Tag: ClassEncounters

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Class Encounters: Thomas Hepburn, pitmen’s union leader

In the final part of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Quentin Outram tells the story of miners’ leader Thomas Hepburn’s encounter with mine owner Lord Londonderry, and the two men’s very different lives. Thomas Hepburn (1796-1864) and Charles William Vane, formerly Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCB, GCH, PC (1778-1854) ‘Where is this great man of yours, your leader Hepburn?’ … Continue reading Class Encounters: Thomas Hepburn, pitmen’s union leader

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Class Encounters: Walter Hannington unemployed workers activist

In the twelfth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Gregory Billam encounters Walter Hannington of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement. Walter Hannington was a young toolmaker from Camden, best known as the National Secretary of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement (NUWM) during the interwar period. The 1930s, often popularly referred to as the ‘Hungry Thirties’, was a period marked by high … Continue reading Class Encounters: Walter Hannington unemployed workers activist

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Class Encounters: A.V. Alexander, co-operator

In the eleventh of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Jane Donaldson encounters co-operator, government minister and peer A.V. Alexander. My place of work at the Co-op Archives in Holyoake House in Manchester is among many buildings in an area still known sometimes as the Co-operative Quarter and I am surrounded by collections which tell the history of the co-operative movement. Holyoake … Continue reading Class Encounters: A.V. Alexander, co-operator

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Class Encounters: Gwendolyn Adams de Puertas, Spanish civil war activist

In the tenth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Liz Wood encounters the Shropshire-born nurse and anti-Franco activist Gwendolyn de Puertas. I first encountered the distinctively named Gertrude Gwendolyn Adams de Puertas about twelve years ago, when digitising Trades Union Congress archives on the Spanish Civil War. Gwendolyn Adams, a Shropshire plumber’s daughter and teenage milliner’s apprentice, was born in 1895. … Continue reading Class Encounters: Gwendolyn Adams de Puertas, Spanish civil war activist

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Class Encounters: Joseph Ettor, IWW organiser

In the ninth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Mick Moreton encounters the Wobblies trade union organiser Joseph Ettor Although not a figure from British labour history, my wish would be to meet Joseph Ettor (1885-1948), an American organiser for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) during the Lawrence ‘Bread and Roses’ strike of 1912. I would ask him about … Continue reading Class Encounters: Joseph Ettor, IWW organiser

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Class Encounters: William Cuffay, Chartist

In the eighth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Keith Flett encounters the Black London Chartist leader William Cuffay. William Cuffay (1788-1870) was born in Medway to a local woman and a descendant of slaves who had come to the area as a sailor. He worked as a tailor in London and became active in the Chartist movement to the extent … Continue reading Class Encounters: William Cuffay, Chartist

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Class Encounters: Antoinette Cazal, anarchist

In the seventh of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Constance Bantman encounters the French anarchist Antoinette Cazal. Was Antoinette ‘Trognette’ Cazal (1862-1902) even a figure of the labour movement? Her entry in the biographic dictionary of the French labour movement, Le Maitron, describes her as ‘a seamstress; a brewery girl; an anarchist; a defendant in the [1894 anti-anarchist] Trial of the … Continue reading Class Encounters: Antoinette Cazal, anarchist

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Class Encounters: Feargus O’Connor, Chartist leader

In the sixth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Vic Clarke encounters the Chartist leader, MP and newspaper proprietor Feargus O’Connor. Any collective effort is bound to include a clash of personalities, and self-proclaimed ‘people’s friend’ Feargus O’Connor certainly came to clashes in the Chartist movement. A surprisingly understudied figure, O’Connor’s charismatic and bombastic editorials, or ‘letters’ to his readers in … Continue reading Class Encounters: Feargus O’Connor, Chartist leader

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Class Encounters: John Clare, poet

In the fifth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Mike Mecham encounters the ‘peasant poet’ John Clare. For Malcolm Chase 1820 was a pivotal political year for Britain and Ireland. It also saw the publication of the first, and most successful, collection of poems by John Clare (1793-1864), selling more copies than his stable-mate John Keats. The ‘Peasant Poet’ was then … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Clare, poet

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Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

In the fourth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Jennifer Reid encounters the collector of Lancashire dialect poets, John Harland John Harland 1806–1868 was a renowned journalist and ballad collector. Although originally from Kingston-upon-Hull, as chief reporter for the Manchester Guardian he was aware of all the Lancashire dialect poets and worked hard to immerse himself in people’s lives in Manchester. … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

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