Tag: Labour History

Labour history news

Rediscovered Peterloo ephemera digitised

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

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Bursary reports, MA & BA bursaries

Isaac Stephenson (Oxford) on the organisation and politics of gunworkers in England and Belgium, 1886-1914

The generosity of the Society for the Study of Labour History enabled me to conduct research in Belgium and the Netherlands for my MSt (Modern European History) dissertation exploring the impact of the Second Industrial Revolution (specifically, mechanisation) upon the organisation and politics of gunworkers during the fin-de-siècle. The global arms trade was highly political at the turn of the twentieth century (this is no … Continue reading Isaac Stephenson (Oxford) on the organisation and politics of gunworkers in England and Belgium, 1886-1914

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Books etc, Commentary

Book review: Sheffield and the heavy spring trade

Quentin Outram reviews John Austin’s The Sheffield Heavy Spring Trade: 1829-2025. Sheffield, 2026, pp. 192, p/b. ISBN 978 10369 32701. Heavy springs are the springs you used to find and still find on railway trucks, carriages, and locomotives, lorries, busses, and cars. They are not the kind of springs you find in watch and clock mechanisms, jewellery, folding knives, upholstery and mattresses. There are two main types … Continue reading Book review: Sheffield and the heavy spring trade

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Documents & objects, Labour history news

Exceptionally rare Peterloo commemorative jug discovered

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

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Labour history news, SSLH news

Update: Bibliography on the 1926 General Strike

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

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Labour history news

North East Labour History Society Award

The North East Labour History Society has launched an essay competition for research into labour history in the North East of England. The Sir Chaplin Labour History Award is awarded to the best essay submitted on any aspect of the history of labour in the North East. The competition, which includes a £100 book token and publication of the winning essay in the journal North … Continue reading North East Labour History Society Award

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Events, Labour history news, SSLH news

1926 General Strike Centenary Open Day

The People’s History Museum in Manchester is hosting a special open day to mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike on the 9 May 2026. The event will delve into the strike’s continuing significance and legacy. Academics, activists, trade unionists, and heritage professionals will explore the 1926 General Strike through a range of papers and panels, and highlight rare archival material. The event is … Continue reading 1926 General Strike Centenary Open Day

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Labour history news, SSLH news

HELP NEEDED IN UPDATING Bibliography of the 1926 General Strike

In 2006, Historical Studies in Industrial Relations (HSIR) 21 published ‘The General Strike and Mining Lockout of 1926: A Select Bibliography’, compiled by John McIlroy, Alan Campbell, Keith Laybourn and Quentin Outram. To mark the one hundredth anniversary of the strike, this is now being updated for publication in HSIR 47 later this year by Dave Lyddon and Quentin Outram. We are asking users of … Continue reading HELP NEEDED IN UPDATING Bibliography of the 1926 General Strike

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Labour History Review

Widows, Subsistence Strategies, and Union Solidarity in Railway Labour in Early Twentieth-Century Argentina

Author:  Florencia D’UvaThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2026), 91, (1). Read this article. This article examines the survival strategies employed by the widows of railway workers in Argentina during the early twentieth century. Rather than portraying these women as passive recipients of assistance from trade unions or railway companies, this study highlights their active agency in securing financial support. Through petitions, legal … Continue reading Widows, Subsistence Strategies, and Union Solidarity in Railway Labour in Early Twentieth-Century Argentina

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Books etc, Commentary

Revisiting A.L. Morton

A.L. Morton and the Radical Tradition by James Crossley, Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. 432pp. In his heyday, the Marxist historian, literary critic and journalist A.L. Morton (1903-1987) was admired by and influenced, now more famous contemporaries such as Eric Hobsbawm and Christopher Hill. While his most popular work, A People’s History of England (1938), still remains in print across several languages, apart from a small coterie … Continue reading Revisiting A.L. Morton

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