Historical image from the 1926 General Strike, featuring an overturned car on the street with a police officer standing nearby and a crowd in the background.

Three-part miniseries about the UK’s 1926 general strike, which saw one and three-quarter million workers walk out in the biggest single work stoppage in British history. In collaboration with the General Strike 100 project.

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Episodes

Coming soon! These episodes will start coming out at the start of April for early listening for our supporters on Patreon. If you want to access to early listening (and without ads), then do consider supporting us on Patreon.

Participants

For this series, we were able to use interviews conducted by historian, Margaret Morris, in the 1970s with participants in the general strike:

  • Abe Moffat: a miner and Communist Party activist in the Fife coalfields, Scotland
  • Harry Watson: a lighterman working on the East London docks
  • Betty Harrison: a textile worker and member of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford, Yorkshire
  • CS Hollis: a member of the National Union of Railwaymen in Chesterfield

We were also able to interview Judy Cox, co-author of Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To Dare.

Part 1

The social context: war, revolution, and capitalist crisis; conditions in the mining industry; ‘Red Friday’; build up to the general strike – Available soon for our supporters on Patreon.

Part 2

The strike begins; clashes with scabs and police; wide scale of organisation by local Councils of Action; enthusiasm for the strike among the rank and – Available soon for our supporters on Patreon.

Part 3

State repression: arrests, police violence, and use of military to break picketing; machinations of TUC leaders; general strike called off; employers smell blood; effects of defeat on miners and broader labour movement – Available soon for our supporters on Patreon.

  • Part 3.1 (Bonus): More discussion with Betty Harrison and Harry Watson about their lives and work around the time of the general strike as well as their thoughts about various aspects of union politics

More info

  • Find out about events to commemorate the strike in your area (and beyond!) on the General Strike 100 website
    • You will also find dozens of stories about incidents which took place during the strike in cities, towns, and villages across the UK
  • Get a copy of Judy Cox’s Revisiting the General Strike of 1926: When Workers Were Ready To Dare
  • Recommended further reading on the 1926 general strike:
    • The General Strike, May 1926: Trades Councils in Action – Emile Burns
    • The General Strike – Margaret Morris
    • The General Strike – Julian Symons

Images

A large crowd of people, mostly men in hats and coats, gathered outside a historic building with ornate architecture, possibly a hall or event venue, during the early 20th century.
1 May, 1926: People wait outside a meeting of TUC leaders for news about a vote on the upcoming general strike. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Historic photograph of armored military vehicles driving in a city square, with buildings in the background.
Armoured military vehicles in London. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
A historical black-and-white photograph of a long line of men dressed in suits and hats, standing on a street outside a building.
Line outside the Foreign Office in London of volunteers to break the strike. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
A historic black and white photograph showing an overturned car on cobblestone streets, with a crowd of onlookers and a police officer nearby, set in a busy urban environment.
Car overturned in London during the general strike. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
A vintage double-decker bus parked on a street corner, featuring advertisements on its sides, with a crowd of people in early 20th-century attire observing nearby.
Burnt out double decker bus, London. Strike supporters forced bus to stop and set it on fire after passengers had disembarked. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Historic street scene featuring a group of people gathered outside a building with advertisements for ice and rail services, early 20th century.
Strikers attempt to prevent a truck delivering fish from unloading, London. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Acknowledgements

  • Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands.
  • Episode graphic: car overturned in London during the general strike. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
  • Our theme tune for this episode is Montaigne’s version of ‘When the Coal Comes from the Rhonda’, a folk song originating from Welsh miners in the early twentieth century and sung during the general strike. Download the song here: all proceeds go to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
  • Edited by Jesse French

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Transcript

Coming soon!…

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Published by Working Class History

History isn't made by kings or politicians, it is made by us: billions of ordinary people.