Catalogue Number
NMLH.1995.91.98
Object Name
Badge
Title
FREE SHREWSBURY PICKETS
Place
Shrewsbury
People
Warren, Des; Tomlinson, Ricky: the Shrewsbury Two; Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU); Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT); Unite
Events
Dispute , Strike
Description
Round black badge, "FREE SHREWSBURY PICKETS" with an image of a key and lock in the centre.
In 1972, 24 picketing builders on strike were arrested and charged with over 200 offences including unlawful assembly, affray, intimidation and conspiracy to intimidate, five months after the ending of the 1972 building strike. Following a series of trials beginning in October 1973, six of the pickets were sent to prison, with the remainder receiving non-custodial sentences. The trade unions at the time, Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) and Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT), and Unite since fought for almost 50 years for justice for the pickets. The convictions were 'put aside' in 2021 after evidence at the National Archives showed police officers had destroyed supportive witness statements that would have exonerated them.
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