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kanishka

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Not really, I don't think so.

It were a talking point but er it wasn't er n nobody seemed unduly perturbed about it.

Mm.

Go going back to before the War, erm last time you spoke you mentioned a s strike in nineteen thirteen.

That's right.

Erm what how how how did that come about?

Well it came about and I believe this man's name was but I wouldn't be too certain, I think it was .

And er he worked at .

And er it was said that he he was he 'd been away ill.

Well when he went back to work er they didn't let him start.

And he hadn't been off long, perhaps been off three or four weeks, I I would say.

And the boss said, well you know he hadn't got the work for him and and he couldn't start then.

And so what happened was everybody downed tools at and come out on strike you see.

And er it it got very serious.

So after a fortnight, thereabouts, the union had a meeting and decided that everybody in the industry like, which of course there was only about a thousand of us any way, everybody would s would stop until this man could start at work.

So that's everybody came out.

Mm.

And er but this was a very determined man, everybody knew that,one of these, although he he'd got probably er the the best factory in in the city.

Like for quality of workmanship.

The workers were good, his machinery was good.

But any way he decided to s to take blacklegs.

And er he advertised and got quite a few.

Not, they weren't members of ours and they weren't er skilled in the trade, but hey were just people who were prepared to work any way and and scrambled through as best they could.

Would they be local people?

Oh aye.

And er the police used to take them in black marias some of them.

Some of them had to walk because you they they couldn't take them in in in any conveyance at all because er it was over what they call the viaducts, you know and the big rushes and reeds, I told you about a chap hitting them didn't I?

Mm.

Yeah

Hitting somebody on on the head with a brick.

Aye.

And there was quite a few court cases.

What court cases against the strikers?

Yes, oh aye.

Because was there was there much violence?

Well there there i they used to s you know invite everybody you said to you know everybody down on the picket line, well we were kids we used to go like re to be quite honest like we went because it were you know a bit of fun really.

But there were police on horseback charging them.

And I always remember, now whether this is true I wouldn't know, and I don't think I've ever spoke about this before but I, thinking about it just now, it's just struck me, I remember one chap saying, Well now if we put some barbed wire across the road about two foot high, he said, No horse will jump over barbed wire, now I don't know I don't suppose that's true I don't think it is but this chap said that.

So they went and got some barbed wire and they strung it across this street you know, Street at .

I could remember it but I just couldn't say now whether the police were stopped in their tracks.

But there was a lot of police there, there was a lot of of er pickets, you know, ooh aye, six or seven hundred pickets.

We and they used to go there when the blacklegs came out.

Yes, so what was

And there were three blacklegs lived in er in one house in Avenue.

And so every night when they got home there was all kinds of people, I mean you know say miners and anybody as well, they all surrounded this house and when the police brought him in, of course they were booing and all this business you see.

Well one night he got really rough and er they they broke these windows.

And at the court I can remember this as a kid, at the court, of course I wasn't in at at the court but I remember the story the blacklegs er picked out people and said they and they and they threw stones you see, through the window.

So of course these chaps well I don't wether they were youths and chaps and that denying it.

And er I always remember the lawyer who was acting on behalf of the union er said to these blacklegs, How would it be possible for you to see it though your window who was throwing the bricks seeing that the windows are so black and filthy you can't see the curtains that's hanging up from the outside?

So you couldn't possibly see who was throwing, er the windows were too filthy.

And they got off.

Got off.

Was the was the lawyer paid for by the union?

Oh aye, oh aye.

I I don't remember but he must have been.

And but any anyway we got er, I've probably tell you this before, the Co- op allowed everybody to have er credit until it was over and there was a n there was a a preacher wh who er and I don't know whether a Baptist or a Wesleyan Preacher, I think he was a Wesleyan, he was a Welshman and his name was .

And er he was he he he you know came and spoke and he was very very good, aye.

Was your family religious?

Aye, aye religious, aye.

What denomination?

Baptist.

They they when when I was younger used to go regular but they didn't go regular you know as years advanced.

but er m anyone ask, I remember me mother was a great Christian really.

Although she didn't go to er but me dad did always you know believe in the Baptists.

Was the church very important in the community then?

Oh yeah.

Particularly?

Particularly the Non-conformist.

Mm.

Oh yes.

Oh yes.

How did you fell about the Church of England and the

Well they always er regarded the Church of England as er a little socially and erm politically they'd er erm the Tories of course,m mainly the Church was Tories, and er like in Wales the Non-conformists was er more liberally inclined.

So was there strong connections between the Wesleyan and Baptist Churches and the trade unions?

Yes, yes.

Well there was between this particular Wesleyan Chapel and er in our street it was, as it's practically opposite the u present union office.

Yeah I think I know

You know up the side street but now it's used as a as a store house but you can tell it's a it's an old establishme and and they used to get full you know.

The they used to the Non-conformists whether or not I couldn't speak for the Church of England but er there'd be a lot go you know i in the evening there'd be several hundred at every one of these places, and there was, there'd be, ooh four or five Non=conformist places in in .

Little place like that.

And they'd all get full.

Oh yeah it was very strong.

Yeah, you said your your uncle was a religious man.

Me fath me grandfather.

Was it your grandfather?

Now he was very religious.

He was er me mother's chief objection to him, it was me father's father, me mother's chief objection was that he was always talking about revolutions and she couldn't stand this you know.

And they said, He's alw , ah your granddad's always talking about there's going to be a revolution.

But he he'd got a little mission er on the side of the at ,, I've I went with him so I saw it.

But I I do you know I've been back since but I just couldn't find it now, but there it'll be , but on the side of the er at , he used to preach at this mission, there was only him you know used to preach, and I don't know how many other people were at, it wouldn't hold above er wouldn't hold above thirty.

A little tiny place.

But he used to go there, he used to nearly live there and er you know.

He was always preaching there, he he he was the man who ran it.

Ah.

Was was politics important at at home in your childhood?

Well it was for, well me dad was a l me dad was a liberal.

Course there wasn't no Labour pen men then you know.

But when the first Labour man put up for for in the area, West , 's constituency now as near as possible.

Er put up there, you wouldn't know of would you?

No when would