In the past 800 years North Shields has developed a rich history, some of it well known, from Sam Fender to Plasticine, fishing to Robert Westall. However, there is a side of North Shields not often explored: its radical past. The second article in this series explores North Shields’s contribution to struggles to live through strikes and protests. North Shields as a working class area has endured hardships, and in many cases the people of Shields have not taken that lying down. They have always fought to make sure they can live and continue to do so.
A trickle of resistance: strikes on the Tyne
Unsurprisingly, given the rich heritage across Tyneside of water based industries, there have been many industrial disputes by those who worked the Tyne. Throughout the late 1700s and 1800s there were a number of strikes by various people who worked on the Tyne.
In May 1768 seamen struck in the hopes of raising their wages[1]. In March 1775 there was another strike but this one took place in the most peculiar of circumstances. The price of coal had risen and the seaman had been called out by their shipping companies. The strike escalated on 16 March, men physically tried to prevent coal from being loaded onto ships. Three days later seamen again tried to prevent coal being loaded this time going one step further and boarding the ships in a desperate effort to keep their strike effective[2].
April of 1785 saw yet another strike this time sailors striking for 50 shillings a month. The men were out for several weeks and in a bid to end their strike they were visited by the Mayor of Newcastle and the magistrate for the same area on 25 April along with a company of soldiers[3]. The fact they were visited by these dignitaries showed both how steadfast they were in their demands and how seriously the authorities were taking their strike. In the end this strike won! A further strike occurred in 1796 which ended in a riot[4].
September 1815 saw a rise in unemployment. Many people from Shields had been in the Royal Navy which had recently had mass layoffs. As well as this, there was a sudden influx of sailors in the UK. This led to yet another strike[5].
In September of 1819. keelman, who worked up and down the river transporting coal, were angered by trains now taking some of their trade. They decided to go on strike. The militant crowd began to throw stones, soldiers shot at the crowd killing a man.[6]
Chipping away, early miners’ strikes
Within the North Shields area there were a number of pits from as early as 1316 including in what is now the Marden estate.[7] From this point on mining grew across the UK and North Shields was no exception. The miners often had poor conditions with long hours and workers weren’t paid well for dangerous and difficult work. The first trade union for miners was started on Wearside by Thomas Hepburn, they were called the Colliers of the United Association of Durham and Northumberland. The union led by Hepburn called its first strike in opposition to working conditions in 1831 which had two major victories. Firstly, it cut their long hours down to 12 hours, a significant victory at the time. They also won the right to be paid in cash rather than tokens used in exchanges with the colliery owners.[8] In 1832 the miners went on strikes again and colliery owners prevented members of the union from being allowed to sign their own terms and conditions. The colliery owners held on and started to remove miners from the cottages.[9]
During this strike, a strike meeting was held in Chirton, North Shields on 8 July. Fighting between miners and special constables resulted in Percy Main pitman Cuthbert Skipsey being shot in the head. Skipsey had been trying to bring the fighting to an end. Outrageously, constable George Wendell who shot Skipsey was only charged with manslaughter then given six months of hard labour. [10]
Cannit eat but can fight
The 1920s and 1930s was a period of hardship for many across the Western world. Wall Street had crashed and with it poverty was thrust upon the masses. Unemployment rose throughout the UK.
A march to the Tynemouth Board of Guardians (BoG) was called in October 1925[11]. The Board of Guardians were responsible for providing relief to the poor either through the workhouse or money. A further call for an increase was rejected by the Tynemouth BoG in March 1926 before the General Strike[12]. The 1926 General Strike in essence was a sympathy strike for miners, lasting for 8 days in May. Across North Shields support for strike can be found but is not steadfast. On 8 May The Workers’ Chronicle reported that all grades of railwaymen at North Shields were ‘out’ however, at Tynemouth station only 50% of men were ‘out.’[13]
Across the North East groups in the National Unemployed Workers Committee Movement (NUWCM) came together to oppose the visit of then Minister of Health, Neville Chamberlain, to Tynemouth in April 1928. Chamberlain was adamant that relief should not be granted to out of work single men. The march would start in Shields with various groups combining together to march to Tynemouth Plaza. The police frustrated[14] the efforts of march to get to the Plaza but eventually it got through.
The scales imposed on means-tested benefits by the Unemployment Assistance Board caused North Shields to explode in riots in 1930 [15]. Throughout 1932 relations between the National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM) and the public assistance committee (PAC) ,which were the successor of the BoG, were fractious at best. The NUWM had exposed both low relief rates and claimants not receiving their relief. This led to public meetings in August and September. On 5 October 1932 the NUWM questioned the PAC chairman, Cllr Stanley Holmes. Deeming Holmes’ answers completely unsatisfactory, they decided to march on the PAC offices later that day. Their march was heavily policed and twice blocked from getting anywhere near PAC offices. Eventually police decided to charge at the protest and employ the tactic of mass arrest. Even the local Labour Party – often at odds with NUWM – were outraged at the policing. PAC decided to meet the NUWM going back on their earlier statement that they only met with unions[16]. A later demonstration against unemployment in North Shields on 31 January 1935 drew in 10,000 people[17] [18].
In 1930 and 1931 Arab seamen in both North and South Shields went on strike against shipping companies and their own union the National Union of Seamen. Tensions throughout the strike were high and fighting broke out between white and Arab sailors. That is only half the story as some white sailors offered solidarity rather than hostility. Alec Robson, a veteran of the North Shields political scene, called on his white colleagues not to sign on to take the work of Arab sailors who were both paid union members and deserved their solidarity[19].
Mines revisited
Post-war Britain saw a number of major strikes in coal mining. 1972 and 1984/5 being particularly bitter, one ending in victory and one ending in defeat. Despite being no mines left by this time in North Shields, Preston Colliery having closed in 1929[20] solidarity was still given by the people of North Shields to the surrounding mines.
In December 1984, the YMCA in North Shields hosted striking miners and a miners support group to make calendars to fund a children’s christmas party for the children of striking miners[21]. The calendar contained images of mines around North Tyneside including ships in 1900 in North Shields[22].
Following the miners strike, there was a campaign to keep a number of pits in Northumberland and Durham area coalfields open including (but not limited to) Easington, Ellington, Vane Tempest, Westoe and Ashington. Women against Pit Closures organised a women and children’s event at Vane Tempest, Seaham on International Women’s Day 1993. Transport from North Tyneside was organised and the coach was scheduled to stop at Northumberland Square in North Shields at 10.45am that day[23]. The following month on the 17 April there was a march and rally in North Shields to save the pit organised by North Tyneside Trades Council, the rally had speaker from the North Tyneside Trades Council, National Union of Mineworkers, Women Against Pit Closures and Tynemouth Constituency Labour Party[24].
Unions reinvigorated?
From 2021 the UK was gripped by the biggest wave of strikes in a generation. Rail workers, NHS staff, educators, barristers and many more went on strike as the cost of living crisis bit.
Throughout the recent wave of strikes there were several national strikes called by various unions. The most high profile of these in North Shields were the strikes in the NHS. During this strike wave nurses who were members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) struck, followed by GMB, UNISON and Unite members in the Ambulance service as well as British Medical Association (BMA) members both consultants and junior doctors. During this wave of strikes both GMB and UNISON members picketed Hawkeys Lane Ambulance Station[25] [26] and RCN and BMA members picketed North Tyneside General Hospital, Rake Lane, North Shields[27] [28]. North Shields schools were affected by the teachers strikes by National Education Union members.[29]
North Tyneside Council workers took part in the strikes as 260 members of the Unite union took action after rejecting a pay offer in September and October 2023. Unite’s members worked across multiple sections of the council including schools, admin and tradespeople.[30]
Go North East buses were hit by strikes in October of 2023. Go North East has, at the time of writing, a depot in North Shields on Norham Road. The workers, who were members of Unite the Union, struck for two weeks over a disparity in pay between different sections of the company according to Unite members[31]. On 28 October Unite called for indefinite strike action, the workers were balloted again at the end of November in a move which would’ve taken their strike through to April[32]. At the start of December, Unite members voted to accept a deal which contained an 11.2% pay rise for workers between January and July 2024 before a 4% pay rise the following year.[33]
The North Shields factory for US based company Formica, who make laminate products, faced strike action in 2024. The GMB called for both an overtime ban[34] and staged a number of walkouts over a three week period in opposition to a 3.25% pay deal[35].
Conclusion
Overall, North Shields again demonstrates throughout its 800 years of existence that working class people have stood up and stood alongside each other in the fight simply to live. The solidarity shown particularly outside official structures of trade unions should be a lesson to us all that solidarity should have no boundaries. In a world of increasing uncertainty, it is important that yes we join unions and take action but more than that we support working class people in their struggles not as a form of benevolence but rather as mutual aid. This was a past Shields tradition particularly in the 1930s and right up to the 1990s. We should reinvigorate this and take our solidarity and unashamedly working classness into every space.
End References
(1984), Whitley Bay Guardian, 14th December
(2023) ‘Go North East: Two weeks of bus strikes to go ahead in October’, BBC News, 29th September, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-66946249 (Accessed on 11th October 2024)
Brockie,W. (?) History of Shields p.121
Brunskill, E. (2022) Nurses make history in massive RCN strike, The Socialist, 15th December, Available at: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/105423/15-12-2022/nurses-make-history-in-massive-rcn-strike/ (Accessed on 13 October 2024)
Dodds, G. (2013) A Short History of North Shields Sunderland, Albion Press
Durham Mining Museum (2023) Preston Colliery. Available at: http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/p007.htm (Accessed 24/02/2025)
Goodwin, N. (2023) ‘North Tyneside Council workers strike amid pay dispute as union warns of disruption to services’, The Chronicle, 7th September, Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-tyneside-council-workers-strike-27662233 (Accessed on 12 October 2024)
Hannington, W. (1977) Unemployed Struggles. London: Lawrence and Wishart.
Laraman G.H. (1926) The Workers’ Chronicle, 8th May.
North News (2022) A picket line protest held at the Ambulance Service depot in North Shields, North Tyneside, as ambulance workers go on strike today over pay and working conditions [X formerly Twitter], 21st December. Available at: https://twitter.com/northnews/status/1605612596727463936 (Accessed on 13th October 2024)
North Tyneside Miners Support Group (1984) 1985 Calendar
North Tyneside Trade Union Council (1993) No Pit Closures Real Jobs for Real Wages
Perry, M. (2005) The Jarrow Crusade: Protest and Legend. Sunderland: The University of Sunderland Press.
Scholey, D. (2021) Secret North Shields & Tynemouth Stroud, Amberley Publishing
Scott, J. and Bilalova, P. (2023) ‘Go North East ballot opens on continuing strike action’, BBC News, 24 November, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-67520960 (Accessed on 11th October 2024
Scott, J. and Robinson, C. (2023) ‘Go North East bus workers accept strike-ending pay offer’, BBC News, 1st December, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-67588641 (Accessed on 11th October 2024)
Sharma, S. (2023) Full list of North East schools affected by the teachers’ strikes on Thursday’, The Chronicle, 25th April, Available at:https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-school-closures-strike-26773692 (Accessed on 13th October 2024).
Volpe, S. (2023) ‘Ambulance workers strike across the North East as NHS pay dispute continues’, The Chronicle, 20th February, Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/gmb-ambulance-strikes-nhs-north-26285939 (Accessed on 13th October 2024)
Volpe, S. (2023) ‘Three days of junior doctor strikes on Tyneside in picture – ‘we’re quite hopeful’, The Chronicle, 16th June, Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/gallery/junior-doctors-strike-pictures-nhs-27139279 (Accessed on 13th October 2024)
Watson, D. (2014) No Justice without a struggle: The National Unemployed Workers’ Movement in the North East of England 1920-1940. London: Merlin Press.
Women Against Pit Closures (1993) Vigil Outside Vane Tempest Colliery
[1] Brockie,W. (?) History of Shields p.121
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Dodds, G. (2013) A Short History of North Shields Sunderland, Albion Press pp.7-8
[7] Scholey, D. (2021) Secret North Shields & Tynemouth Stroud, Amberley Publishing p.36
[8] Ibid pp. 38-39
[9] Ibid 39
[10] Ibid 39
[11] Watson, D. (2014) No Justice without a struggle: The National Unemployed Workers’ Movement in the North East of England 1920-1940. London: Merlin Press. p.59
[12] Ibid
[13] Laraman G.H. (1926) The Workers’ Chronicle, 8th May.
[14] Watson, D. (2014) No Justice without a struggle: The National Unemployed Workers’ Movement in the North East of England 1920-1940. London: Merlin Press. P. 77.
[15] Perry, M. (2005) The Jarrow Crusade: Protest and Legend. Sunderland: The University of Sunderland Press. p.73
[16] Watson, D. (2014) No Justice without a struggle: The National Unemployed Workers’ Movement in the North East of England 1920-1940. London: Merlin Press. Pp.102-4
[17] Perry, M. (2005) The Jarrow Crusade: Protest and Legend. Sunderland: The University of Sunderland Press. p212.
[18] Hannington, W. (1977) Unemployed Struggles. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Pp.229-237 & 310-317
[19] Watson, D. (2014) No Justice without a struggle: The National Unemployed Workers’ Movement in the North East of England 1920-1940. London: Merlin Press. Pp. 95-96.
[20] Durham Mining Museum (2023) Preston Colliery Available at: http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/p007.htm (Accessed 24/02/2025)
[21] (1984), Whitley Bay Guardian, 14th December
[22] North Tyneside Miners Support Group (1984) 1985 Calendar
[23] Women Against Pit Closures (1993) Vigil Outside Vane Tempest Colliery
[24] North Tyneside Trade Union Council (1993) No Pit Closures Real Jobs for Real Wages
[25] Volpe, S. (2023) ‘Ambulance workers strike across the North East as NHS pay dispute continues’, The Chronicle, 20th February, Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/gmb-ambulance-strikes-nhs-north-26285939 (Accessed on 13th October 2024)
[26] North News (2022) A picket line protest held at the Ambulance Service depot in North Shields, North Tyneside, as ambulance workers go on strike today over pay and working conditions [X formerly Twitter], 21st December. Available at: https://twitter.com/northnews/status/1605612596727463936 (Accessed on 13th October 2024)
[27] Volpe, S. (2023) ‘Three days of junior doctor strikes on Tyneside in picture – ‘we’re quite hopeful’, The Chronicle, 16th June, Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/gallery/junior-doctors-strike-pictures-nhs-27139279 (Accessed on 13th October 2024)
[28] Brunskill, E. (2022) Nurses make history in massive RCN strike, The Socialist, 15th December, Available at: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/105423/15-12-2022/nurses-make-history-in-massive-rcn-strike/ (Accessed on 13 October 2024)
[29] Sharma, S. (2023) Full list of North East schools affected by the teachers’ strikes on Thursday’, The Chronicle, 25th April, Available at:https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-school-closures-strike-26773692 (Accessed on 13th October 2024).
[30] Goodwin, N. (2023) ‘North Tyneside Council workers strike amid pay dispute as union warns of disruption to services’, The Chronicle, 7th September, Available at: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-tyneside-council-workers-strike-27662233 (Accessed on 12 October 2024)
[31] (2023) ‘Go North East: Two weeks of bus strikes to go ahead in October’, BBC News, 29th September, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-66946249 (Accessed on 11th October 2024)
[32] Scott, J. and Bilalova, P. (2023) ‘Go North East ballot opens on continuing strike action’, BBC News, 24 November, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-67520960 (Accessed on 11th October 2024)
[33] Scott, J. and Robinson, C. (2023) ‘Go North East bus workers accept strike-ending pay offer’, BBC News, 1st December, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-67588641 (Accessed on 11th October 2024)
[34] (2024) ‘Formica workers urge bosses to ‘get round the table’ or face strike action’, Morning Star, 7th June, Available at: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/formica-workers-urge-bosses-get-around-table-or-face-strike-action (Accessed on 12th October 2024)
[35] Younger, O. (2024) ‘GMB Union members strike outside of North Shields factory over pay dispute’, The Chronicle, 20th June, Available at https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/gmb-union-members-strike-outside-29390709 (Accessed on 12/10/2024)
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