material provides a range of perspectives on that day’s tragic events and its legacy.‌ It includes a full run of the radical newspaper, the Manchester Observer (1818-1822), whose editor, James Wroe, was … Continue reading Peterloo: digitised sources available

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Chloe Corrigan (Northumbria) on the decline of Co-operative movement periodicals

The bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History provided me with the opportunity to visit the National Co-operative Archives in Manchester on 10 and 11 January 2018. This allowed me to carry out research for my undergraduate dissertation: More than just the ‘fuddy-duddy Co-op’? An analysis of the British Co-operative Movement in the 1960s. My trip to Holyoake House, the home of … Continue reading Chloe Corrigan (Northumbria) on the decline of Co-operative movement periodicals

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Marie Mrvova (Huddersfield) on using oral history to uncover the stories of women political prisoners

With the bursary awarded to me by the Society for the Study of Labour History, I was able to travel to the Czech Republic and successfully conduct oral history interviews for my research on women political prisoners and prison culture in Czechoslovakia 1948–1968. I will retell the stories of seven women (including my great-grandmother) using various materials, such as memoirs, biographies, archival materials, personal letters … Continue reading Marie Mrvova (Huddersfield) on using oral history to uncover the stories of women political prisoners

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Hannah Elizabeth Martin (Northumbria) uncovers Black colonial seafarers’ experiences of racism in the North East

Hostile, and often violent, relationships have been associated with the history of working class Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic British Colonial subjects throughout the early twentieth century. The central aspect of my thesis aims to uncover the formation, maintenance and articulation of everyday experiences of BAME British Colonial Seafarers in the North-East of England 1919-1938, detracting from ‘exceptional episodes’ of racialised violence thus creating a … Continue reading Hannah Elizabeth Martin (Northumbria) uncovers Black colonial seafarers’ experiences of racism in the North East

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