Llafur, the Welsh People’s History Society, continues its summer series commemorating the centenary of the 1926 General Strike and seven-month lock-out. The final two sessions look at 1926 in archives, libraries, and collections, as well as the strike’s enduring legacy in the present. All online sessions are accessible to all and will be held via Zoom at the times shown below. Book your tickets here. … Continue reading Llafur 1926 centenary programme
In March 2026, with the support of the Society for the Study of Labour History, I visited the National Archives in Kew. During this research trip, I collected material for the third chapter of my PhD project. In my research, I investigate urban labour struggles in late and post-colonial Accra, the capital of today’s Ghana (1930-1965). I explore how shifts in the colonial labour system … Continue reading Rosa Lange (European University Institute) on self-organised labour in late colonial Accra
The programme for Chartism Day 2026 is now live. What is Chartism Day? The Chartism Day Conferences were launched at the University of Birmingham in September 1995 by the renowned Chartist historian Dorothy Thompson (1923–2011). Apart from the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, the annual meetings, which are endorsed by the Society for the Study of Labour History [SSLH], have been held in a … Continue reading Chartism Day 2026 Programme
The generosity of the Society for the Study of Labour History enabled me to conduct research in Belgium and the Netherlands for my MSt (Modern European History) dissertation exploring the impact of the Second Industrial Revolution (specifically, mechanisation) upon the organisation and politics of gunworkers during the fin-de-siècle. The global arms trade was highly political at the turn of the twentieth century (this is no … Continue reading Isaac Stephenson (Oxford) on the organisation and politics of gunworkers in England and Belgium, 1886-1914
Tickets for Chartism Day 2026 are now available. This year’s event takes place on Saturday 19 September at Friends Meeting House, Warwick, and is open to all. Among the topics covered in this year’s conference will be talks on: We will also be discussing the Chartist Lives of the radical vicar of Warwick, Rev Arthur Wade, and the Chartist missionary, John Mason. There will also … Continue reading Chartism Day 2026 Registration
Quentin Outram reviews John Austin’s The Sheffield Heavy Spring Trade: 1829-2025. Sheffield, 2026, pp. 192, p/b. ISBN 978 10369 32701. Heavy springs are the springs you used to find and still find on railway trucks, carriages, and locomotives, lorries, busses, and cars. They are not the kind of springs you find in watch and clock mechanisms, jewellery, folding knives, upholstery and mattresses. There are two main types … Continue reading Book review: Sheffield and the heavy spring trade
A new biography of Manchester Irishwoman and trade union organiser, Mary Quaile, will be launched on Saturday 8th August in Manchester. Bernadette Hyland and Michael Herbert’s new book: ‘To her the trade union movement was her life’ – Mary Quaile: Manchester Irishwoman and trade union organiser of women workers traces the story of Mary’s life and work. The book begins with her arrival in England … Continue reading Book launch: Mary Quaile, Manchester trade union organiser
The People’s History Museum has acquired a unique Peterloo commemorative jug, which will be on display from 1 August 2026 until 3 January 2027. The finding will be of interest to labour historians, and historians of protest and working class history more generally, as objects connected to the Peterloo Massacre are few and far between. On 16 August 1819, yeomanry charged into a crowd of … Continue reading Exceptionally rare Peterloo commemorative jug discovered
To mark the one hundredth anniversary of the 1926 General Strike and mining lockout, Dave Lyddon and Quentin Outram are revising the Historical Studies in Industrial Relations (HSIR) bibliography of the strike. Thanks to all who responded to our previous request for possible entries. This is an expanded version, including many new entries from contemporary periodicals. As before, please contact Dave Lyddon or Quentin Outram, … Continue reading Update: Bibliography on the 1926 General Strike
Labour History Review Volume 91 (2026), Issue 2 has now been published. The journal appears both in hard copy and online formats. In this issue . . . Lewis James Willcox, ‘Class, Community, and the Labour Unrest in Rural Scotland: Establishing the Scottish Farm Servants’ Union’, pp 1-19. Read more: Kevin Morgan, ‘Out of the Shadow of Bevin and Mann: A.A. Purcell and the General … Continue reading Labour History Review Volume 91 (2026), issue 2
Society for the Study of Labour History 