Thank you Dan Jackson.
That was fascinating, if dispiriting.
Jean Nutley
2 years ago
My mother remembered seeing the Jarrow marchers as they passed en route to London. Far from not understanding what they were doing and why, there was much sympathy and support for their cause amongst the working classes in the South of England. Mum told how she remembered the men’s shoes being in pieces, uppers separated from the soles, the men were given soup and food, as much as the people could spare. The men were invited to sleep in their houses or church halls. The marchers were applauded, and my grandfather was very much moved to see the proud men who fought alongside him reduced to such dire straits.
Please don’t make the mistake of saying the southerners did not and could not understand, they did, many felt that the marchers were making a stand for all of the working class as the Depression bit deep . Only the ruling classes and the elite escaped the Depression unscathed. Don’t forget this is the same ruling class that promised the men from WWI a land “fit for heroes”, they returned instead to poverty. My grandfather was a Royal Marine, so presumably a fit young man during the Great War, he returned to digging ditches.
Yes, but in this caricature view, one wonders how on Earth the Conservative Party representing the uncaring toffs managed to rule for so much of the time, with only a brief interlude of Labour government. We had almost universal adult suffrage by 1918 and completely so by 1930. We are about to see, yet again, how difficult it is for governments to direct where investment should be directed to alleviate long standing regional disparities and inequality.
Charles Hedges
2 years ago
A Bryant and G M Trevelyan point out the problems. Republican France declared war on Britain in 1793 which lasted until 1815 which was when the Industrial revolution was taking off. Wedgewood and Boulton in the 1780s, during times of peace, built decent housing.
Markets were opened and closed depending on whether Briatin was winning or losing against Napoleon. Consequently houses and industries were thrown up quickly because markets were closed off quickly. In addition the massive growth prevented ordered development such as schools and hospitals. To make matters worse there were continuous arguments between Methodists and Anglicans on the nature of schools. Consequently Britain did not obtain compulsory primary schools attendance until 1870.
When Germany started to industrialise from about 1840-1850 it started with the Chemical Industry and 1 to 1.5 generations of children who had received primary school education. Germany started it’s industrialisation with more technically advanced operations such as chemicals and with a better educated workforce and the wortks and homes were not planned and built during war time but in peace time. The USA post Civil War benefited from massive economy of scale and cheap raw materials when developing it’s industry.
The writing was on the wall from 1870 but both employers and unions failed to realise British Heavy Industry needed a better educated workforce and to move to more technically advanced manufacturing. By 1936, heavy industry was often using technology that was pre WW1, if not earlier. Basically Heavy Industry needed to move from employing large numbers of poorly educated and unskilled people to few numbers but better educated and skilled, undertaling more valuable and skilled work.
At the same time in 1936, J R Mitchell in Southmapton had designed and built the most advanced plane in the World, the Spitfire and we were developing Radar. In the 1930s to 1950s Btitain started development on atomic energy, developed Radar,developed the Jet Engine, produced the Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster , the best planes of WW2 and computers.
The North has a bright future it it undertakes the following:-
Educate and train craftsmen, technicians and applied scientists to the same level as in Switzerland. Northerners have a natural gift for undertaking practical work, especially in metal, (probably a legacy of Saxon and Viking heritages).
Develop Shale oil and gas.
Undertake underground coal gasification to produce methane and hydrogen.
Develop freeports which will include export of Shale Oil and Gas and that from underground Coal Gasification. People will wake up and realise that they need gas imports via tankers otherwise Putin will have them over the pipeline.
The main problem is that for the last 150 years ( since 1870s) the Southern University Middle Classes with arts degrees have been mostly ignorant on the inter action between trade, raw materials, war, economic and politcal power and Putin is about to demonstrate this.
ralph bell
2 years ago
A very moving piece and shocking in the level of lack of mercy shown by the local middle classes or out of touch politicians.
Thank you Dan Jackson.
That was fascinating, if dispiriting.
My mother remembered seeing the Jarrow marchers as they passed en route to London. Far from not understanding what they were doing and why, there was much sympathy and support for their cause amongst the working classes in the South of England. Mum told how she remembered the men’s shoes being in pieces, uppers separated from the soles, the men were given soup and food, as much as the people could spare. The men were invited to sleep in their houses or church halls. The marchers were applauded, and my grandfather was very much moved to see the proud men who fought alongside him reduced to such dire straits.
Please don’t make the mistake of saying the southerners did not and could not understand, they did, many felt that the marchers were making a stand for all of the working class as the Depression bit deep . Only the ruling classes and the elite escaped the Depression unscathed. Don’t forget this is the same ruling class that promised the men from WWI a land “fit for heroes”, they returned instead to poverty. My grandfather was a Royal Marine, so presumably a fit young man during the Great War, he returned to digging ditches.
Yes, but in this caricature view, one wonders how on Earth the Conservative Party representing the uncaring toffs managed to rule for so much of the time, with only a brief interlude of Labour government. We had almost universal adult suffrage by 1918 and completely so by 1930. We are about to see, yet again, how difficult it is for governments to direct where investment should be directed to alleviate long standing regional disparities and inequality.
A Bryant and G M Trevelyan point out the problems. Republican France declared war on Britain in 1793 which lasted until 1815 which was when the Industrial revolution was taking off. Wedgewood and Boulton in the 1780s, during times of peace, built decent housing.
Markets were opened and closed depending on whether Briatin was winning or losing against Napoleon. Consequently houses and industries were thrown up quickly because markets were closed off quickly. In addition the massive growth prevented ordered development such as schools and hospitals. To make matters worse there were continuous arguments between Methodists and Anglicans on the nature of schools. Consequently Britain did not obtain compulsory primary schools attendance until 1870.
When Germany started to industrialise from about 1840-1850 it started with the Chemical Industry and 1 to 1.5 generations of children who had received primary school education. Germany started it’s industrialisation with more technically advanced operations such as chemicals and with a better educated workforce and the wortks and homes were not planned and built during war time but in peace time. The USA post Civil War benefited from massive economy of scale and cheap raw materials when developing it’s industry.
The writing was on the wall from 1870 but both employers and unions failed to realise British Heavy Industry needed a better educated workforce and to move to more technically advanced manufacturing. By 1936, heavy industry was often using technology that was pre WW1, if not earlier. Basically Heavy Industry needed to move from employing large numbers of poorly educated and unskilled people to few numbers but better educated and skilled, undertaling more valuable and skilled work.
At the same time in 1936, J R Mitchell in Southmapton had designed and built the most advanced plane in the World, the Spitfire and we were developing Radar. In the 1930s to 1950s Btitain started development on atomic energy, developed Radar,developed the Jet Engine, produced the Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster , the best planes of WW2 and computers.
The North has a bright future it it undertakes the following:-
The main problem is that for the last 150 years ( since 1870s) the Southern University Middle Classes with arts degrees have been mostly ignorant on the inter action between trade, raw materials, war, economic and politcal power and Putin is about to demonstrate this.
A very moving piece and shocking in the level of lack of mercy shown by the local middle classes or out of touch politicians.
Our time’s Remoaners seem so alike those local middle classes of the 1920s.
Excellent post. Super
Thanks