Jarrow March

The Jarrow March (or Jarrow Crusade, from the phrase on banners carried by the marchers), was an October 1936 protest march against unemployment and extreme poverty suffered in North East England at that time. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/jarrow_01.shtml BBC - History - The Jarrow Crusade ] ] The marchers travelled from the town of Jarrow to the Palace of Westminster in London, a distance of almost 300 miles, to lobby Parliament.

During 1936, mass unemployment and extreme poverty in the north-east of England drove 200 men to march in protest to the government from Jarrow to London. Their MP, Ellen Wilkinson was with them as they came south to petition parliament and many men marching in the Jarrow Crusade, never forgot their great champion, 'Red Ellen'.

When they got back home from petitioning the government, very little was done for them. The ship industries remained closed and all that they were given was £1 each to get the train back from London.

Background

The global Great Depression brought particular distress to North East England, where many citizens were miners and ship workers. The collapse of domestic and international trade in shipbuilding, coal mining, and steel industries led to even more severe unemployment and poverty than seen in other parts of the country. At the time unemployment benefit lasted only for twenty six weeks, and the Unemployment Assistance Board, created in 1934, provided inadequate relief for long-term unemployed people. Long-term unemployed people were put under Poor Law which forced them to do service for less money than normal. Senior generations of families were forcibly evicted from their family homes.

The Palmer's Yard shipbuilding industry had been established in Jarrow in the mid-19th century. Jarrow is a small town on the mouth of the River Tyne, near the city of Newcastle, which had a large manufacturing industry. A boomtown, Jarrow prospered at the start of the 20th century, when more than a quarter of the world's shipping tonnage was built in North East England. After the Great Depression, the town sank economically.

The National Shipbuilding Securities was set up to counter the increasingly dire situation. It recommended "rationalisation," which meant closing down a number of shipyards. Jarrow was one of the older yards that was closed to protect the more modern yards. In 1935 the huge cranes at Palmer's Yard were dismantled, and the town faced a bleak future.

The National Unemployed Workers' Movement had organised several similar marches before the Jarrow March, albeit these received little political support due to the NUWM's links with the Communist Party. When the Jarrow Borough Council organised the protest in July 1936, they named it a "crusade" rather than a march partly to make it clear their protest was not affiliated with the NUWM in the hope of gaining more support.

As of 2008 Go North East made a tribute bus called the crusader 27/27A as an honour

March

On October 5, 1936, 207 Geordie men, known as the Jarrow Marchers, walked from Jarrow to London to lobby Parliament. The march was to find jobs to support Jarrow men and their families. It was also a bid for respect and recognition, not only for the people of Jarrow, but for others in a similar situation all over the country. The marchers had no resources other than their own determination, and some good boots supplied by the public. During the march, wherever the marchers stopped for the night, the local people found them shelter and provided them with food.

The marchers were selected carefully, with only fit men being allowed to participate.

The marchers were supported by a bus which carried cooking equipment and ground sheets for when the march had to stop outside. Many of the men marched in army style, walking for 50 minutes before a ten-minute break, and held blue and white banners. A harmonica band and frequent singing helped to keep morale of the marchers high. Sometimes, the local Member of Parliament, Ellen Wilkinson, marched with the group to give higher profile to the crusade.

The original petition, which demanded government aid for the town of Jarrow, signed by 11,000 people from Jarrow, was carried in an oak box, whilst supporters of the March could add to an additional petition. The marchers spent the nights in local accommodation, whilst sometimes receiving extra aid from locals. In Barnsley, the marchers were allowed to use specially-heated municipal baths.

Route

The route the marchers took was in 22 legs with overnight stops, covering a total of 280.5 miles (451 km) as follows:

*Jarrow to Chester-le-Street – (12 miles)
*Chester-le-Street to Ferry Hill – (12 miles)
*Ferryhill to Darlington – (12 miles)
*Darlington to Northallerton – (16 miles)
*Northallerton to Ripon – (17 miles)
*Ripon to Harrogate – (11½ miles)
*Harrogate to Leeds – (15½ miles)
*Leeds to Wakefield – (9 miles)
*Wakefield to Barnsley – (9¾ miles)
*Barnsley to Sheffield – (13½ miles)
*Sheffield to Chesterfield – (11¾ miles)
*Chesterfield to Mansfield – (12 miles)
*Mansfield to Nottingham – (14½ miles)
*Nottingham to Loughborough – (15 miles)
*Loughborough to Leicester – (11¼ miles)
*Leicester to Market Harborough – (14½ miles)
*Market Harborough to Northampton – (14½ miles)
*Northampton to Bedford – (21 miles)
*Bedford to Luton – (19 miles)
*Luton to St Albans – (10¼ miles)
*St Albans to Edmonton – (11 miles)
*Edmonton to Marble Arch, London (8½ miles)

Impact and aftermath

The marchers arrived in London on October 31, almost a month after leaving. The total number of signatures on the petition was 12,000, and was handed into Parliament by Wilkinson. The Prime Minister of the day, Stanley Baldwin, refused to see any of the marchers' representatives, claiming he was too busy. The marchers generally received sympathy, though no proposal was made to help Jarrow, despite the petition being accepted in the House of Commons.

It was not until two years after the Jarrow March, in 1938, that a ship breaking yard and engineering works were established in Jarrow. The following year, a steelworks was established. However the depression continued in Jarrow until after the beginning of World War II in September 1939, when industrial production increased due to the nation's need for re-armament.

The Jarrow March is fondly remembered by those on the left in British politics as a landmark in the history of labour movement, even though the Labour Party of the day opposed it, and the Trades Union Congress circularised Trades Councils advising them not to help the marchers [Ellen Wilkinson - "The Town That Was Murdered] .

The last surviving member of the march, Cornelius Whalen, died on September 14, 2003, at 93. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/3121722.stm BBC: Last Jarrow March member dies] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/jarrow_01.shtml The Jarrow Crusade] – a series of BBC articles on the Jarrow March