E120.1: [TEASER] 1926 general strike, bonus episode

E120.1: [TEASER] 1926 general strike, bonus episode

Author: Working Class History May 13, 2026 Duration: 9:44
Bonus episode for our three-part miniseries about the UK’s 1926 general strike, in collaboration with the General Strike 100 project and told using interviews with striking workers themselves.

In this episode, East London dock worker, Harry Watson, talks about life and work on the docks around the time of the general strike as well as the split of skilled dock workers away from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Our podcast is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Our supporters fund our work, and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes without ads, bonus episodes, two exclusive podcast series – Fireside Chats and Radical Reads – as well as free and discounted merchandise and other content. Join us or find out more at patreon.com/workingclasshistory
More info
Acknowledgements
  • Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands and Fellow Worker.
  • Episode graphic: traffic on Westminster Bridge as a result of public transport being shut down. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
  • Our theme tune for this preview is Montaigne’s version of the classic labour movement anthem, ‘Bread and Roses’, performed by Montaigne and Nick Harriott, and mixed by Wave Racer. Download the song here, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: websiteInstagramYouTube.
  • Edited by Jesse French


Podcast Episodes
E99: Vietnam War strike wave, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:16
With the background of the Vietnam war, rising prices and stagnant wages, workers in the US began to ignore calls to support the war effort and keep working, and instead launch a wave of wildcat strikes in key industries…
E96: Bootleg miners, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:52
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in…
E95: Bootleg miners, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:27
During the Great Depression in the US, facing mass job losses and abject poverty, thousands of coal miners in Pennsylvania took direct action and began digging their own mines on company property. We tell their story in…
WCL9: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
The final episode of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in Chi…
WCL8: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:08
Part 2 of our three-part series about migrant worker poetry in China. We speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in China, meeting…
WCL7: Chinese migrant worker poetry, part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:33
First of the three-part series on migrant worker poetry in China. In these episodes, we speak to Maghiel van Crevel, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Leiden University. Maghiel has travelled extensively in…
E92: South Korea 1987, part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:20
Second of a double podcast episode about the South Korean movements of 1987 which overthrew the US-backed military dictatorship and won big improvements for workers. In these episodes we speak with Kim Jin-sook and Hong…