North East Labour History

Sunderland: Lindsay Leonard will talk about The Struggle for a Better Britain 1900 - 1951
2022-11-05 09:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London) | Seventeen Nineteen – Holy Trinity Church, Church Street East, Sunderland, SR1 2BB
I am a Labour Party member in St Michaels Branch of the Sunderland Central CLP. The branch has organised a social history conference, The Struggle for a Better Britain 1900 -1951 on Saturday 5 November in Sunderland, with four academic historians as guest speakers, which will focus on the first half of the Twentieth Century. The programme details are attached.

The event is open to all and is intended as a way of raising some additional funds for the branch in readiness for the fight ahead. It is also meant as an engaging and educational event that will hopefully resonate with the current dire situation the country is in: by warning of the danger of history repeating itself but also show there is a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ in a new Labour government.
You can book your place at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-struggle-for-a-better-britain-100-1951-social-history-conference-tickets-399990832347
Seventeen Nineteen – Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland Seventeen Nineteen – Holy Trinity Church

Irish Centre, Newcastle. The Guy Fawkes Working Class and Anarchist Bookfair
2022-11-05 12:00 - 17:00 | Tyneside Irish Centre, 43 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SG, United Kingdom
From Trevor Bark
A broad range of literature, books and ephemera, and will be on display. As well as a bar there will be an open and tolerant atmosphere, where discussion is encouraged.

This bookfair is organised at a time of economic crisis and political crisis. What passes for democracy is in desperate need of serious change. The Politicians lie for the billionaire oligarchs and the media spread it in because it’s in their interests, not ours. Their plan is to divide and rule a disintegrating society which they pretend can be healed with sticking plaster solutions.

It’s time to think our way beyond these limitations and do something about it.

The developing economic crisis, unemployment, energy prices, inflation, the next protests and lots more can be discussed.

Books, mags and pamphlets will cover at least; local and general history, Marxism, labour history, environment, football and other sport, culture, railways, mining, fiction, social science, co-operatives, economics, Anarchism, international relations, socialism, trade unions, sex, drugs & rock n’ roll… 🙂

This is an open invite to all fellow travellers and troublemakers to come on down to the November 5th bookfair and have a great time.

We would especially welcome comrades who travel across the North, such as friends in York, Leeds, Carlisle, Dumfries, Berwick, Middlesborough and lots more.

COP27 Global Day of Action - Newcastle rally
2022-11-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Lisle St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7AL
Show decision makers that protecting our planet is our top priority! Join our Climate Action Newcastle members on the march and rally. More details about where to meet will be added as soon as available.
Details: https://www.climateactionnewcastle.com/event-details/cop27-global-day-of-action-newcastle-rally

Independent Working Class Education: "Trussonomics and After"
2022-11-15 17:00 - 19:00 | Zoom
Independent Working Class Education invites you to contribute to “What’s behind ‘Truss-economics’? What is really going on? “Will you join us?
Keith Venables is inviting you to a Zoom meeting.
Topic: Trussonomics and After
Tuesday 15th November 5:00 pm UK and International
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83345845025?pwd=[REDACTED]
There will be three short presentations (see below) and then as much discussion as you want.
Presenters:
Dr Martin Allen “Running the economy like a household’ ! How do we challenge Neo-liberal thinking on budgets, borrowing and ‘economic competence? Martin has been teaching young people economics for many years.
Simon Mohun, formerly Prof of Economics at Queen Mary Uni London (who will talk about the ‘macro’ side) and
Sue Himmelweit, formerly Prof of Economics at the OU, who will talk about the gendered impact of the proposed policies.

Brunswick Church Hall, Newcastle: Clean Air, a Public Meeting
2022-11-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Brunswick Methodist Church, Brunswick Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7BJ
From Sandy Irvine
I am writing to let you know about an important public meeting to be held in central Newcastle at 19.00 in Brunswick Church Hall on Thursday November 24th. It will be of real interest to anyone involved in local history.
The topic is the story of a successful campaign led by a remarkable local woman, Jennie Shearan, in the fight for clean air. It was an inspiring victory won against the odds, a struggle based on rallying the local community in Hebburn against one of the worst polluters in the region, Monkton Coke Works. It is a story that has many positive lessons for today. We certainly need success stories in these dark days!
More background:
Trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CLEANAIRbyGianfrancoRosolia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cleanairbook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clean_air_book/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/clean_air_book
All are welcome. If you agree about the importance of this story and its pertinence to many issues in the here and now, perhaps you could forward news of the event to anyone else you think might be interested. You can tell people they can book a free place here:
https://actionnetwork.org/events/clean-air-a-david-and-goliath-story?
source=direct_link&fbclid=IwAR1VSi_OksCpvnmHUBa9OwBqpH0VT0_FAwHEezA67ydklRX95s4RSJIBLMA
Thanks for any help you can give.

Magic Hat Café, Newcastle. ‘Testimonies’, a film created as part of the Food for Thought: Newcastle Corn Riots 1740 project
2022-11-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Magic Hat Café, Higham House, Higham Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AF
Shoe Tree Arts invites you to the Magic Hat Café, Higham House, Higham Place, NE1 8AF on 30th November 7pm for the launch of ‘Testimonies’, a film created as part of the Food for Thought: Newcastle Corn Riots 1740 project. It will be shown with a film of the song ‘Geordie Barleycorn’ also written and produced for the project.
Testimonies commemorates and explores the events of 1740 when food shortages led to demonstrations and riots on Newcastle Quayside and makes parallels with today’s issues of food poverty, climate change and the right to peaceful protest.
There will be films, refreshments, hot and cold drinks and a chance to chat, ask questions and celebrate the culmination of the project.
All welcome
Entry is free but please RSVP to phetheanellen237@gmail.com
The project was supported by:
The Joicey Trust
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Newcastle City Council

Durham University. December World Heritage lecture: Redhills World Heritage - who would have thought it?
2022-12-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Pemberton Rooms, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3EP
From Dr. Jo Shoebridge, Durham University
We’re delighted to share details with you about our December World Heritage lecture, which is now available for booking!
Tuesday 6th December 6pm,
Pemberton Rooms, Palace Green, Durham
Redhills World Heritage – who would have thought it?
Following on from our previous two lectures discussing serial World Heritage nominations, we are pleased to welcome Ross Forbes, Programme Manager for Durham Miners’ Association who will talk about Redhills Miners’ Hall here in Durham and its part in a serial nomination bid.
After the lecture you are very welcome to join us for a drink and a mince pie at 7 Owengate!
Click here to book please direct any queries to the World Heritage Site Visitor Centre: visitor.centre@durham.ac.uk and accept our apologies for duplicate / cross postings.
With thanks to Sue Ward.

Online: Peter Brabban's Fiendish NELH Christmas Quiz
2022-12-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Venue TBD
The Society’s Christmas Quiz hosted by Peter Brabban will take place this Tuesday 13 December at 7.00pm, all are welcome and here’s the link:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84526575104?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 845 2657 5104
Passcode: [REDACTED]

NELH Tuesday Meeting. Andy McSmith: Five Russians in the North East of England
2023-01-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82279384542?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 822 7938 4542
Passcode: [REDACTED]

From the 1880s until the Bolshevik revolution, Tyneside hosted a number of Russians who lived strange and sometimes dangerous lives. They were few, but fascinating.
The first was an anarchist and aristocrat wanted by the Russian police since his escape from a fortress prison in St Petersburg, There was a writer who, unknowingly, was a major influence on British post war literature; a Bolshevik whom Lenin described as the “favourite of the whole party”, and several who used false names abroad to hide their secrets.
Each was to be found at different times in Newcastle, and one of them had a searing memory of something terrible that happened in Whitley Bay.

Andy McSmith is an author and journalist whose interest in the subject originated during the nine years he lived in Newcastle. His published works include a history of famous artists who lived in Russia during Stalin’s time.

North Shields: Stuart Barlow on The Hidden History of Robert Lowery
2023-02-11 11:00 - 12:30 | The Old Low Light, Clifford’s Fort, North Shields Fish Quay, North Shields, NE30 1JE
I am doing a talk at the Old Low Light Heritage Centre, North Shields NE30 1JE on Saturday 11 February at 11.00am which is about, what I have called, the hidden history of Robert Lowery, the North Shields man who was one of the leaders of the Chartist movement.
The talk will cover his birth in North Shields, his life and exploits as a child and young man, and how he become involved in what was going on around him at a time when there was much agitation in the area for Lord Grey’s Reform Act. From this Lowery began speaking publicly locally which led to him being involved in Chartism nationally.
People can find out more about the talk and how to book a place on the Old Low Light Heritage Centre web site at:
https://oldlowlight.co.uk/event/heritage-talk-a-north-shields-hidden-history-robert-lowery-chartist-leader/

NELH Tuesday Meeting. Jude Murphy: Routes of Social Change (WEA Project)
2023-02-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Venue to be notified
Routes of Social Change https://wea-historywalks.org.uk is an ongoing pilot project funded by Lipman Miliband Trust and WEA’s own Volunteer Innovation Fund. During lockdown, several of us at WEA were struck by the growth in interest in self-guided soundwalks. Obviously, this kind of activity was going to grow when you were limited to outdoor activity in your own back yard. As we explored the idea further, we realised there were alternative approaches that we wanted to trial. We wanted any walks we developed to reflect lesser-told stories. We wanted to show the landscape as something dynamic, affected by and in turn affecting social change. We opted to focus on four areas rich in tales of industrial and post-industrial transformation: along the Sustrans C2C route from Beamish to Consett; Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s sites relating to human rights and social justice; along the river Wear in Sunderland; and from Dunston Staithes, across the river into Ouseburn and Byker.
Considering the rich mix of skills among the volunteers in the NE History and Heritage Branch, it was clear that simple soundwalks might limit our ability to successfully communicate our message. We wanted to incorporate visual arts, photography, maps and video. This required a whole new platform and luckily we had a volunteer with superb digital skills who was seeking a new challenge. What followed was a pilot project that increased our awareness of the exciting possibilities of this kind of platform, but also the difficult editorial decisions that it brings. How to relate a nuanced social history in segments of no more than 4 minutes? What happens if some parts of the map are rich in stories while others have few points of interest? What about if every point of interest on a certain segment is quite depressing? There are as yet unexplored possibilities of digital archives to enrich the material presented on each walk, and this may address some of these issues.
The presentation to NELHS will involve sharing some of these stories and their dissemination, but also consultation with members of the society to explore ways to improve and extend these walks.
Jude Murphy’s PhD was on Tyneside Culture and the Second Folk Revival, and she has continued to explore social and cultural history of the region through several projects for WEA, WHIST, Education 4 Action and in collaboration with local universities. Her latest role is Heritage and Culture Development Coordinator with Community Opportunities Washington.

Special Event, Bosnia and the North East. Newcastle City Library
2023-03-18 10:00 - 13:00 | Bewick Room, Newcastle City Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AX
On Saturday 18th March there will be a special event in Newcastle to celebrate the links between North East England and Bosnia. All are welcome, especially those involved in education and in trade unions. The event will hear from a number of speakers related to educational and trade union work around the links between the North East and Bosnia.
Then we will plan to do groundbreaking work over the next two years in the areas of education and trade union activism.
We will plan to increase awareness of what happened in Bosnia in the 1990’s, how we can learn from it here and how we can work to get more schools to teach about these issues. We will plan to get the Bosnia Education Trust into more schools and also strengthen the Newcastle schools of sanctuary scheme.
We will also plan to let more people in the North East know about the strong trade union links between Bosnia and the North East in the past, how miners in Bosnia helped miners in this country during the 1984/5 strike and how trade unionists in the North East helped Bosnians during the war in the 1990’s, through Workers Aid for Bosnia. We will also plan how we can strengthen the international links between trade unions in the Northeast and Bosnia.
The story of North East links with Bosnia can be found on the NELHS website here: From-Tuzla-to-Tyneside.docx (live.com)
Speakers include:
Smajo Beso, Bosnia Education Trust
Shirley Allen-Jackson, WEA Area Education Manager Union Learning
Rosie Tapsfield, Newcastle Schools of Sanctuary
Erin Parker, daughter of Workers Aid for Bosnia NE coordinator Tony Parker
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday 18th MarchBewick Room, City Library, New Bridge Street West, Newcastle, NE1 8AX
Please join us for what will be an uplifting and important meeting.
For more information please contact Peter Sagar at peter0462@gmail.com

NELH Tuesday Meeting. Charlie McGuire (Teesside University): The 1980 Steel Strike on Teesside
2023-03-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Venue to be notified
Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82005871102?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 820 0587 1102
Passcode: [REDACTED]

The focus of the talk is the 1980 national steelworkers’ strike and its impact in Teesside. This was the first national industrial conflict between trade unions and Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, which had been elected seven months earlier. Lasting three months, from January-April 1980, it was – up to that point – the largest strike in post-1945 British history, involving over 100,000 workers and accounting for almost 9 million working days.
It was the first national strike in the history of the British steel industry (excluding the General Strike of 1926) and was characterised by very high levels of activism from the workers, in the form of mass picketing, widespread secondary picketing, and involvement in the numerous strike committees that were organised throughout the steel-producing regions in Britain. The outcome of the strike was a higher pay increase for workers, but this was accompanied with a continuation of the closures and redundancies programme; by the end of the 13-month period from the finish of the strike to May 1981, British Steel Corporation, under its new Chairman, Ian McGregor, had shed over 55,000 jobs.
Teesside was heavily dependent on steel as a source of employment. In 1980, around 21,000 people worked in the region’s steel plants, including Hartlepool, Redcar-Lackenby, South Bank and Cargo Fleet among others. Therefore when the strike was called, it proved to be a significant social, economic and political event. The strike was very well-supported and organised in the local steel works. However, in the years following the strike, job losses hit the Teesside steel industry and by 1986 employment was down to just 7,000. This talk will explore the strike and discuss its difficult aftermath in this region.
Charlie McGuire is a senior lecturer in history at Teesside University. His main research areas are in Irish and British labour history. Charlie’s PhD was a study of the career of Irish socialist and labour movement activist Roddy Connolly, who was the son of James Connolly. This formed the basis of the book Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism in Ireland, published by Cork University Press in 2008. His second monograph Sean McLoughlin: Ireland’s Forgotten Revolutionary was published by Merlin Press in 2011 and focused on the life of a little-known but significant figure of the Irish Revolution.
Charlie continues to research in Irish labour history, and is also interested in oral histories of working lives and trade union struggles in Britain. He was part of a major oral history project at Westminster University that focused on building worker trade unionism in post-war Britain and is currently researching an oral history study of the 1980 national steelworkers strike, which will be published by Manchester University Press.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists at the Tyneside Irish Centre
2023-03-24 19:30 - 22:00 | Tyneside Irish Centre, 43 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SG, United Kingdom
Neil Gore’s brilliant one man show returns to Tyneside Irish Centre on 24th March 2023
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists adapted by Neil Gore from the book by Robert Tressell, directed by Louise Townsend
Neil Gore, presents a one-person version of the classic novel by Robert Tressell featuring projection, political conjuring tricks, live music and song. Meet the famous characters and enjoy the scenes, speeches and songs, featuring the Great Money Trick as its centrepiece.
This enduring and absorbing classic story of a year in the life of a group of Edwardian painters and decorators is brought to life by Neil Gore using his extensive knowledge of the book and the play, having performed it in many versions over forty years.
‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ follows a group of workers as they renovate ‘The Cave’, a three-storey town house, for Mayor Sweater. It traces their hardships and struggles for survival in a complacent and stagnating Edwardian England.
These workers are the ‘philanthropists’ who throw themselves into back-breaking work for poverty wages in order to generate profit for their masters. They are joined by artist Owen, whose spirited attacks on the dishonesty of Capitalism along with his Socialist vision, highlights the exploitation in their workplace but also focuses on the inequality in society as a whole.
Tickets £15, £10 concesssions.- available on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/518591379777 or contact us on 0191 261 0385 or at tyneirishcs@gmail.com

NELH Tuesday Meeting. Gianfranco Rosolia: Clean Air, the long community struggle against the environmental damage caused by the Monkton Coke Works
2023-04-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Venue to be notified
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87434759208?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 874 3475 9208
Passcode: [REDACTED]
The inspirational true story of a dynamic Geordie woman’s rise from ordinary housewife to remarkable environmentalist.
‘An inspirational true story about female empowerment, grassroots activism and environmental justice. What an eloquent spokesperson Jennie Shearan was.’ Sting
‘A wonderful record of Jennie Shearan’s extraordinary campaign for environme ntal justice. CLEAN AIR recounts the vision, courage, and staying power of Jennie and her close colleagues in the Hebburn Residents’ Action Group. They provided hope for countless people.’ – Jonathon Porritt CBE
‘Jennie Shearan was a remarkable woman who was rooted in – and utterly devoted to – her local community. CLEAN AIR is a timely reminder of the importance of honouring women such as Jennie who can inspire others to follow her example of pursuing worthwhile causes and giving selfless public service.’ – Baroness Joyce Quin, former Europe Minister‘An inspiring story of an indomitable woman fighting for the health and well-being of a poor community against the combined power and influence of big business, supine regulators, and government.’ – Dr Wendy Le-Las
********************************************
Gianfranco Rosolia is a Literature graduate from the University of Cambridge and has an MBA from Bayes Business School. CLEAN AIR is his first book. Born and raised in the North East of England, he currently lives in Austin, Texas with his partner Michelle.
Jennie Shearan and the Hebburn Residents’ Action Group deeply loved their community. They put their heart and spirit into improving the lives of ordinary people. Their redoubtable efforts left a deeply positive and long-lasting legacy, giving thousands of people hope for a stronger and healthier future and transforming their quality of life.
To continue their good work, all proceeds from CLEAN AIR will go directly to three charities that represent what Jennie was fighting for:
Friends of the Earth: https://friendsoftheearth.uk
The Environmental Law Foundation: https://elflaw.org
Hebburn Helps: https://hebburnhelps.co.uk

2023 Tyne & Wear May Day celebration
2023-04-29 - 2023-04-30 | Grey’s Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne
Assembly from 11 am at
the Bandstand, Exhibition Park, Newcastle
Bring your banners and placards!
March leaves at 11.30 am, led by the RMT Fishburn Band
Rally at Grey’s Monument at 12 noon
Speakers include:
FRAN HEATHCOTE PCS president
DAVE KING RMT national executive
SUZANNE REID Unite regional coordinating officer
LINDSEY GERMAN Stop the War Coalition convenor
plus supporting local speakers
___________________________________________
Social after the rally at the
Tyneside Irish Centre
43 Gallowgate NE1 4SG
Lunchtime food available
Entertainment from the BELTA REIVERS

May Day in South Tyneside
2023-05-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Alberta Social Club, Railway Street, Jarrow, NE32 5HW
From Paul Mayne
South Tyneside Trades Council is organising a May Day Celebration, which will be on Monday May 1st at the Alberta Social Club, Railway Street, Jarrow NE32 5HW starting at 7.00pm.
The club is very close to Jarrow metro station on the Newcastle bound side. The speakers are: Kate Osbourne, MP for Jarrow, Emma Lewell Buck, MP for South Shields and Terry McPartlan from the Centre for Unemployed Workers in Gateshead.
Entertainment provided by the Shamrock Street Band. This will be a distance for some members to travel but the venue is not too inconvenient for folk near a metro station or who live in the Gateshead or South Tyneside areas. It would be nice to have a good turn out.

Land of Oak and Iron. CLEAN AIR: Monkton Cokeworks. Talk and Book Signing by Gianfranco Rosolia
2023-05-20 12:30 - 14:30 | Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, Blaydon on Tyne, NE21 6RU
Gianfranco Rosolia, who gave an excellent talk at our recent meeting on the history of the Monkton Cokeworks, will be speaking at theLand of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre on Saturday 20 May from 12.30 – 2.30pm for a “meet the author” & book-signing.
The address is Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill, Blaydon upon Tyne, NE21 6RU
People can buy an author-signed copy of the paperback on his CLEAN AIR website: https://clean-air-book.square.site/
Alternatively the book is available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CLEAN-AIR-Gianfranco-Rosolia/dp/1739102401

NELHS Meeting: 'Mutual Aid in the North East Past and Present' with Silvie Fisch and Rosie Serdiville
2023-05-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Tyneside Irish Centre, 43 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SG, United Kingdom
Please note the date of this meeting has been moved from Tue 23 May to Wed 24 May: Tyneside Irish Centre. 7:00pm
The Topic
By the time of the first Covid lockdown, the UK’s existing infrastructure of food banks and other formalised support services were inadequate in responding to the demands driven by the pandemic. Mutual Aid responders stepped in to “fill the gaps” between need and formalised support.
Thousands of ordinary people across the UK (and worldwide) took action and formed Mutual Aid groups. But while the groups emerged spontaneously in response to need, Mutual Aid responders were drawing on traditions of mutuality, solidarity and self-care that have a long history.
In their presentation Silvie Fisch and Rosie Serdiville will look at the past and present of Mutual Aid in the North East. This will include findings of the ‘Mutual Aid Oral History Project’ at Newcastle University.
Collection
If you wish you will be able to donate to the Arthur’s Hill Solidarity Fund – for people who live in the inner west end of Newcastle, intended for those who are struggling financially, given on a no questions asked basis
Our Speakers
Silvie Fisch is the Director of Northern Cultural Projects, a community history and cultural organisation, and an Associate Researcher at the Oral History Unit and Collective at Newcastle University. She passionately believes in the power of culture to enhance the quality of life of vulnerable and disadvantaged people and communities.
Rosie Serdiville is a member of the NELHS Committee and Editor of North East History.

Northumbria University: Liberating Histories: Activist Legacies Roundtable. A discussion of feminist print magazines and their influence in the digital age
2023-05-25 10:00 - 16:00 | Hedley Suite, Sandyford Building, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne
Guest Speakers: Penny Remfry (Scarlet Women) Sharan Dhaliwal (Burnt Roti) Rosanne Rabinowitz (Bad Attitude) Artists Kate Taylor (Trouble & Strife) & Fanny Tribble (Spare Rib), further speakers to be confirmed.
Please sign up on Eventbrite
Free lunch and wine reception included
Visit our website to find out more about the project:
https://liberatinghistories.org/
Follow us on Twitter: @LibHistories & Instagram: liberatinghistories

You are invited to Washington Heritage Partnership’s Summer Networking Event
2023-06-06 12:00 - 15:30 | North East Land, Sea and Air Museum, Washington Road, Sunderland, SR5 3HZ
Tuesday 6th June 2023, North East Land, Sea and Air Museum, from 12noon
Those of you who attended our introductory event in February will be aware of how productive it was in helping everyone to find out more about how the Washington Heritage Partnership can benefit you and your groups/organisations. Come along to our summer event, which will be another great chance to bounce around ideas, to explore the museum, and also to hear from:

Lizzy Baker of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums will tell us about collections management and conservation: how do we best curate what we have?
Project Choices will give some insights into how heritage volunteering can enhance the life- and work- skills of young people with autism

The event will also provide an opportunity for updates on:

Funding opportunities and grants for heritage and cultural organisation operating in Washington, including an update on our Small Grants programme.
Free and bespoke training and support opportunities.

Most of all, we want to hear from you! Share your insights and approaches, and tell us what we can do to enrich the heritage offer in Washington.
Event itinerary

12:00-1:00pm

Lunch, networking and a chance to explore the museum

1:00-1:30pm

Updates on Partnership Activities

1:30-1:50pm

Project Choices – supporting young people with autism to become heritage volunteers

1:50-2:00pm

Comfort Break

2:00-3:00pm

Lizzy Baker, TWAM – conservation, curation and collections. How do we care for and record the resources we hold?

3:00-3:30pm

Networking

3:30pm

Close

Please RSVP by 5pm Friday 26th May so we can confirm catering, either via this form or by replying to me at judithmurphy@communityopportunities.co.uk, letting us know if you have any special dietary requirements.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
All the best
Jude Murphy
Heritage and Culture Development Coordinator
Washington Heritage Partnership

POSTPONED: NELHS Tuesday Meeting: John Charlton will talk about the first volume of his autobiography: A Distant World, Growing up on Tyneside in the Early Fifties.
2023-06-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Tonight’s talk has been postponed due to illness. John is sorry he can’t make the meeting but we will re-arrange it for another time and, in the meantime, I’m sure we all wish him a very speedy recovery.

Tyneside Irish Centre. Celebrating Our Traditions
2023-06-15 19:00 - 22:00 | Tyneside Irish Centre, 43 Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SG, United Kingdom
From Peter Sagar
Celebrating Our Traditions is a series of multicultural events, held at the Tyneside Irish Centre, featuring our Northumbrian music and song as well as some of the many great cultural traditions, which have been brought to our region by those who have to come to live here. It always makes for a great cultural mix and a lovely evening!
The next Celebrating Our Traditions event will be held in the Gallowgate Room, Floor 2 at the Tyneside Irish Centre, 43 Gallowgate NE1 4SG starting at 7.30 pm on Thursday 15 June. It will include contributions from the following:
Jamie Brown, well-known northeast actor, singer and musician singing songs with a local flavour.
Francis Jones and Amer Ratkusic reading poetry from Bosnia
Koroush Nazery, Iranian musician playing music from Iran
Peter Sagar, singer-songwriter, singing Northumbrian songs both old and new
Irish and other music tbc
The doors open at 7 pm on Thursday 15 June and it should be a great evening! It would be great to see you there and please pass this on to others who might be interested. People can get more information about this event by emailing peter0462@gmail.com.

Sheffield Hallam University. Annual Chartism Conference on 17 June
2023-06-17 09:00 - 17:00 | Sheffield Hallam University, Room 1028, Owen Building, Sheffield, S1 2LX
From Joan Allen
The annual Chartism Day conference is being held at Sheffield Hallam University on Saturday 17th June.
Entry is free and includes a light lunch. However, pre booking is required so that the organising team can order food and manage any food intolerances/allergies.
Full details, including the Eventbrite booking form, can be found on the Society for the Study of Labour History website: https://sslh.org.uk/2023/05/01/chartism-day-2023/ Pre booking will close on 13th June.

Songs and Politics of the Durham Coalfield
2023-07-06 19:00 - 23:00 | Durham City Rugby Club
Join Education4Action in celebrating the songs and politics of the Durham Coalfield with the Folk Music singer/songwriters The Elliot’s of Birtley, and Benny Graham, Pitmen Poet and giant of the North East Folk Scene. Mary Foy MP will also be speaking at the event and there will be a talk from Robert Gildea on his new book ‘Backbone of the Nation – the story of the support groups in 1984/5’ which E4A contributed to.
Bill Elliott (Elliott’s of Birtley) and Kevin Youldon have played Folk Music together for over 30 years and are well-known on the North East Folk scene. Ken Tonge is a fine Folk musician originally from Lancashire who is well-known on the local folk scene and has performed in Folk Clubs, Festivals etc. for over 50 years. They all regularly perform in Beamish Museum and other venues.
Benny Graham served his musical apprenticeship from 1967 in the folksong clubs of North East England such as in Birtley, run by the Elliott family, and Newcastle Folksong and Ballad (which featured among its regulars the High Level Ranters and Lou Killen) were at the forefront of the British folk revival.
Real ale & bar food
Tickets: £5 on the door. Register in advance by emailing kathleenhconnolly@hotmail.co.uk

Sunderland Minster, Remember Srebrenica
2023-07-11 18:30 | Sunderland Minster
From Peter Sagar
Sunderland Minster, 6.30pm, 11 July
As some of you are aware, 11th July marks the 28th anniversary of the terrible genocide at Srebrenica in Bosnia when 8372 innocent men and boys were murdered by Serbian forces, during the war in the former Yugoslvaia. Other massacres also took place during that terrible conflict and all these as well as the events at Srebrenica are remembered by the Bosnian community in the North East every July.
This year the main ceremony in our region is in Sunderland at the Minster on 11th July and the proceedings begin at 6pm. These are always very moving and informative events and are very well worth attending. They are opportunities to remember those who lost their lives in the war in Bosnia and also consider how we should respond here in the Northeast in our communities, to lessen hatred and help build strong communities that can work together to deal with the challenges we face.
I hope some of you can attend.

Tuesday Meeting: Disruption and control: Contesting mobility regimes through the picket line in 1970s Britain with Diarmaid Kelliher by Zoom on 18 July at 7.00pm
2023-07-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Through an account of the relationship between picket lines and drivers in Britain, this talk thinks about questions of mobility in labour history.
It focuses on three moments in this period. First, the 1972 miners’ strike, when interactions between pickets and hauliers produced moments of powerful solidarity but also violent conflict.
Second, debates around a legislative proposal to require drivers to stop and listen to pickets, in which contrasting conceptions of mobility ‘rights’ were employed.
Third, the 1979 road haulage strike, which demonstrated drivers’ own ability to disrupt the economy through picketing. At stake in all three was a question of power over movement. Such a focus draws attention to complex methods of control, which can be missing in labour histories that emphasise the purely disruptive nature of industrial action and picketing.
Diarmaid is a Lecturer in Human Geography in the School of Geographical & Earth Sciences at the University of Galsgow.

CRAMLINGTON TRAIN WRECKERS (from Ed Waugh)
2023-07-26 14:00 - 18:30
Wednesday, July 26 @ 2pm & 6.30pm
The Hub, Cramlington
We had 160 at the meetings about the Cramlington Train Wreckers on March 30 and the follow-up film/talk in July 26 has already attracted 75 people with seven weeks to go.
The event during the General Strike led to the imprisonment of eight Northumberland miners for a total of 48 years.
A campaign by the labour and trade union movement got them out a lot earlier. It’s an incredible story.
Given it happened during the General Strike of 1926, and we are approaching the centenary, we are working with local organisations on the project.
Also Google: “Cramlington Train Wreckers” to see the work we’ve already done.
We have secured the rights to the 30-minute (1970) BBC film called Yesterday’s Witness, about the Cramlington Train Wreckers.
Ed
07960066377
TO PURCHASE TICKETS
2pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-cramlington-train-wreckers-a-30-minute1970-bbc-film-tickets-607220852917
6.30pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-cramlington-train-wreckers-a-30-minute1970-bbc-film-tickets-607187172177

NELH Tuesday Meeting: Tony Fox will talk about Phyllis Short, lifelong Teesside Communist
2023-08-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Venue to be notified
Behind every great man there’s a great woman, or so goes the old adage. Phyllis Short was the wife of George Short, the Communist Party District Secretary for Teesside, but simply saying this disguises the campaigns for social justice that she herself led.
Born into the mining community of Chopwell, when they moved to Stockton in 1931 they began a lifetime’s campaign to improve the lives of people on Teesside and beyond. This talk will describe Phyllis’ eventful life, highlighting the ways she fought against injustice locally, nationally and internationally during the most turbulent period of the 20th Century. Her friends and family remember her as a working-class hero, who faced down all enemies to champion a better and fairer society, this talk aims to show why she should be remembered by a much wider audience.
Tony Fox, a history teacher, chaired the Durham Branch of the Historical Association for fifteen years. Author of I sing of My comrades: remembering Stockton’s International Brigaders, he is a member of the International Brigade Memorial Trust and has published a number of articles on International Brigade volunteers and memorials. This latest talk is the result of recent research and collaboration with the family of George and Phyllis Short.
Here’s the link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85072858100?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 850 7285 8100
Passcode: [REDACTED]

NELH Annual General Meeting, CHANGE OF DATE - now 7 September. Victoria Bazin and Melanie Waters, Feminist Print Magazines and their Influence in the Digital Age project
2023-09-07 19:00 - 20:30 | The Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE, United Kingdom
The date of our AGM has been moved from 12 September to Thursday 7 September. It will be held at the Newcastle Lit and Phil.
The speakers will be Victoria Bazin and Melanie Waters who will be talking about the Feminist Print Magazines and Their Influence in the Digital Age project.
