Written Articles Archives - Page 7 of 11 - Bristol Radical History Group

Bliss Mill Strikers

Bliss Tweed Mill: Prosecuted Strikers/Supporters, 1914 CN = Chipping Norton Name Address Age Started Work at Bliss Mill Occupation Sentence Re-engaged Walter Bowen 1 Finsbury Place, CN 25 Baker (his father, John, was a striker) Bound over 12 months John Bowen re-engaged 06/11/1916 Annie Cooper 16 Spring Street, CN 50 About 1888 Machine Feeder 14 days No Charles A Dixon 4 London Road, CN 21 About 1905 Yarn Store Hand Bound over 12 months No John (Jack) Gee 3 Kimberly Place, West Street, CN 29 […]

The Crimes of Walter Virgo and the “Blakeney Gang”

By Ian Wright

In the Forest of Dean towards the end of the nineteenth century the ‘Blakeney Outrages’ of the 1890s led to Walter Virgo and the “Blakeney Gang” being accused of acts of poisoning, maiming, stealing, poaching, midnight raids, dynamiting, arson and murder. However, their story cannot be understood without placing their actions in the historical context of the struggle for the customary right to common which in the past involved the use of direct action and political violence. A consideration of […]

How the Sex Pistols warned us about the Jimmy Savile generation…

Over the last year or so we have been bombarded with allegations and cases of sexual abuse involving Radio DJ's, TV producers, Comedians, TV personalities and pop stars who were all at their height of fame in the 1970s. Amongst the alleged perpetrators were Dave Lee Travis, Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris, Stewart Hall, Garry Glitter, Freddie Starr, Jim Davidson, Max Clifford and Jimmy Tarbuck. Nearly 600 victims of sexual abuse have come forward as part of the Operation Yew Tree investigation, which […]

The Great Anti-Slavery Convention

This artilce is taken from: Pictorial Times, "A Weekly Journal of News, Litrature, Fine Art and the Drama", Vol. 1 March 18 - August 19 1843, p211-213, Saturday June 17 1843. "Engravings by Henry Vizetelly and Others". This article was found in Bristol Central Reference Library. If you wich to use any of the pictures please contact them: refandinfo@bristol.gov.uk. THE GREAT ANTI-SLAVERY CONVENTION. This great Convention, composed of delegates from almost every land, assembled on Tuesday last at […]

Friendly Societies Against The Big Society

By Carlos Guarita

The National Health Service founded in 1948 was inspired by a self-help system which Aneurin Bevan had participated in as a young man. After working as a coal miner in South Wales, he served on the hospital committee of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society which ran hospitals and convalescent homes for miners as well as employing family doctors and even providing benefits for the dependants of the members. Later as a Labour MP for Ebbw Vale he took up the idea which was familiar to him and, as […]

Kenya, at last?

By Roger Ball

So (finally) the UK government has been legally forced to pay £19.9 million compensation to 5,228 victims of torture, rape, sexual abuse and maiming by British colonial forces during the ‘Mau Mau’ rebellion in Keyna in the 1950s. The compensation works out be a pitiful ‘£3,000 per victim and applies only to the living survivors of the abuses that took place’. The pure number of victims suggests that the argument normally trotted out by the British state in these situations, that is, ‘a bad […]

The Strange Paradox of ‘Ding Dong’

"political correctness gone mad"

By Wayne Howell

Last night I bought a copy of the Daily Mail (for the first time in my life) as I am into surrealism in a big way. I just had to do it. There several headlines which took my fancy: "BBC 'Witch' Song Insult to Maggie" (front page) "....and now even a police sergeant tweets meassages of hate" (front page) "I hope Thatcher's death was degrading and painful, tweets sick Scotland Yard sergeant" (page 7) ...and unbelievably on their website headlines: "'They danced in the streets when Hitler died […]

Why Blackadder Goes Forth could have been a lot funnier

Tommy Atkins' hidden tactics to avoid combat on the Western Front in WW1 or why ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ could have been a lot funnier (and more subversive)…

A young Army, but the finest we have ever marshalled; improvised at the sound of the cannonade, every man a volunteer, inspired not only by love of country but by a widespread conviction that human freedom was challenged by military and Imperial tyranny, they grudged no sacrifice however unfruitful and shrank from no ordeal however destructive... If two lives or ten lives were required by their commanders to kill one German, no word of complaint ever rose from the fighting troops. No attack, […]

Thatcher’s Cold

By Wayne Howell

Vasquez: All right, we got seven canisters of CN-20. I say we roll them in there and nerve gas the corpse just to make sure. Hicks: That's worth a try, but we don't know if it's gonna affect her. Ripley: I say we fire the corpse into low earth orbit and nuke it. It's the only way to be sure. Hudson: Fuckin' A! Burke: Hold on a second. Thatcher's history has a substantial dollar value attached to it. Ripley: They can bill me. Burke: Okay. This is an emotional moment for all of us. I know that. […]

Unfinished Business

Thomas Venner and the Fifth Monarchists Insurrection (6th January 1661)

Some members of BRHG, 'The James Nayler Brigade' travelled to London on Sunday to support our comrade 5th Monarchists and Muggletonians. Armed with hatchets and a pike (which we had buried some years ago in readiness for the reimposition of the satanic monarchy) we helped storm the Guild Hall and St. Paul's in celebration of the 5th Monarchist rising against the return of the King on 6th january 1661. One of the leaders of the insurrection, Thomas Venner spurred on the Fifth Monarchists with […]