The 1926 General Strike - Bristol Radical History Group

To mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike and miners’ lockout, BRHG members are involved in a project to commemorate the strike in Bristol and the surrounding area. The outcome of this will either be a number of pamphlets on general strike themes or a book containing a number of essays. The aim is for the publications to be launched in April or early May 2026 and that the launch will coincide with a commemorative event.

The centenary of the start of the strike will be on May 4^th 2026.

The themes identified so far are:

The national context and the story of the strike in the Bristol area
The strike in the print industry
The involvement of the shop workers
The role of the Trades Council
The miners’ lockout in the Forest of Dean
The miners’ lockout in the Somerset coalfield
The miners’ lockout in Kingswood and South Gloucestershire
The involvement of volunteers as strike breakers and Special Constables
The impact on women and children

Work has already started on some of these themes; other research will begin shortly. Contributors have already volunteered to research and write but there is still scope for others to join in.

BRHG have joined the co-ordination which is underway to bring together as many museums, libraries, archives and local history groups as possible in a national celebration of the Strike.

In this blog by Henry Fowler, Assistant General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions, he describes ‘Making history, not reliving it – the national partnership to celebrate 100 anniversary of the General Strike 1926’.

If you would like to contribute please contact us.

Stuff linked to this project...

Articles (1)

1926 General Strike In Bristol

In 1973 the Bristol Trades Union Council got the go-ahead to make a programme on its centenary as part of a BBC's Community Programmes initiative. Engineering worker and Trades Union Council delegate Ron Whiteford contributed his account of the 1926 […] Read More

Events (8)

Patriots, volunteers and scabs: The 1926 General Strike in Bristol

For nine days in 1926, the country ground to a halt as over four million workers downed tools in support of the miners. Mapping the flashpoints from the 1926 General Strike in Bristol, this behind-the-scenes walk around the city centre delves into […] Read More

The General Strike in Gloucester and Swindon

Gloucester Docks, Sugar and Strife - Tony Conder As an industrial city Gloucester's industries were hit by the strike in 1926. The dock workers and boatmen of Gloucester played a key role in taking action and suffering in the aftermath. The business […] Read More

The General Strike in Bristol: an introduction

In May 2026 we mark the centenary of the General Strike. This talk will cover the events of those nine days in Bristol and put them in their national context. We will also look at the miners' lock-out which began before and lasted longer than the […] Read More

‘An industrial Red Cross’: Labour women’s support for the miners’ lockout in the south west.

This talk will describe the setting up of the Women’s Committee for the Relief of Miners Wives and Children in London by the Labour Party Chief Woman Officer, Marion Phillips. It will then focus on the efforts of Labour women to raise funds and to […] Read More

The General Strike in the Forest of Dean and the Somerset coalfield

Women, Rough Music, and Direct Action during the 1926 lockout in the Forest of Dean Ian Wright will discuss the use of rough music and skimmington-style protest by miners' wives against blacklegs and the police during the 1926 miners’ lockout in the […] Read More

Reflections on the General Strike

What should we learn from the 1926 General Strike and what might the 2026 General Strike look like? Our four contributors consider what the 1926 General Strike means for us today, followed by a Q&A. Read More

The Centenary of the 1926 General Strike

May 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the nine day ‘General Strike’. This solidarity action was an attempt by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to prevent wage reductions and increasingly bad working conditions for 1.2 million coal miners who had […] Read More

John Williams: The Making of a Miners’ Agent

John Williams was born in 1888 in Kenfig Hill and started work at the International Colliery in the Garw Valley at the age of thirteen. In 1922, Williams was selected for the paid post of agent for the Forest of Dean Miners Association (FDMA), which […] Read More

Blog (3)

Mass meeting on the Downs – 16 May 1926

On 16 May 1926, in the wake of the calling off of the General Strike four days earlier, a mass meeting was held in the evening on Durdham Down. A demonstration had been formed on Old Market which then marched the two and a half miles to the Downs for […] Read More

General Strike 100

May 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the nine day 'General Strike'. This solidarity action was an attempt by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to prevent wage reductions and increasingly bad working conditions for 1.2 million coal miners who had […] Read More