Welcome

Gathering the Jewels features over 30,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, archives and libraries throughout Wales.

Search the map

Thumbnail image of Wales,

New to Gathering the Jewels is G.I.S. A geographical search facility that will enable searching by location and place name.

Topics

Home » Protest and Politics » Trade unionism & labour disputes » General Strike, 1926

Displaying results 1 to 6 out of 8

Page 1

Page 2

Next >

Aberaman Carnival, held during the General Strike of 1926
  • The text on this banner reads: 'Gelli Lodge Rhondda. A. J. Cook. From obscurity to respect'. Dimensions: 1.95 x 1.97m.
Banner of the Gelli Lodge, Rhondda, c. 1926 [front face, image 1 of 2]
  • The inscription on this silver trowel reads as follows: 'Presented to Mrs. Dennis on the occasion of her laying Memorial Stone of the Brake Wesleyan Chapel, Moss 18th May 1885'. The English Methodist chapel was opened in 1886 and dedicated to the 'Glory of God'. It was more commonly known as 'The Brake Chapel'. There are few families within the Pentre Broughton district who did not have some connection with the church at one time or another. The chapel became the focus of the community and the schoolroom was used as a soup kitchen during the 1926 General Strike. Wrexham Museum will preserve the foundation stones of Brake Chapel following the demolition of the building in February 2003.
Silver trowel used to lay the memorial stone of the Brake Wesleyan Chapel, near Wrexham, 1885
  • This political pamphlet was written by the miners' leader, A. J. Cook (1884-1931). Cook was a native of Somerset but came to work as a coal miner to the Rhondda Valley in 1903. He played a prominent role in the General Strike of 1926 as Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. This pamphlet was published in the aftermath of the Strike in November 1926.
A. J. Cook, 'Is it Peace?' (1926) [front cover, image 1 of 12]
  • This political pamphlet was written by the miners' leader, A. J. Cook (1884-1931). Cook was a native of Somerset but came to work as a coal miner to the Rhondda Valley in 1903. He played a prominent role in the General Strike of 1926 as Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain.
A. J. Cook, 'The Mond Moonshine' (1928) [front cover, image 1 of 12]
  • Although the General Strike of May 1926 lasted only nine days, the miners of south Wales remained locked out of the collieries for a further nine months. During the long summer of 1926, a large number of carnivals and other social events were organised by the mining communities in order to raise money for the unemployed colliers. These events were also an important means of boosting the morale of the strikers and their families, as well as demonstrating their resiliance. A distinctive feature of the carnivals was the emergence of the comic jazz band or 'character band' which marched through the streets. This photograph shows members of the 'Spanish Serenaders Character Band' from Graig, Pontypridd.
Spanish Serenaders character band, Graig, Pontypridd, 1926