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British Women Trade Unionists on Strike at Bryant & May, 1888 - Volumes
Volumes
6 volumes in British Women Trade Unionists on Strike at Bryant & May, 1888 | Page 2 of 2
Later years
The documents in this section serve two purposes: one is to chart the evolution of Bryant & May during the twentieth century in light of changing circumstances i.e. The Great War, and the other is to analyse the impact of the strike almost a century later. This latter point is no better illustrated than through attempts to reconstruct the strike through the arts. Stirke a Light (1965), a musical by Joyce Adcock and the screenplay of the intended Matchgirls (1973) by Bill Owen are cases in point. Amongst all this was still a defiance and determination by the company to play down the strike's significance eighty years after it happened. Read more →
Present day sources
Since the mid 1990's the historian and author, Dr Louise Raw, has extensively researched the strike of 1888. Over the following years, her investigations lead her to conclude that the traditionally accepted leader of the strike, Annie Besant, actually had minimal involvement with its organisation and execution. Indeed, Besant was opposed to the strike given the apparent dispensability of unskilled labour. Rather, the strike was lead from within by around fourteen hundred of Bryant & May's own employees. More than this, there is evidence to suggest that the strike offered inspiration to the famous Great Dock strikers of 1889, many of whom involved were known to the matchwomen. The documents here include notes made by Raw in 2004 following two interviews with the granddaughter of one of the 'ring-leaders' of the strike, Mary Driscoll. There is also a Hansard transcript from a parliamentary debate held in October 2013, which gives due recognition to the matchwomen and their role in changing the fortunes of women and their relationship with the British labour movement. Read more →
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