Introduction

The General Strike took place between 3 May and 12 May 1926 and was called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to defend "miners' wages and hours". It had been planned that initially only workers in front-line industries, such as the dockers, printers, railway and transport workers and builders, would come out on strike but many second-line workers, those employed in the textile industries for example, also stopped work. In total, it has been estimated that 1.75 million workers came out in support of 1 million miners. Although the miners were adamant that they would remain on strike until their demands were met, the TUC entered into negotiations to end the strike. On 12 May it was announced that the General Strike was at an end. The miners, however, remained on strike until October when poverty and hardship forced them to return to work.

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For the record:

Being national in scope, the effects of the General Strike were felt in most areas of the country. This means that we should have some material of interest to local historians. A good place to start is amongst the records of the Cabinet Office. The most appropriate series are CAB 21, CAB 23, CAB 24 and CAB 27. Amongst these records local historians could expect to find:

Similar to the material found amongst the records of the Cabinet Office is that found in LAB 27, a series of documents relating to the Coal Dispute and General Strike of 1926. Again, most of the material is national in nature but it is possible to find material relating to certain localities.

Another useful source are the records of Home Office, the department responsible for the maintenance of public order, in HO 45 and HO 144. Using these records it is possible to find out details such as:

Material relating to the General Strike can also be found amongst the records of the Ministry of Health. Many of the people involved in the Strike and the coal-mining dispute were forced to fall back on the poor relief system and the impact that it had on local authorities is reflected in the records. The most useful series for this area of research MH 57 and MH 68. Both make reference to place names in their piece descriptions which makes identifying the relevant file relatively easy. Amongst the material contained in these series, local historians could expect to find:

Further, and perhaps unexpected, sources of information are the records created by various railway companies. The railway industry was heavily affected by the General Strike and many files on the subject have survived. In order to use this material, it is necessary to know which railway company's lines passed through the locality since this is how the RAIL series are arranged. Having ascertained this information, however, it is possible to find material relating to:

The online indexes of the National Register of Archives note the whereabouts of trade union and some strike committee records. They can also be used to locate railway company records not held here.

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