People’s History Museum (PHM) is holding an archive event in celebration of Ellen Wilkinson (1891-1947), which will mark the centenary of her election to parliament and a legacy that continues to inspire people today. The event takes place on Saturday 9 November with tickets bookable in advance.
The Manchester born advocate for social justice and rights has left a colourful mark on history. Known by the nickname of ‘Red Ellen’ for the shade of her hair, bright clothes and commitment to socialist ideas, she was one of the first women elected to parliament when on 29 October 1924 she became MP for Middlesbrough East.
It was however as MP for Jarrow (1935-1947) and her role in the Jarrow Crusade that her place in the history books was truly etched; beginning on 5 October 1936 and taking place over 26 days and covering 282 miles, Ellen Wilkinson and David Riley (Chair of Jarrow council) led 200 men on a march from Jarrow to Parliament. Here she presented a petition of 12,000 signatures urging the government of the “urgent need that work should be provided for the town without further delay” as a result of the thousands of jobs that had been lost following the closure of the shipyard and steelworks. This became a defining moment of the 1930s during a time of worldwide depression.
Ellen went on to become Minister for Education in 1945, making her the second woman to achieve a place in the British cabinet. Free school milk, raising the school age to 15 and an increase in the number of university scholarships are just some of her achievements at this time.
During the Ellen Wilkinson Archive Exploration event visitors will be able to see some of the fascinating archive materials held in PHM’s collection that help to tell Ellen’s story. There are copies of the monthly magazine that she wrote for, The Labour Woman; press cuttings from the Jarrow Crusade; correspondence that she made during the Spanish Civil War and much more. But, undoubtedly the highlight is the opportunity to look through Ellen’s own scrapbooks, of which PHM has six in its collection, dating from the early 1920s until her death in 1947. The scrapbook covering the period 1928 to 1930 is on permanent display in Gallery One of the museum, but the others will all be available for people to look through. These are very personal objects that document Ellen’s personal and political life through press cuttings that illustrate her hard work, commitment and determination.
There will also be a pop-up exhibition all about Ellen’s extraordinary life, which has been curated by Helen Antrobus and Dr Tessa Chynoweth and commissioned by the Mechanics Institute. This will be on display at the museum from 10.00am to 5.00pm during the event.
Ellen was not always successful. In 1931 she lost her Middlesbrough seat and was devastated to be out of parliament for a period of time. She also lost the first time she stood for election, which was in 1923 for the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in Manchester. It wasn’t until almost a century later that this seat would be won by a woman for the first time in its history. This was in 2015 and the MP was Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and another history making red head. The jacket that Angela wore during her first appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on 16 September 2020 has recently gone on display in Main Gallery One of the museum.
Ellen Wilkinson has been added to PHM’s growing collection of portrait postcards by artist Scarlett Rickard of the Rickard Sisters. Available from Saturday 9 November, she will join Annie Besant, Sylvia Pankhurst, Jayaben Desai and others in PHM shop and online, priced at £1. You can read more about Ellen Wilkinson in PHM’s blog here.
Tickets to the Ellen Wilkinson Archive Exploration are priced at £15, £10 and free. There are two sessions that run from 11.00am to 12.45pm and 1.15pm to 3.00pm. All the booking information is here.
People’s History Museum’s opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm, every day except Tuesdays. Open Kitchen Cafe & Bar also opens every day except Tuesdays, from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Museum entry is free, with most visitors donating £10. To find out about visiting PHM, its full exhibitions and events programme visit phm.org.uk and you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to receive PHM’s e-newsletter.
ENDS
For further information, to arrange a visit or interview please contact Fido PR: laura.sullivan@fidopr.co.uk / clare.short@fidopr.co.uk
Notes to editors:
About People’s History Museum
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester is the UK’s national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. Through an eclectic and colourful mix of historic and contemporary collections, featuring banners, badges, posters, photography and more, the museum celebrates the radical stories of people coming together to champion ideas worth fighting for.
Offering an engaging programme of exhibitions and events, collaborating with communities to create authentic content, the museum is Family Friendly throughout – inspiring the next generation to be active citizens.
People’s History Museum encourages visitors to be empowered by the past to make a change for the future. We are all together in the fight for a fairer world.
About Arts Council England (ACE)
PHM is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The work of PHM is supported using public funding by ACE, the national development agency for creativity and culture. ACE have set out their strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. From 2023 to 2026 they will invest over £467 million of public money from government and an estimated £250 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
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