Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.258
Object Name
Bag
Title
Great Dock Strike Fund's Bag
Place
London, London Docklands, England, UK
People
Ben Tillett, Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union
Events
Great Dock Strike 1889
Description
A large brown leather bag which opens at the top.
This bag was used by one of the leaders of the striking dock workers, Ben Tillett, to collect donations from the public to support the striking dockers during the Great Dock Strike of 1889. Thousands of pounds were raised through donations, and much of the money was collected and distributed through this leather bag, which belonged to another union organiser, Tom Mann.
The 1889 Great Dock Strike, which is viewed as one of the great successes of early British trade unionism, was called over pay - workers demanded a pay rise to sixpence an hour, known as 'the dockers tanner'. Before the strike few dock workers were part of a trade union, but workers flocked to join the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union during the strike. Dockers held large, peaceful processions which legitimised their aims to Victorian middle classes who often held opinions that the working classes were inherently violent and irrational. The strike was supported by Cardinal Manning, a Catholic leader who acted as a mediator between the workers and the dock owners.
