Home > Jarrow March
The people of the North East of England, mainly miners and shipworker s, were suffering even more than the rest of the country with unemployment. On 5th of October 1936, 200 men, known as the Jarrow Marchers, set off on a from Jarrow to London to lobby Parliament. This was the Jarrow Crusade (a term used on banners carried by the marchers) or Jarrow March.The march was a desperate attempt to find jobs to support Jarrow men and their families. It was also a bid for respect and recognition, not only for the people of Jarrow, but for others in a similar situation all over the country.
The marchers had no resources other than their own determination, and some good boots supplied by the public. During the march, wherever the marchers stopped for the night, the local people found them shelter and provided them with food.
The route they took, with overnight stops, was as follows:
- Jarrow to Chester le Street – (12 miles)
- Chester le Street to Ferry Hill – (12 miles)
- Ferry Hill to Darlington – (12 miles)
- Darlington to Northallerton – (16 miles)
- Northallerton to Ripon – (17 miles)
- Ripon to Harrogate – (11½ miles)
- Harrogate to Leeds – (15½ miles)
- Leeds to Wakefield – (9 miles)
- Wakefield to Barnsley – (9¾ miles)
- Barnsley to Sheffield – (13½ miles)
- SheffieldThis article is about the city in England. For other uses see Sheffield. Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. The population of the City of Sheffield in 2002 was estimated at 512,242. It has grown, from its industrial root to Chesterfield – (11¾ miles)
- Chesterfield to Mansfield – (12 miles)
- Mansfield to Nottingham – (14½ miles)
- NottinghamThis article is about the English city. For others, see Nottingham (disambiguation). Nottingham is a city located in the East Midlands of England. Nottingham lies on the River Trent, which flows from Stoke-on-Trent to the Humber the only English river to to Loughborough – (15 miles)
- Loughboroughcarillon Loughborough (pronounced 'luffbura' or 'luffbruh') is a town in Leicestershire, England. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In 1995 the population of the town was estimated at 55,300, and it is the administrative centre for the Charnw to Leicester – (11¼ miles)
- LeicesterThis article discusses Leicester in England. For other places of the name see Leicester (disambiguation). Leicester (pronounced Lester is a city in the English Midlands, on the River Soar. It is the traditional county town of Leicestershire (the administr to Market Harborough – (14½ miles)
- Market HarboroughMarket Harborough is a market town in Leicestershire, in England, with a population of around 20,000. The River Welland flows through the town. Market Harborough is the administrative headquarters of the Harborough district. Market Harborough is located i to Northampton – (14½ miles)
- NorthamptonThis article is about Northampton, England. For other places, see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton is a large market town and a local government district in central England upon the River Nene, and the county town of Northamptonshire. In 2002 it ha to Bedford – (21 miles)
- Bedford to Luton – (19 miles)
- Luton to St Albans – (10¼ miles)
- St Albans to Edmonton – (11 miles)
- Edmonton to London Marble Arch (8½ miles)
When the marchers arrived in London, almost one month later, a petition of 12,000 signatures was handed into Parliament by Ellen Wilkinson , the Labour MP for Jarrow. The Prime Minister of the day, Stanley Baldwin, refused to see any of the marchers' representatives.
The march achieved little at the time. It was the outbreak of World War II three years later that finally brought sufficient work to Jarrow to relieve the poverty.
The Jarrow March can be viewed as one of the defining moments in British history, alongside the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and the Tolpuddle Martyrs of 1834, in the emancipation of ordinary citizens.
The last surviving member of the march, Cornelius 'Con' Whalen died on the 17th September 2003 aged 93.
In 1974, musician Alan Price, former keyboard player with The Animals, had a solo UK hit with a single of his composition, Jarrow Song, about the march.
Tyne and Wear
