The 1923 Boatmen's Strike

[Kate_MM]

A century on from probably the only strike by boatmen... or at least, the only one that seems to have made the history books.

 

I am currently researching this for a new play to be premiered at the Historic Boat Rally at Braunston in June (and for a new show to be performed by Years 4,5,& 6 at Braunston Primary). It is part of a bigger village/canal community theatre project part funded by the Arts Council. Tim Coghlan of Braunston Marina is also supporting and we will be crowdfunding as well.

 

Do you, or your boat, have any links to the strike? Do you know of an FMC boat that was there?  I haven't found a definitive list, just one photo of Australia. I would love to hear from you and be able to include your contribution - which will be acknowledged in the programme, website etc.

 

I have found various resources online and identified some long standing Braunston residents who come from boating stock and whose parents or grandparents took part. But I'm sure there is more out there about the strike. But I'm sure there are more stories and recollections (albeit passed on - I doubt there is anyone living who can remember back that far!) that would both contribute to telling the story but also add to our knowledge of boating heritage.

 

A little more about the project can be found here:

https://alarumproductions.org.uk/portfolios/braunston-1920s2020s/

 

By way of background: Alarum Productions focusses on telling the stories of the waterways - until now, mostly the stories of women - in ways that are thoroughly researched and carefully presented to be both accurate and entertaining. We have performed Idle Women of the Wartime Waterways; Acts of Abandon and I Dig Canals at the historic show and toured widely. Not as widely as Mikron, but there are only two of us and we aren't quite as young as them! The current Towpath Talk has a nice piece by Tim C about Arts Council support for arts on the waterways (us and Mikron). And I don't why it loaded sideways...

 

[Ray T]

Lookee here:

NarrowBoat Magazine | Braunston Strike & the 'H' Numbers

 

1923 Braunston Canalboat Strike Memorial Committee - Braunston, Northamptonshire

 

Braunston Strike (steamershistorical.co.uk)

 

braunston strike - Bing images

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Ray T

[Pluto]

There were boatmen's strikes on the L&LC in 1913 and in 1945. I have a couple of newspaper reports for 1913, and the possibility of strikes is mentioned in the company minutes in 1911. The 1945 strike is recorded in the Canal Transport papers held at Ellesmere Port.

[koukouvagia]

Have you consulted the British Newspaper Archive?  You'll find plenty of articles from local papers referring to the 1923 strike. 

There are some fascinating incidental details such as: at the end of the strike boats were delayed because the horses needed attention; also Northamptonshire education department drafted in extra teachers not only for the children but in order to teach the boat men and women the 3 Rs.

[Kate_MM]

3 hours ago, Ray T said:

Lookee here:

NarrowBoat Magazine | Braunston Strike & the 'H' Numbers

 

1923 Braunston Canalboat Strike Memorial Committee - Braunston, Northamptonshire

 

Braunston Strike (steamershistorical.co.uk)

 

braunston strike - Bing images

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Ray T said:

Lookee here:

NarrowBoat Magazine | Braunston Strike & the 'H' Numbers

 

1923 Braunston Canalboat Strike Memorial Committee - Braunston, Northamptonshire

 

Braunston Strike (steamershistorical.co.uk)

 

braunston strike - Bing images

Hi, thank you! 

 

I do have the Braunston village website link, and, I think, most of the images on Bing.

 

But the Narrowboat piece (although I'll have to ask if they will release a copy for me) and the steamershistorical are both new and very useful.

 

Thanks again

x

3 hours ago, Ray T said:

 

 

[Kate_MM]

1 minute ago, koukouvagia said:

Have you consulted the British Newspaper Archive?  You'll find plenty of articles from local papers referring to the 1923 strike. 

There are some fascinating incidental details such as: at the end of the strike boats were delayed because the horses needed attention; also Northamptonshire education department drafted in extra teachers not only for the children but in order to teach the boat men and women the 3 Rs.

 

Thank you, a really good suggestion. I was already planning to search it for 1920s village stories but I confess I hadn't thought to add the boatmen's strike, so a very useful prod! Haven't started that yet because, although we have ACE funding it doesn't cover everything and we need to so some fundraising to contribute 10% of the budget. So, we currently have a small crowdfunder going to cover a subscription to both the news archive and the 1921 Census. I'm hoping the census will reveal the boating families with links on the bank.

 

Also I did know that an extra teacher was drafted into the school but hadn't come across mention of teaching the adults - something I can definitely bring in. Or the delays because the horses needed some attention. Is that something you have sourced from the archive?

 

Thanks again 

x

[jeannette smith harrison]

1 hour ago, Kate_MM said:

 

Thank you, a really good suggestion. I was already planning to search it for 1920s village stories but I confess I hadn't thought to add the boatmen's strike, so a very useful prod! Haven't started that yet because, although we have ACE funding it doesn't cover everything and we need to so some fundraising to contribute 10% of the budget. So, we currently have a small crowdfunder going to cover a subscription to both the news archive and the 1921 Census. I'm hoping the census will reveal the boating families with links on the bank.

 

Also I did know that an extra teacher was drafted into the school but hadn't come across mention of teaching the adults - something I can definitely bring in. Or the delays because the horses needed some attention. Is that something you have sourced from the archive?

 

Thanks again 

x

Several years ago there was a list in the village library of all the boating children who attended the school during the strike

 

 

 

e

1 hour ago, Kate_MM said:

 

Thank you, a really good suggestion. I was already planning to search it for 1920s village stories but I confess I hadn't thought to add the boatmen's strike, so a very useful prod! Haven't started that yet because, although we have ACE funding it doesn't cover everything and we need to so some fundraising to contribute 10% of the budget. So, we currently have a small crowdfunder going to cover a subscription to both the news archive and the 1921 Census. I'm hoping the census will reveal the boating families with links on the bank.

 

Also I did know that an extra teacher was drafted into the school but hadn't come across mention of teaching the adults - something I can definitely bring in. Or the delays because the horses needed some attention. Is that something you have sourced from the archive?

 

Thanks again 

x

[Pluto]

For the L&LC strikes, I have transcribed one newspaper report and a couple of short extracts from the company's half-yearly reports, which suggest that the first strike, 1811/12 lasted 6 weeks, and the 1913 one just 2 weeks. Over the period from 1911 to the start of the 1st WW there was considerable unrest throughout the country. Labour relations were that bad that revolution may only have been averted because of the start of the war. There was similar labour unrest towards the end of the 2nd WW, when there were further strikes across the country, including on the L&LC.

1913-2-16 Liverpool Courier boatmens stri.pdf

[Kate_MM]

30 minutes ago, Pluto said:

For the L&LC strikes, I have transcribed one newspaper report and a couple of short extracts from the company's half-yearly reports, which suggest that the first strike, 1811/12 lasted 6 weeks, and the 1913 one just 2 weeks. Over the period from 1911 to the start of the 1st WW there was considerable unrest throughout the country. Labour relations were that bad that revolution may only have been averted because of the start of the war. There was similar labour unrest towards the end of the 2nd WW, when there were further strikes across the country, including on the L&LC.

1913-2-16 Liverpool Courier boatmens stri.pdf 148.95 kB · 0 downloads

 

That is exceeding interesting. The boatmen of the north seem to be a very different breed from the Midlands and south - the 1923 strike was very much initiated by the union rather than the boatmen, whereas the Liverpool bargemen were clearly acting independently. Thank you, you have widened my horizons, although whether I can work that into the show is probably questionable if accuracy is to be central!

 

The only other strike I had come across any mention of, and I'm not sure it really was a strike, was resisting the instructions of the 'company' (not sure which but probably the GUCCC) that pairs that had delivered a load to Tyesley from London had to use the Bham & Fazeley, known as the Bottom Rd, to go on to Coventry to load coal. They hated it because it meant double locking and bowhauling the butty through the single locks.

 

thank you again

x

 

 

51 minutes ago, jeannette smith harrison said:

Several years ago there was a list in the village library of all the boating children who attended the school during the strike

 

 

 

e

 

That is brilliant information - I am in touch with the history society but have yet to actually get to ferret in their cupboard! Knowing this might be there has got me very excited. The children in yrs 4,5 & 6 are so looking forward to creating their own show about an event that happened in their village. I have never worked with a school so committed and involved in a project. 

[Pluto]

2 hours ago, Kate_MM said:

 

That is exceeding interesting. The boatmen of the north seem to be a very different breed from the Midlands and south - the 1923 strike was very much initiated by the union rather than the boatmen, whereas the Liverpool bargemen were clearly acting independently. Thank you, you have widened my horizons, although whether I can work that into the show is probably questionable if accuracy is to be central!

 

The only other strike I had come across any mention of, and I'm not sure it really was a strike, was resisting the instructions of the 'company' (not sure which but probably the GUCCC) that pairs that had delivered a load to Tyesley from London had to use the Bham & Fazeley, known as the Bottom Rd, to go on to Coventry to load coal. They hated it because it meant double locking and bowhauling the butty through the single locks.

 

thank you again

x

The L&LC strikes pre 1st WW were very much union based. Ben Tillett, mentioned in the text, is worth having a look at. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Tillett The TGWU archives are at Warwick University I think, as I have considered going down to have a look for anything related to the strikes, but Warwick is too far south to be safe for a northerner.

[koukouvagia]

14 hours ago, Kate_MM said:

 

 Also I did know that an extra teacher was drafted into the school but hadn't come across mention of teaching the adults - something I can definitely bring in. Or the delays because the horses needed some attention. Is that something you have sourced from the archive?

 

 

Yes.  It's in one of the articles.

[Heartland]

The Birmingham History Forum has a discussion on the canal pages of Transport that relates to the working conditions of Birmingham Boatmen that does mention the strikes of 1920 and 1923.

[jeannette smith harrison]

Photo 382 striking Boatwomen this may also help you with one of your other questions re head covering i suspect though many might be wearing their best Sunday hats for this photo

[jeannette smith harrison]

just dug these out from an old external drive .Sorry do not know who to credit for these photos of the old school & Mayday i took copies of these at a talk many years ago it interested me at the time as to how many where wearing boating bonnets 

[Ray T]

Reuse of Easter Bonnets?

 

Easter bonnet - Wikipedia

 

Edited February 18, 2023 by Ray T

[John Brightley]

19 hours ago, Pluto said:

 The TGWU archives are at Warwick University I think, as I have considered going down to have a look for anything related to the strikes, but Warwick is too far south to be safe for a northerner.

If I can be of help getting info from the Warwick Uni archive please let me know. I only live a couple of miles away and one of the archivists is a good friend of mine. 

We did try to put up fences to stop the southerners getting into Warwickshire, but the M40 was built through them...

[jeannette smith harrison]

John Brightley  a greenie given for the pure cheek but a raspberry  also goes with it haha.

You would have to build a much higher fence to stop this southerner from my many visits to Warwickshire not just to go to the archives but visiting my ex working boat family there  

[John Brightley]

4 minutes ago, jeannette smith harrison said:

You would have to build a much higher fence to stop this southerner from my many visits to Warwickshire not just to go to the archives but visiting my ex working boat family there  

 

Jeanette -with your connections I think you would be given a Warwickshire passport if there were one....🙂

[Kate_MM]

19 hours ago, jeannette smith harrison said:

just dug these out from an old external drive .Sorry do not know who to credit for these photos of the old school & Mayday i took copies of these at a talk many years ago it interested me at the time as to how many where wearing boating bonnets 

 

I haven't seen the maypole one - the school will love that! And I think I can find the source for the boy on the fence because I have seen that somewhere else. Thank you xx

 

On 18/02/2023 at 11:07, Heartland said:

The Birmingham History Forum has a discussion on the canal pages of Transport that relates to the working conditions of Birmingham Boatmen that does mention the strikes of 1920 and 1923.

 

thank you, I know of the archive but haven't searched it in relation to this - but it would make sense with FMC being based in Birmingham

[fanshaft]

On 17/02/2023 at 19:17, Pluto said:

For the L&LC strikes, I have transcribed one newspaper report and a couple of short extracts from the company's half-yearly reports, which suggest that the first strike, 1811/12 lasted 6 weeks, and the 1913 one just 2 weeks. Over the period from 1911 to the start of the 1st WW there was considerable unrest throughout the country. Labour relations were that bad that revolution may only have been averted because of the start of the war. There was similar labour unrest towards the end of the 2nd WW, when there were further strikes across the country, including on the L&LC.

1913-2-16 Liverpool Courier boatmens stri.pdf 148.95 kB · 3 downloads

There was a boatmen's strike in Hull in the 1980s -  I seem to recall they blockaded the port.

David L  

[David Mack]

7 hours ago, fanshaft said:

There was a boatmen's strike in Hull in the 1980s -  I seem to recall they blockaded the port.

David L  

Wasn't that in protest at the introduction of Lash and Bacat barges, which would have reduced jobs at the port, but would have resulted in more barge traffic inland?

[Heartland]

Oh yes, the Hull dockers prevented the introduction of the BACAT and LASH, but did they destroy their own jobs in time?

 

BACAT and LASH have been mentioned on this forum before. Had the service been allowed to continue the trade on North Eastern waterways would have been different and maybe the Steel industry better off.

 

[fanshaft]

On 20/02/2023 at 22:48, David Mack said:

Wasn't that in protest at the introduction of Lash and Bacat barges, which would have reduced jobs at the port, but would have resulted in more barge traffic inland?

It was in protest at the dockers banning Bacat and Lash operations. 

[zenataomm]

Of course there's always the opportunity to partake in the next one, when we all get fed up with ...

Daft suggestions regarding Safety Certificates renewed every year, and not being allowed to use the same inspector more than thrice.

Lack of maintenance resulting in year round stoppages becoming common.

Moaners on forums brow bashing poor old Waterways at every opportunity ... 😏

[Kate_MM]

Thank you everyone for your ideas, suggestions, comments and information - all really helpful.

 

Now I just have to write the play!

 

See you in June...