Salford United
Salford is a great place, there's some amazing characters there and there's always such a friendly (northern) vibe when I pop across the water into Salford itself.
Anyway, I'm currently reading a book called The Battle of Bexley Square by Edmund and Ruth Frow which laments events from the 1931 event in Salford, where an estimated 10,000 unemployed women and men peacefully protested against cuts in both the coal allowance and the unemployed allowance & poor living conditions, with general mass unemployment. The protesters were met with violent opposition from both police truncheons & the mounted police. Edmund was arrested on that day and has since set up the Working Class Movement Library -> https://wcml.org.uk/blog/the-story-of-our-founders-ruth-and-eddie-frow/
Dirty Old Town
On that day, the protest in the Salford branch of the National Unemployed Workers' Movement was intended to see them organize a march to the town hall in Bexley Square.
Despite this, upon their arrival, they realized that their way was obstructed by the police and, following a stand-off, a squadron of mounted police charged into the crowd, resulting in very serious injuries. People thronging the streets included Jimmy Miller, alias Ewan MacColl, folk singer and political activist, and Walter Greenwood, on whose account of the events that took place on that day in his novel Love On The Dole
An important event in the labour history of Salford, illustrating the desperation felt by the working class during the Depression.
This struggle had an influence on the welfare reforms that followed World War II. A plaque in Bexley Square commemorates the event. (pictured).
UPDATE:
Huge thanks to Tony Flynn, as he had this pertinent comment on this subject:
Read your article with interest, I think it's worth mentioning that myself and Steven North from Unison had a meeting with Salford Council proposing that there should be a Red plaque in Bexley Square to commemorate the March in October 1931 and quite frankly they didn't want to know..we had a second meeting at which we said we would pay for the plaque ourselves by fundraising, again they didn't seem interested as if ashamed of that days event.
To our surprise a few weeks later I was contacted by a friend who works in Bexley Square to tell me that two Salford Council workmen had appeared and glued the plaque to the wall at the Town Hall and then drove off.
There was no ceremony, no press release etc and now they are happy to appear in front of the plaque as if it was their idea and back slapping each other...disgraceful they should hang there heads in shame.
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Read your article with interest, I think it's worth mentioning that myself and Steven North from Unison had a meeting with Salford Council proposing that there should be a Red plaque in Bexley Square to commemorate the March in October 1931 and quite frankly they didn't want to know..we had a second meeting at which we said we would pay for the plaque ourselves by fundraising, again they didn't seem interested as if ashamed of that days event.
To our surprise a few weeks later I was contacted by a friend who works in Bexley Square to tell me that two Salford Council workmen had appeared and glued the plaque to the wall at the Town Hall and then drove off.
There was no ceremony, no press release etc and now they are happy to appear in front of the plaque as if it was their idea and back slapping each other...disgraceful they should hang there heads in shame.
THANKS a million Tony, I've updated my write-up to reflect your hands-on experience regarding the plaque. :)