Brogan Fannen (Sunderland) researches Socialist Sunday Schools at the People’s History Museum

My MA dissertation explores the role of the Socialist Sunday Schools (SSS) within the history of the British socialist movement, with a primary focus on the schools’ role in facilitating and cultivating a socialist culture among British working-class communities in the twentieth century. It is the aim of my dissertation to contribute to the overall history of the movement and address existing gaps within the … Continue reading Brogan Fannen (Sunderland) researches Socialist Sunday Schools at the People’s History Museum

Sources for the History of Unemployment

This fact sheet on sources for the history of unemployment and the unemployed was created to coincide with a conference titled ‘From the Blanketeers to the Present: Understanding Protests of the Unemployed’, German Historical Institute, on 16 and 17 February 2007. It was updated in April 2019 and reissued in September 2024. The guide includes information on the major archives and thier holdings on this … Continue reading Sources for the History of Unemployment

Sources for the Peterloo Massacre

The Society for the Study of Labour History has created a resource pack and guide to sources on the Peterloo massacre of 1819. Compiled by the Society’s Archives and Resources Committee, the guide includes information on the major archives and their holdings on this topic. Download it in PDF format. Find out more about the SSLH-Archives and Resources Committee. Continue reading Sources for the Peterloo Massacre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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