Saving Sarah Chapman's Grave & a Statue to honour the Matchgirls strike victory

I am a UNISON delegate to the TUC regional Council (LESE) which meets this Saturday and amongst the paperwork I was sent for it was an update on the campaign to save Sarah Chapman's Grave in  Manor Park Cemetery (Newham, East London).

Sarah (1862-1945) was a grass roots trade union leader in the famous "Matchgirls" strike and victory over Byrant & May in 1888 and later a TUC delegate.  She is buried in an unmarked paupers grave in a privately run cemetery which is threatening "Mounding" her grave (to level the ground, remove all memorials and cover with top soil to create more space for future burials).

There is also a campaign to have a statue to honour the Matchgirls whose victory helped laid the foundations for the modern day health and safety, trade unions and the labour movement.

It is now incredible that they had to fight to stop their employer poisoning them with white phosphorus, which could result in workers developing a condition called "phossy jaw",  which had a mortality rate of up to 20%.

Sarah's great grand-daughter is helping to lead both campaigns. I have emailed to offer my support (and I have posted previously on this here and here)

There is a petition still open https://www.change.org/p/minister-of-justice-save-sarah-chapman-s-grave-a-leader-of-the-1888-matchgirls-strike-trade-union-heroine and an open day (see main picture) in Bethnal Green on 2 November 2019.

For many years I worked in Bow near to the Byrant & May site (which has now been turned into residential flats which commuters should recognise while on the train into Liverpool Street)  as a housing officer and I used to manage Annie Besant Close which was named after another leading figure in the Matchgirls strike. 

Lyn Brown MP Commemorates the Match Women Strike of 1888

Great speech by West Ham MP Lyn Brown on this famous strike and her family connections with the East End, the strike and trade unions.  Important recognition by Lyn that this strike was organised by working class women and not wealthy middle class radicals.  I have worked within walking distance of the factory for the past 20 years and use to manage the housing estate Annie Besant Crescent. The reasons for this 125 year old strike is remarkable modern - low pay, health & safety, insecure employment, corruption and victimisation.

"Lyn Brown MP sponsored a debate in Westminster Hall to ask for further Government recognition of the Match Women's strike of 1888. 1,400, mainly women workers at the Bryant and May factory in the Bow area of East London went on strike to protest against poor working conditions in the match factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines and the severe health complications of working with white phosphorus.

Modern research by the historian Louise Raw has proved that the strike was instigated, organised and led independently by the match women themselves and then supported by others. The match women's strike in 1888 led directly to the Great Dock Strike of 1889 in the same part of London and, therefore, set in train the historic events from which the Labour Party was created in 1900.

The match women's victory was also an inspiration to the Suffragette movement and for all those campaigning for equality today.

Birthday Night Out at Matchmakers

Last night we went out to celebrate George Woznicki’s birthday with beer and a curry. Sadly, George, who was a good comrade and fellow trade unionist, is no longer with us.

We started off with a toast to George (see below) at the Matchmakers in Roman Road, E2. The pub is named after the huge Bryant and May factory which is just a few hundred yards away. This was the scene of the famous “Match Girls strike” of 1888. The strike was about appalling health & safety, poor pay and excessive “fines”. By coincidence on Monday it is the start of European Health and Safety Week (I’ll post separately about this). At the time it was a famous victory. The socialist reformer Annie Besant lived locally and helped support the strike. There is a nice housing estate near by named after her.

The Bryant & May buildings have now been turned into expensive flats, a so called “gated community”.

I doubt that many of its modern day residents frequent the “Matchmaker” on a Friday night, which is a pity since its cheap prices make for an interesting cliental.

Eventually we finished off in the Bengal Classic in Westferry, E14 – top nosh. George would have loved it.