News and information of interest to labour historians.
Members and supporters of the Society for the Study of Labour History are invited to the launch of Shout for Freedom: A Sonic History of Chartism and the Origins of British Democracy, a new book by Dr David Kennerley. From the clank of machinery to the beauty of birdsong, the tramp of marching feet to the exhilaration of a dance, the cheering of crowds to … Continue reading Book Launch: Shout for Freedom – the sound of Chartism
An important social history resource, based on extensive oral history interviews with former national servicemen, is now available through the Data Archive Service. Professor Peter Gurney has deposited a significant catalogue of life story transcripts with the Data Archive Service, University of Essex. Funded by the Leverhulme Trust, the oral history interviews with (mainly working-class) ex-national servicemen formed the basis of his recent book on … Continue reading Ex-national servicemen: oral history interview data available now
A late-nineteenth century labour journal once described as ‘the most flourishing organ of the labour movement in the whole country’, has recently been digitised by the British Newspaper Archive. The Bradford Labour Union was a forerunner of the Independent Labour Party, and later the Labour Party. Its organ, The Labour Union Journal, was first published on 26 May 1892. After the Manningham Mills strike in … Continue reading Digitised and online: the Labour Union Journal
Dr Janette Martin (John Rylands Library) has announced the rediscovery, cataloguing and digitisation of a large bound of newspapers, pamphlets and other materials related to the Peterloo Massacre. Historians of the labour movement will be delighted to hear that the University of Manchester has catalogued and digitised a large bound volume of Peterloo related newspapers, pamphlets, and other materials (1819-1822). This follows the exciting discovery … Continue reading Rediscovered Peterloo ephemera digitised
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
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
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: The eighteen fustian jackets: who carried the 1841 petition? Augustus and Arthur Beaumont and Chartist Apologias for American Slavery The Northern Star’s local correspondents in 1839, … Continue reading Chartism Day 2026 Registration
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
The People’s History Museum has announced a series of guided tours of its new exhibition, ‘On the Line: 100 years of strikes and solidarity’, led by curator, Mark Wilson. Marking the centenary of the 1926 strike, the exhibition opened at PHM in Manchester on Saturday 21 March and runs until Monday 2 November 2026, taking visitors on a journey through the hundred years of turbulent … Continue reading On the Line: 100 years of strikes and solidarity (Guided Tours)
