Such publications were discouraged by the TUC who wished all communications to go through the official British Worker. The Gloucester Strike Bulletin is a rare example of such a publication and gives a fascinating insight into the strike from the union side. The presses of the newly formed co-operative printers were made available to volunteers from the Typographical Association to produce a daily newspaper. Strikers and police at the General Strike football match Gloucestershire A different sort of contest took place on the same day with a football match at Plymouth Home Park between strikers and the police – the strikers won 2-1. There were battles with police in Plymouth on Saturday 8th May when tram workers tried to stop a small number of blacklegs. The first item of business of the meeting held on 10th May was not the progress of the strike but a letter from the town clerk on the long-running issue of street traders. Workers marched through the town with banners “We Want Chinn” and they stayed out until the company gave way.Įxeter Trades Council continued business as usual during and after the strike. When the strike was called off, Newton Abbot railway workers refused to return to work until local trade union and Labour Party activist, Mr WG Chinn was re-instated. The Devon County Show was postponed but buses continued to run. Railways came to a halt and only truncated editions of local newspapers appeared. In Exeter some 3,500 workers answered the strike call. A system of cyclist messengers carried information to all points of the city. A General Strike Committee was established by the Trades Council and special sub-committees were formed to deal with communications and publicity. Warships were moved into Avonmouth and City docks and sailors guarded the power station. Power station workers, builders, printers and engineers went on strike although the trams and local press managed to continue operations. Nine days later, just before the strike was called off, that number had doubled. On the first day of the strike 18,000 Bristol workers downed tools. The defeat left trade unions badly weakened. The TUC produced its own newspaper: The British Worker.ĭespite strong support for the stoppage, fearing trade union divisions, the TUC called off the strike after nine days leaving the miners to fight on alone for another seven months. Chancellor, Winston Churchill, took charge of the government’s propaganda including acting as a zealous editor of the British Gazette. He sought to portray the strike as a revolutionary act that aimed to bring down democracy and impose communist rule. The dispute had been brewing for some time and when it came it set trade unions against the Conservative Government led by Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin. The strike ended in defeat and division but it was a week when working people came together in strength and solidarity. In May 1926 workers across Britain stopped work in support of the miners who faced cuts in pay and longer hours.
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