North East History North North East History Volume 46 East
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
North East History North North East History Volume 46 East • Opposition to the South African War, 1899–1902 History North East History 46 2015 • Levellers in the North East, 1648 Volume 46 2015 • The General Strike – undermined by volunteers? • Health Provision for Byker’s Working Poor, 1835-1852 • William Morris and striking miners, 1880s • Haltwhistle in the 1930s • An Oral History of the CWS • Norman Cornish and Norman Dennis – an appreciation The front cover image is reproduced courtesy of Co-operatives UK The north east labour history society holds regular meetings on a wide variety of subjects. The society welcomes new members. We have an increasingly busy web-site at www.nelh.org Supporters are welcome to contribute to discussions Journal of the North East Labour History Society Volume 46 http://nelh.org/ 2015 Journal of the North East Labour History Society north east history North East Volume 46 2015 History ISSN 14743248 © 2015 NORTHUMBERLAND Printed by Azure Printing Units 1 F & G Pegswood Industrial Estate Pegswood Morpeth TYNE & Northumberland WEAR NE61 6HZ Tel: 01670 510271 DURHAM TEESSIDE Journal of the North East Labour History Society www.nelh.net 1 north east history Contents Note from the Editors 5 Notes on contributors 9 How to submit articles 12 Articles: ‘Facing the frenzied and shrieking mob’: Molly Courtice 13 Examining working-class perceptions of Empire in North-East England through opposition to the South African War, 1899-1902 Health Provision for the Working Poor Mike Greatbatch 35 The ykerB Self-Supporting Dispensary, 1835-1852 The Long Road to Mass Education: Heather Thompson 51 Religious Rivalry in County Durham, 1800-1850 Levellers in the North East Peter Livsey 69 Joshua Wetwang and the Northumberland Horse, 1648 The General Strike: Was it Undermined by Robin Smith 79 Volunteers? Striking Miners and the Cockney Socialists John Stirling 99 Housing Density in South Jesmond and Stepney, Maureen Dickson 117 Newcastle upon Tyne A Ship and a Bottle: Trade Unionism in the Stuart Howard 129 Shipbuilding and Glass Industries in Sunderland during the Nineteenth Century 2 north east history The Jarrow of the West? Haltwhistle in the 1930s Brian Bennison 145 At home in Tyneside in 1966 Peter Brabban 155 Newcastle’s Asylums and the case of Daniel Liddell Judith McSwaine 163 A History of Midwifery in Newcastle upon Tyne Janet Medcalf 177 An Oral History of the CWS Kath Connolly 187 and Maria Goulding Norman Cornish: An Appreciation Michael Chaplin 197 Norman Dennis A Notable Wearsider, Academic and Glen Lyndon Dodds 203 Labour Activist Book Reviews 212 2015 Secretary’s report 245 NELH Officers, Committee Members, and Society contact details 246 Consititution 247 Sid Chaplin Labour History Trophy 249 How to join the society 250 3 north east history Society volunteers – making a difference! Volunteers from the North East Labour History Society are working with Newcastle City Library to compile a comprehensive list of hundreds of fragile manuscripts collected by Thomas Wilson of Gateshead in the first half of the nineteenth century. This work is on going, with volunteers meeting once a week during the period October to June. At present there are seven volunteers engaged in this long-term project, painstakingly writing or typing reference details for each individual item. This project developed out of our successful Popular Politics Project, and we are adding to that database as we progress from one volume to another. The North East Labour History Society is pleased to be helping Newcastle City Library in this work as it fulfills our core objectives whilst making it much easier for Newcastle Local Studies to increase public access to this invaluable Tyneside collection. 4 north east history Note from the Editors This year’s edition of North East History welcomes a number of new contributors as well as some `old friends’, alongside the Sid Chaplin prize winning essay, appreciations of two people we have sadly lost as well as a wide ranging selection of book reviews. The contributions from a younger generation of labour historians and those associated with the on- going Peoples’ History project is particularly welcome and illustrates the continuing importance and vibrancy of the region’s researchers and writers in the field. In this respect, it is also notable that some of our books are reviews of works by NELH Society members. Of the longer essays in the journal, the first one by Molly Courtice is an extract from her Sid Chaplin prize-winning essay of last year, and is a detailed account of working class engagement in the region with the Boer War. She argues for a much more nuanced view of attitudes and draws on the local press in particular to highlight both support and, equally tellingly, opposition to the war that challenges established views of local jingoism. Heather Thompson explores in great detail the battles over education in Durham as Quakers, Catholics, and the established church sought to secure their own dominance in providing schools for working class children. She draws on correspondence preserved in the County archives to illustrate the often caustic (and sometimes humorous, to modern eyes) opinions and competing initiatives by the local clergy. Stuart Howard’s essay on trade unionism in Sunderland is a continuation of a theme he presented last year, whilst Robin Smith takes us back to the General Strike to explore the significance of railway workers to the dispute both regionally and nationally. His presentation of statistical evidence helps to provide a clear and objective picture of what is often clouded in mythology (from whichever political perspective). John Stirling’s essay takes us into a ‘cockney’ invasion of the region as he details William Morris’s visit 5 north east history to speak to striking miners. He finds a different picture in the local press from Morris’s own diary account of his ‘day trip’, whilst illustrating the importance of the socialist debate to an industrial dispute. Our Secretary Brian Bennison provides a fascinating insight into Haltwhistle in the 1930s, an area whose mining history is as rich as anywhere in our region. Located on the north bank of the South Tyne, Haltwhistle was described in November 1934, as `not strictly derelict but is so severely depressed as to come near to that conclusion’. Its residents could be forgiven for thinking that they had failed to receive sufficient recognition compared to other unemployment black spots, and Brian demonstrates both the nature of the town’s economic problems and how their eventual alleviation was a result of international political developments as much as through any initiative on the part of national government. Peter Livsey takes us back to a political age that today appears incredibly distant but as he clearly demonstrates, the ideas and aspirations of the Levellers and their representatives here in the north-east, were as valid almost 200 years later when working men once again demanded meaningful electoral reform in the guise of Chartism. The story of Joshua Wetwang and the Northumberland Horse is one of a principled and eloquent stand for democratic issues that are still relevant today. Peter Brabban’s photographs have appeared in previous issues of North East History and this time they serve to illustrate the changing character of Newcastle in the mid-1960s. The availability of good quality affordable housing is another issue dominating today’s political headlines, and Peter reminds us that the debate about housing tenure and affordability is nothing new. Two years ago we launched the People’s History of the North East project as a means of sustaining the interest of volunteers and Society members in an on-going research programme. We failed to secure grant funding to employ a regional co-ordinator but various groups throughout the region decided to develop shared interests and practical project activities in any case, and the results of these initiatives are now resulting in some first class resources. 6 north east history One such resource is the wonderful booklet produced by Kath Connolly and Maria Goulding, in partnership with the Co-operative membership and employees of the Co-operative Wholesale Society here in the north east. The story of how former employees were brought together in common purpose to celebrate and record for posterity the work experiences of CWS employees is provided by Kath and Maria, and details of the book are provided for anyone who doesn’t already have a copy. Maureen Dickson, Mike Greatbatch, Janet Medcalf, and Judith McSwaine are all volunteers who meet most Friday mornings at Newcastle City Library (with occasional visits to Tyne & Wear Archives at Discovery Museum) to investigate the wealth of archive material at Newcastle Local Studies. The group came together through the People’s History of the North East project and whilst their initial research themes were women’s lives and health service provision before the NHS, they inevitably extended into other, associated topics and issues. Thus, Maureen’s essay comparing the households of those who owned capital, and those who didn’t, derived from her discovery that Fairless Harrison lived within a short distance of his tannery on Stepney Bank but the qualitative difference between the two locations was like two different worlds. Harrison’s workers lacked their employer’s financial resources, and had little choice but to live in some of Newcastle’s most overcrowded tenements close to their place of work. Mike, Janet and Judith all focus on aspects of health provision, a topical issue in an election year, and their essays provide a useful reminder of the pitfalls of health services dependent on personal wealth, political influence, and self-employed physicians and other medical professionals. Anyone reading Mike’s essay will soon recognise the cultural and historical origins of some of today’s most strident political rhetoric, and Janet’s survey of midwifery services highlights the importance of Government legislation in raising standards and extending essential support and expertise to all sections of society.