General Strike 1926

[Rescars]

General Strike was 'the boil that needed lancing'

On the centenary of the General Strike, historians examine the impact of those nine days in 1926.

www.bbc.co.uk

In May 1926, more than two million Britons downed tools and sought to upset the balance of power.

At one minute to midnight on 3 May, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) triggered what author Jonathan Schneer describes as "the single greatest demonstration of trade union power in British history".

It lasted just nine days, but brought Britain to a standstill.

It seems appropriate to mark the centenary of the General Strike which took place in May 1926, which was called by the TUC in support of the mineworkers.

Most of the country came to a standstill for nine days, though a fair number of university students and others volunteered to keep essential services going and some satisfied childhood ambitions to drive (or at least fire) trains. Although the strike did little of immediate consequence for the mineworkers, it set the tone of industrial relations for decades.

 

[davews]

Diamond Geezer has an article on this today:

diamond geezer

diamondgeezer.blogspot.com

100 years ago today this was the most important building in the country.

It's 32 Eccleston Square in Pimlico, just round the corner from Victoria station.
Sorry about the scaffolding, that's temporary.

But in May 1926 it was the headquarters of the Trades Union Congress.
And it was here that the General Strike was called, bringing the nation to a halt for nine days.
No struggle like it has ever happened since.

 

[Taunton]

Most of the country came to a standstill for nine days, though a fair number of university students and others volunteered to keep essential services going and some satisfied childhood ambitions to drive (or at least fire) trains.

My grandfather, who was a member of the professional Institute of Locomotive Engineers, returned by ship from a colonial assignment into London right in the strike. He went to Paddington and played a part in getting home to Taunton. Family story was he 'drove the express' (why let the facts get in the way of a good story?), but I think more likely he was fireman (possibly one of two).

 

[MP33]

There was a story, of volunteers as signal staff. A train arrived in London, with a set of level crossing gates on the front. A London Bus had a sign stating that the crew, were medical students at Guys Hospital. Anyone attempting to interfere with the service. Will be a patient at Guys Hospital.

 

[RWLDproject]

Two interesting sites here, re the General Strike and a particular railway connection - the Cramlington Flying Scotsman derailment:

Home | Cramlington Train Wreckers

The hit play The Cramlington Train Wreckers tells the story of the Flying Scotsman derailment during the 1926 UK General Strike. Returns to the stage in July 2026!

www.cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk

Cramlington: a place in labour history

In our continuing series on places in labour history, Quentin Outram recounts the story of the Northumberland miners who came to be known as the Cramlington train wreckers. East Coast main line at …

sslh.org.uk

 

[Rescars]

The sshl site helpfully explains how trains were signalled during the General Strike. Time interval working would explain how Taunton's grandfather got all the way from Paddington to Taunton assuming that many signal boxes would have been unmanned.