There is nothing greater than having the respect of fellow workers

There is nothing greater than having the respect of fellow workers. I sought to improve wages and working standards and to build up a strong union throughout the country.” Phillipa Jenkins aged 102, from Dinas, Wales Phillipa Jenkins was 22 years old and working as a teacher at the time of the General Strike. On the other, there were sacrifices, we had to do without things. “The strike lasted nine days, but it wasn’t easy to walk back into a job afterwards. The strike taught me that people stand together, suffer together and win together It was one of the most important lessons I ever learnt. We were strong trade unionists anyway but the strike strengthened feelings.

On the one side, there was a feeling of exaltation, a sense that we all stood together. He later became general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, a position he held for nine years. “I was still at school but I used to run between the men delivering messages for the local strike authority, so it felt like I was striking too I still remember it vividly. I wanted to stand up and fight for the possibility of women to have their own lives.” Jack Jones aged 92, from Camberwell Jack Jones was 13 years old when his brothers and father went on strike. “The strike did affect me – it affects your attitude towards all of life I was very influenced by what I saw.

She started washing and cleaning for anyone and everyone because it was all we could do A woman on her own had nothing Without a man behind them they barely existed. A lot of the men spent their spare time in the workman’s hall in the library. They spent their time reading books, learning about the Marxist philosophy “My mother was a widow. My mother, who had struggled incredibly hard, was utterly humiliated by having to give these details. I also remember people having to walk miles to try to find work …

There was certainly good community spirit in south Wales – people supported one another. “What I particularly remember are the long queues of people waiting to be means-tested by the parish relief officer The worst thing about the strike was the means-testing It was dreadfully difficult to get any money at all .. [people] were forced to divulge all personal details “It was pretty awful for people in this area. People got food on credit because they couldn’t afford to pay No one could. Miners continued to resist but many were literally starved back to work By November most had given up.