Remembering Bath’s part in the Miner’s Strike of 1926

Richard Wyatt

[Miners’ mass meeting in the Sawclose]

The centenary of the General Strike will be commemorated next month with a special exhibition at the Museum of Bath at Work – the city’s museum of social and commercial history.

The exhibition – from Saturday, May 2nd to Thursday, June 25th – is just one of many throughout the UK and is part of General Strike 100, organised by the General Federation of Trade Unions.

The General Strike was called by the Trades Union Council in 1926 in support of striking coal miners and was national.

On May 3rd, 1926, 2,500 workers went on strike in Bath. The local motivation was the conditions of the North Somerset miners around Radstock, and volunteers helped raise funds to alleviate the deprivation suffered by miners’ families, as well as to keep Bath supplied with provisions.

Find out about the national actions by the government as well as the local day-by-day events during the nine days of the strike.

Alongside the exhibition, we will have talks by local historian David Williamson and a presentation by Trevor Turpin, exhibition curator.

Trade Unionist Dave Chapple will be launching his new book on the Somerset Miners.  There is also a book, Standfast & Solid, about the strike by Trevor to accompany the exhibition:

Events Programme

6th May  –  local historian and author of Bath between the Wars, David Williamson, will give a talk on the General Strike in Bath. His book will be available for sale.

14th May – Trevor Turpin, Chairman of the Bath Industrial Heritage Trust and curator of the exhibition, will give a short talk on the Strike and show Ken Loach’s film Rank & File. Trevor’s book Standfast & Solid will be available for purchase.

21st May – Dave Chapple, Trade Unionist, will launch his book, Resistance and resilience: the 1926 General Strike and Lockout in the Somerset Coalfield. His book will also be on sale.

Evening events start at 6.30 and are £5 entry to include a glass of wine.

Further information

Website

museumofbath.org

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/BathAtWork

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/museum_of_bath_at_work

Published by Richard Wyatt

Freelance Journalist, broadcaster, columnist and local historian. Director of Bath Newseum. Married and lives in Bath. Interested in local history, architecture and visual display in museums and urban spaces.

2 Comments

  1. Have read David Williamson’s book ‘Bath Between The Wars’ and can strongly recommend it. Made me realise just how little I knew about the city of my birth during that period.

  2. The General Strike was a complete failure.

    It never had any chance of success, just like the illegal miners’ strike in 1984-85.

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