Jarrow March

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During the Great Depression in the United Kingdom, the people of the North East England, many of whom were miners and shipworkers, suffered even more than the rest of the country from the prevailing unemployment and poverty. On October 5, 1936, 207 men, known as the Jarrow Marchers, walked from Jarrow to lobby Parliament. This was the Jarrow Crusade (a term used on banners carried by the marchers) or Jarrow March.

The march was 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 in 22 legs covering a total of 280.5 mi (451 km) as follows:

Jarrow to Chester le Street – (12 miles)

Chester le Street to Ferry Hill – (12 miles)

Ferryhill 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)

Sheffield to Chesterfield – (11¾ miles)

Chesterfield to Mansfield – (12 miles)

Mansfield to Nottingham – (14½ miles)

Nottingham to Loughborough – (15 miles)

Loughborough to Leicester – (11¼ miles)

Leicester to Market Harborough – (14½ miles)

Market Harborough to Northampton – (14½ miles)

Northampton to Bedford – (21 miles)

Bedford to Luton – (19 miles)

Luton to St Albans – (10¼ miles)

St Albans to Edmonton – (11 miles)

Edmonton to Marble Arch, London (8½ miles)

When the marchers arrived in London (31 October), almost one month later, a petition of 12,000 signatures was handed into Parliament by Ellen Wilkinson, Labour Party Member of Parliament 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 is fondly remembered by those on the left in British politics as a landmark in the history of labour movement, even though the Labour Party of the day opposed it, and the TUC circularized Trades Councils advising them not to help the marchers (ref. Ellen Wilkinson - "The Town That Was Murdered"). The last surviving member of the march, Cornelius 'Con' Whalen died on September 14, 2003, aged 93 [1].

[edit] The Jarrow March in popular culture

In 1976 The march was used as a minor plot device in the popular British sitcom Are You Being Served? in the episode Fifty Years On. 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. Alan Hull of Lindisfarne also wrote 'Marshall Riley's Army', which was released on the band's 1978 album 'Back and Fourth'. 'Marshall Riley' is a reference to Ald David Riley, one of the leaders of the March.

In 1986, the Jarrow experience was repeated. The marchers came not just from Jarrow, but, from all over the UK.