Tag: General Strike

Books etc

Well read: labour historians recommend books that deserve to be better known

Newspapers and magazines always like to list their ‘best books of the year’ as Christmas approaches. But what if the best books weren’t published this year? Preferring to take a longer perspective, we asked labour historians to tell us about a work relevant to labour history that they felt was overlooked, should be better known – or which simply meant something to them. Here’s what … Continue reading Well read: labour historians recommend books that deserve to be better known

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Events, Labour history news

‘They came for bread not bayonets’: Halifax marks the Great Strike of 1842

One hundred and eighty years ago the people of Halifax marched to demand bread and the ballot. Now thanks to Calderdale Trades Council and its supporters, their struggle has been marked with a series of events and in more permanent ways, as Dan Whittall explains. At least 150 people gathered in Halifax on Saturday 13 August to take part in a series of commemorative events … Continue reading ‘They came for bread not bayonets’: Halifax marks the Great Strike of 1842

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Labour History Review

Labour History Review Volume 87 (2022), Issue 2

Labour History Review Volume 87 (2022), Issue 2 has now been published. Contemporary images of the 1926 General Strike often show smiling volunteers good-naturedly going about the business of keeping the country running. In this issue of Labour History Review, Liam Ryan explores the involvement of often middle-class strike breakers in the period 1911-1926 and lifts the lid on the unexplored darker and often violent … Continue reading Labour History Review Volume 87 (2022), Issue 2

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Labour History Review

Citizen strike breakers: volunteers, strikes and the state in Britain, 1911-1926

Author: Liam RyanThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2022), 87, (2), 109-140. Read more. This article provides the first systematic historical study of volunteer strike-breaking across a relatively broad time frame, focusing specifically on the period between 1911 and 1926. These years bore witness to the largest industrial conflict in British history, encompassing the Great Labour Unrest of 1911-14, … Continue reading Citizen strike breakers: volunteers, strikes and the state in Britain, 1911-1926

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Documents & objects

The Miners’ Lockout

This image comes from a recent addition to Bishopsgate Institute archives: a photo album bearing the inscription ‘Memories of the Miners Lock-out 1926 Fife’ (Ref: Labour History Manuscripts/67). The Miners’ Lockout was part of the General Strike of 1926, called by the General Council of the TUC (Trades Union Congress) in an attempt to prevent the Government of the day from lowering the wages and … Continue reading The Miners’ Lockout

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

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

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SSLH news

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

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Labour history news

Mapping the 1926 General Strike

Staff at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick, have digitised more than 450 documents on Britain’s only General Strike of May 1926. The digitised documents include internal reports from the Trades Union Congress (the strike’s co-ordinator), bulletins issued by newspapers and strike committees, and the TUC’s transcripts of BBC radio broadcasts. As well as presenting the sources as a database of digitised documents, the team has been … Continue reading Mapping the 1926 General Strike

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