Category: Bursary reports

The SSLH runs two bursary schemes. Articles in this section are reports back from the recipients of bursaries setting out how they were able to advance their research.

Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Lauren Halls (York) on the representation of eighteenth-century female domestic servants

Funding from the Society for the Study of Labour History allowed me to conduct a wide range of research into eighteenth-century female domestic servants. My aim was to discover how they have been represented both in their time and now, whether this representation has changed, and what might we be able to do to change it. Domestic servants have traditionally been excluded from labouring, working-class … Continue reading Lauren Halls (York) on the representation of eighteenth-century female domestic servants

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Callum Campbell (Northumbria) on Unity Theatre and the Spanish Civil War

My dissertation considers how innovative theatre and cinema produced across Spain and Britain during the Spanish Civil War mobilised new audiences to engage with political propaganda. The final chapter considers the actions of Unity Theatre to reach working-class communities and contest national policies of non-intervention. The bursary allowed me to visit four archives in Manchester and London: the Working Class Movement Library (WCML) in Salford, … Continue reading Callum Campbell (Northumbria) on Unity Theatre and the Spanish Civil War

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Lola Mills (Warwick) on the forgotten history of the Canary Girls

Women who worked in munition factories during the First World War were known as the Canary Girls. The nickname was reminiscent of the effects of the chemical TNT, as it gave their skin a yellow tint. Whilst the fight of their male counterparts  on the front line was at the forefront of the public’s mind, the Canary Girls’ work was hidden within the walls of … Continue reading Lola Mills (Warwick) on the forgotten history of the Canary Girls

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Glyn Robbins on Abraham Kazan and trade union housing co-ops in New York City

In 2015, I stumbled across the Amalgamated Housing Co-Operative in the Bronx, the northern-most borough of New York City. As a long-time housing worker, campaigner and trade unionist, I was intrigued by homes of such obvious quality that, I learned, had been built through the efforts of the labour movement. My interest deepened when, in 2021, I lived in the Bronx for six months as … Continue reading Glyn Robbins on Abraham Kazan and trade union housing co-ops in New York City

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Alex Doyle (Leeds) on the Cuban labour movement’s opposition to colonialism and imperialism, 1898-1914

Having spent a long time studying Cuba from afar, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to visit and experience the country beyond the written word. My research looks at workers’ movements and imperialism in early twentieth century Cuba. With the help of funding from the Society for the Study of Labour History, I was able to visit the country to consult new archival material, … Continue reading Alex Doyle (Leeds) on the Cuban labour movement’s opposition to colonialism and imperialism, 1898-1914

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

James Squires (Sheffield Hallam) on the CPGB, anti-militarism and pacifism after the First World War

My PhD researches the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and its relationship with anti-militarist and pacifist ideas from the First World War. The thesis reassesses the political development of the CPGB by focusing on the conscientious objector cohort that joined the Party following its formation in 1920. I explore the impact of the 1917 Russian Revolutions on the largest anti-war group, the No-Conscription Fellowship … Continue reading James Squires (Sheffield Hallam) on the CPGB, anti-militarism and pacifism after the First World War

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Eleanor Strangways (Loughborough) on British and French anarchists and anti-imperialist movements in Africa

My PhD research seeks to examine the relationship between anarchism and imperialism, and looks specifically at the interaction between anarchists in Britain and France and the anti-imperial movements and intellectuals across Africa from 1945-1970.   In the summer of 2023, thanks to a bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History, I had the opportunity to visit two international archive centres: the International Institute … Continue reading Eleanor Strangways (Loughborough) on British and French anarchists and anti-imperialist movements in Africa

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

‘Glimpsus Ankli and Veenecki’: catching sight of women workers in First World War aircraft factories

Factory magazines enabled independent researcher Lily Ford to uncover women’s experience in the aircraft factories of the First World War, with the help of an SSLH research bursary. My research uncovers the women behind the scenes in British aviation. It offers a new view of the development of flight in Britain from the 1890s to the 1940s, and looks at areas where women were involved … Continue reading ‘Glimpsus Ankli and Veenecki’: catching sight of women workers in First World War aircraft factories

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Maya Adereth (LSE) on trade unions and friendly society benefits in the UK and US at the turn of the 20th century

My PhD thesis asks: when do trade unions come to support universal welfare policies? It pursues the question through a comparison of the British and American labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century. Thanks to the funding from the Society for the Study of Labour History, I was able to make two archival visits which hugely advanced my research. The first was to … Continue reading Maya Adereth (LSE) on trade unions and friendly society benefits in the UK and US at the turn of the 20th century

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Bursary reports, Research bursaries

Duncan Hamilton (Manchester) on the abandoned romances of Thomas Cooper

My PhD focuses on the literary activism of the Chartist poet and autodidact, Thomas Cooper. Unlike several other members of Chartism’s leadership, who came from middle-class or even aristocratic backgrounds, Cooper was proudly a working-class leader who worked as a shoemaker in Gainsborough before his entry into the movement. Aspiring to a career as an author, Cooper wrote prodigiously throughout his life, particularly during a … Continue reading Duncan Hamilton (Manchester) on the abandoned romances of Thomas Cooper

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