MA student awarded prestigious research bursary

One of our MA in Historical Research students, Brogan Fannen, recently received an MA Dissertation Bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History to facilitate archival research in Manchester.

Brogan's dissertation explores the role of the Socialist Sunday Schools (SSS) within the history of the British socialist movement, with a primary focus on the Schools’ role in facilitating and cultivating a socialist culture among British working-class communities in the twentieth century. 

The bursary allowed Brogan to carry out a research trip to the Labour History Archive (LHA) located at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. She examined the promotional literature of the movement such as pamphlets and postcards, as well as reports and minutes. She also analysed the yearly annuals of The Young Socialist Magazine, a publication which gave insight into the plethora of teaching methods used within the SSSs, the propaganda disseminated by the movement and reports on the Schools’ activities within the community.

You can read more about Brogan's work here.

A BA, MA or PhD student interested in labour history and in need of research support? Apply for an SSLH research bursary here!

History undergraduate wins research bursary

Matthew Thomas, a third year history undergraduate, has received a bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History, enabling him to visit Norfolk Record Office and collect important documents regarding the Burston School Strike, the longest strike in British history (1914-1939). The findings from this research will be revealed in Matthew's dissertation, a study of the role of school strikes in labour history. The main focus is on the Burston and Washington/Usworth strikes, which were vastly different in their execution, but had similar aims. Matthew's research in Norfolk unearthed some invaluable documents, including a copy of the school log book for the Burston and Shimpling School which describes the conduct of the school and gives details of the attendance rates and disciplinary action under Mrs. Higdon, the headmistress and wife of a Labour activist. This material helped Matthew to provide the necessary context for the dispute between the local authorities and the Labour-supporting headmistress, as well as the children who backed her and voted in favour of founding the alternative Burston Strike School. In addition, Norfolk Education Committee minutes, newspaper articles, pamphlets and booklets all provided fascinating accounts of the strike: its motivations, politics, and the ways in which these affected local government and industrial relations in general.

Handbill for the opening of the Burston Strike School, dated May 1917.
Original held at Norfolk Record Office. MC 31/38, 478x1.