Harry Griffiths (Bangor) on anti-fascism in South Wales and the North West of England

My PhD research examines the development of anti-fascist activism within industrial communities in twentieth-century Britain. It explores localised anti-fascist movements and how factors such as class, employment, and education influenced political engagement. Focusing on two case studies, South Wales and North West England, the project examines the shared characteristics and distinctive experiences of anti-fascist activism across different industrial regions. While anti-fascism in Britain has received … Continue reading Harry Griffiths (Bangor) on anti-fascism in South Wales and the North West of England

Transactions: 170th anniversary of the Preston strike and lock-out of 1853–1854

Six months into the Preston lock-out, the most famous novelist of the day visited the town in search of a story for Household Words and inspiration for his novel-in-progress, Hard Times. After three days at the Bull Hotel Charles Dickens declared Preston a ‘nasty place’ and the whole situation a ‘deplorable calamity’. He returned to London with his suspicions of trade union leaders intact and … Continue reading Transactions: 170th anniversary of the Preston strike and lock-out of 1853–1854

Researching the Preston lock-out

Dr Andrew Hobbs writes… I’m writing something on weekly publications produced during the 1853-54 Preston Lock-Out in North-West England, when thousands of cotton workers were locked out of the mills over their demand for a 10% restoration of wages (the event which inspired Charles Dickens’s Hard Times and Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South). These publications called themselves balance sheets — they list donations to the … Continue reading Researching the Preston lock-out

How Oldham found the funny thanks to Sam Fitton

Funding from the Society for the Study of Labour History helped to enable Gallery Oldham to take working-class history and Lancashire dialect to new audiences, as Karen Heatley explains. This year marks the centenary of Sam Fitton’s death. Fitton was fun-loving and multi-talented, his career started in the local textile mills but he went on to make a living as a skilled illustrator, poet, dialect … Continue reading How Oldham found the funny thanks to Sam Fitton