Trade Union history. Sculpture depicting George Loveless, leader of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, by Thompson Dagnall. At the Martyrs museum in Dorset, UK.
In 1834 in the tiny Dorset village of Tolpuddle a small group of six impoverished agricultural workers, decided to form a society to press for improvements in their pay and working conditions. The authorities response was ruthless. The men were arrested and put on trial in Dorchester. They were found guilty of the crime of swearing an unlawful secret oath of allegiance, and sentenced to transportation to enforced labour in Australia. The injustice and cruelty of the punishment inflicted upon the men caused a wave of outrage among the public and lead to enormous protests and demonstrations in London, which could not be ignored. The government was persuaded to waive the martyr’s sentences and in 1837, the first of them, George Loveless, returned to England a free man. These events which had such a modest beginning resulted in an upsurge in the influence and importance of the Trade Union movement in Britain and around the world, which has played such an important part in the long and continuing struggle of working people for justice and respect.
Size: 2848px × 4288px
Location: Tolpuddle Martyrs museum, Tolpuddle, Dorset, England, United Kingdom, UK, Great Britain, GB.
Photo credit: © Andrew Wood / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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