My thesis examines the early history of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) from its inception in 1899 until the general strike in 1926. It uses emotions history methodologies to consider how feelings were used in their publications, reports and minutes. Continue reading Edda Nicolson (Wolverhampton) on the early history of the General Federation of Trade Unions, 1899-1926
A demonstration in Glasgow during the 40-hours strike in January–February 1919 descended into violence – the ‘Battle of George Square’: either ‘a vicious and unprovoked attack’ by the police, or a consequence of the week-long, occasionally violent, conflict between the strikers and ‘traitor’, ‘blackleg’ tram-workers, many of them women. The ‘Battle’ is simultaneously the most iconic event of Red Clydeside, the most mythologised event in … Continue reading Dr Gordon J Barclay and Dr Louise Heren on the Battle for George Square 1919: myth, memory and reality in Red Clydeside
My PhD research looks at the development of the labour movement and Labour Party in Peterborough from 1898 to 1939, with a particular focus on the period from 1918 to 1939. The aim is to understand the nature of Labour organisation and identity in a mixed constituency beyond the heartlands (that is, an area which does not occupy a special place in standard histories of the party’s development, and … Continue reading Scott Rawlinson (University of East Anglia) on the labour movement and Labour Party in Peterborough, 1898-1939
My thesis focuses on intersections between Britain’s anarchist movement and its fledgling ‘New Liberal’ movement at the turn of the twentieth century. ‘New Liberalism’ is a term used to describe the new wave of British liberalism that was more radical, communal and interested in state intervention. At the same time Britain’s anarchist movement was enjoying one of its greatest periods of mainstream popularity and distribution. … Continue reading Shaun Pitt (Northumbria) on the Anarchist Movement in Britain
On 20 and 21 June 2019 I conducted research at The National Archives in Kew, London. My aim was to collate primary sources to form the basis of a book chapter related to themes from my recently completed PhD. Namely, this work will focus on the charitable giving of tobacco to soldiers during the First World War, including the development of local tobacco funds and … Continue reading Michael Reeve (Hull) visits The National Archives to research First World War tobacco provision
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
This trip to Paris was a central part of the archival research for my PhD, an entangled comparison of the strike photography of 1936 and 1968. I will analyse the common threads running through the representation of both movements, but also how the medium contributed to the substantial legacies and mythologies each has taken on, and how this responded to their changing historiographies. It has … Continue reading Ben Partridge visits Paris to compare strike photography in 1936 and 1968
From the late 1950s, mass immigration had a major impact on British, predominantly urban, society. This caused problems for the Labour Party, not least because it claimed to represent a white working-class that often felt threatened and angered by immigration. Areas like the West Midlands, Merseyside and declining northern mill towns like Blackburn, Batley and Oldham saw racist agitation from an early date. These regions … Continue reading Marc Collinson (Bangor) on the Labour Party, post-war immigration and the politics of race
The political response towards Commonwealth immigration to Britain has been the subject of considerable historical debate. Initially, when the first Commonwealth Immigrants Act was introduced in 1962 the Labour Party opposed it believing restrictions to be both unnecessary and racially motivated. However, within a short period of time they had conceded the need for controls and went on to increase restrictions twice during their time … Continue reading Amy Cross (Central Lancashire) on Labour’s immigration policy in the 1960s
My research focuses on transnational networks established by Russian revolutionaries who promoted terrorism in emigration between 1881 and 1915, looking at how they represented themselves in relation to contemporary debates about socialism, anarchism and terrorism abroad in their publications aimed at both English- and Russian-speaking audiences. Émigré communities played an important role in the Russian revolutionary movement from the second half of the nineteenth century … Continue reading Lara Green (Northumbria) on the international networks developed by Russian revolutionaries
Society for the Study of Labour History 