Documents & objects

‘Farewell to convicts’: the long life of a classic trade union image

The medallion shown here was awarded by the TUC for ‘organising services’, as the text on the clasp makes clear. The ‘farewell to the convicts’ design had been commissioned by the TUC for a commemorative badge issued to all delegates to the 1934 Congress, marking the centenary of the Toldpuddle Martyrs’ arrest and transportation to Australia. It depicts a sailing ship under a night sky … Continue reading ‘Farewell to convicts’: the long life of a classic trade union image

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Documents & objects

‘War to end war’: the Union of Democratic Control and the call for alternatives to conflict

David Hanson shares a leaflet from his collection of political memorabilia to help tell the story of the Union of Democratic Control Founded at the very start of the first world war by an alliance of socialists, liberals and pacifists, the Union of Democratic Control represented a brave attempt to stand against jingoism and to demand alternatives to conflict based on new international structures and … Continue reading ‘War to end war’: the Union of Democratic Control and the call for alternatives to conflict

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Events, Labour history news

WCML free talks programme kicks off for Spring 2022

The Working Class Movement Library’s new series of Invisible Histories free talks starts up again on Wednesday 9 February at the later than usual time of 3pm, when Kirstie Blair and Iona Craig from the Piston, Pen & Press project will give a free online only talk on the topic ‘Industrial workers and reading spaces in Manchester, Salford and the North’. This first talk in … Continue reading WCML free talks programme kicks off for Spring 2022

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Labour history news

A ‘vicious class antagonism’ at the heart of the Titanic disaster: the dockers’ union’s response

The sinking of the RMS Titanic in the early hours of 15 April 1912 was a shocking and traumatic event, felt particularly deeply in Belfast where the ship had been built and in Southampton which had been the home port for many of its crew. As news emerged that at least 1,500 people had died, there was a sense of anger throughout the country at … Continue reading A ‘vicious class antagonism’ at the heart of the Titanic disaster: the dockers’ union’s response

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Documents & objects, Labour history news

Steam power: boilermakers mark 100 years of trade unionism, 1834-1934

A small green booklet published as a souvenir of the United Society of Boilermakers’ centenary celebrations shows members’ pride in their union’s achievements By 1934, the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron and Steel Shipbuilders was able to trace its history back a full hundred years, to the birth at a meeting in Manchester of the Friendly Society of Boilermakers. Although the new organisation had … Continue reading Steam power: boilermakers mark 100 years of trade unionism, 1834-1934

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Labour history news

A fresh look for Irish labour history

Dr Mike Mecham introduces the new-look website of the Irish Labour History Society The Irish Labour History Society has rebuilt and relaunched its website, offering free access to biographies and articles on labour history, information on labour history resources, and a collection of book reviews published by the society’s journal Saothar in 2021. The website consists of seven categories: Society: information about the society, membership, … Continue reading A fresh look for Irish labour history

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Documents & objects

On the buses: how the National Union of Railwaymen organised bus workers

This rather beautiful badge is a reminder that the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) was not just about trains. From the 1920s onwards, the union actively recruited and organised bus workers, and by 1950 had nearly 14,500 ‘busmen’, as they were styled, in membership – a small but significant group among the NUR’s total membership of more than 400,000 transport workers. The badge itself is … Continue reading On the buses: how the National Union of Railwaymen organised bus workers

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Dominic Barron-Carter (Manchester Metropolitan) on the local impact of the Orbiston Owenite Colony

My research uses the geohistorical concepts of space and place to contextualise and interpret the activity and importance of four neglected sites of radical democratic protest activity during the nineteenth century. Thanks to the generous bursary program offered by the SSLH, I was able to undertake a six-day research trip to the North Lanarkshire Archive (NLA) in Motherwell, Scotland. The NLA is a key archive … Continue reading Dominic Barron-Carter (Manchester Metropolitan) on the local impact of the Orbiston Owenite Colony

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