Catalogue Number
NMLH.1997.7.1
Object Name
Banner
Title
'The battle's won. Britannia's sons are free and despots tremble at the victory. We are all true to the last.'
Place
Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, UK
Events
Great Reform Act 1832
Date
1832
Description
The banner shows similar images on both sides, of two people standing beside a crest containing a crown atop a half-moon knife. Above the image reads 'The battle's won, Britannia's sons are free and despots tremble at the victory' and below the crest reads 'We are all true to the last'.
The banner shows two idealised customers standing beside a crest containing a crown atop a half-moon knife. This type of knife was the shoemakers most important tool, and the crown represents Saint Crispin, the patron saint of shoemakers. The motto 'We are all true to the last' is a pun, as a last is a shoemakers' tool for shaping shoes. The image also includes the Scottish thistle, English rose and Irish shamrock, placing the society within the political body of the nation - though Welsh imagery is missing.
Prior to 1832 very few people in the UK had the right to vote; following years of increasing pressure for reform, Parliament finally passed the 'Great Reform Act'. Many working-class people and organisations expected a large increase to the franchise, and great celebrations took place around the country. But in reality only some middle class people were given the right to vote - most men and all women were still excluded. This banner was created by a shoemaker trade society for one of these celebrations, in Duns in Berwickshire. There would likely not have been more than a couple of dozen shoemakers in Duns, but they still organised themselves into a trade society, an early form of trade union. These societies were active in the movement for the Reform, and this banner shows a celebration of the Act and the contribution of the society to its passing.
**ON DISPLAY**
