Nelson cinema strike

[Dave]

I've just been reading a diary account of 1932, in which a writer talk about hearing of a great strike that took place in Nelson, as the writer puts it, 'some years before'. The substance of it is that there were at one time six cinemas in Nelson, and the operators were all threatened with a pay cut. Apparently, everyone in the town refused to accept the cut: people boycotted the cinemas until the workers' wages had been protected.

Does anyone know if this story is true? Has anyone written about it elsewhere?

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[Mitch]

Hi Dave,

That's a fascinating bit of information - cheers for that. I know nothing about that strike, but it doesn't surprise me - Nelson has a jam packed history of strikes, marches through the town and radical history - used to be known as 'Red Nelson'.

There's some great little local history books on Nelson in Nelson Library - I've looked at most of them and don't remember any references to this cinema strike, although there might be some leads on local Nelson cinema locations.

Also, I reckon putting your post up on this local history webforum:

oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/fhome.asp

might well turn up something. This local history web forum has some great history documents on it too.

I shall ask around on this one - let us know if you find out anything.

Cheers Mitch

[Dave]

Thanks Mitch, will try there

[gary]

I do remember cinemas were once called 'picture houses' and being the peoples cinema in the early 30's were probably owned by the co operative movement.

I turned this up on a site called the North West Labour History Group (NWLHG).

Issue number 19 on the site below from NWLHG shows a reference. there may be a contact on the site for further info..

www.wcml.org.uk/nwlhg/back_issues.html

Any post 1st world war worker strikes might also be recorded in the archives at Nelson library (reference section - microfiche)


g.luck

[michele cryer]

This does all sound very interesting, as do those back issues that you linked us to Gary.

Please post more info about the strike if you find out the details.

[Mitch]

Hey, nice one Gary. Hadn't thought of the Working Class Movement Library - they've a massive archive there plus you can purchase back copies of the North West Labour History Journel.

Reckon too a flick through Nelson Leaders on microfilm at Nelson Library in the 1930s might well turn up something too!

If you've a specific date for the Strike Dave, it'll be easy to look at the Nelson Leaders around that period.

Come back and tell us what you find out.

Cheers Mitch

[Dave]

The source for the story is C. L. R. James, 'The Nucleus of a Great Civilization', Port of Spain Gazette, 28 August 1932.

The quote is:

'In Nelson a few years ago there were three if four talking-picture houses run by men who were strangers to the town. The Nelson people are very fond of the cinema. They flock to it in their thousands. For many, apart from the beauties of nature, an abiding love of the English people, the cinema is the only recreation. The Nelson operators, maybe not quite a dozen of them in all, got about 45 shillings a week. They were quite unimportant persons. The owners of the theatres wanted to reduce their salaries. But Nelson is a town where most of the working people are pretty closely united. So in order to avoid trouble the owners who ran cinemas in Burnley, a much bigger town a few miles away, hit on an ingenious plan of attaining their ends. They reduced salaries in Burnley. They attempted to transfer a Nelson operator to a Burnley theatre. Naturally the pay would be the Burnley pay, and thus the salaries would be lowered. Note, please, how careful the owners had to be in such a simple matter of lowering the salary of an ordinary cinema machine operator. That, however, is but a trifle. The Nelson people got wind of the matter. There were meetings and discussions. They decided that the salaries of the cinema operators should not be lowered. Complications began. The owners insisted. One cannot be certain of the details. But what matters is that the whole town of Nelson, so to speak, went on strike. They would not go to the cinema. The pickets were putout in order to turn back those who tried to go. For days the cinemas played to empty benches. In a town of forty thousand people you could find sometimes no more than half a dozen in the theatres. The company went bankrupt and had to leave. Whereupon local people took over and the theatres again began to be filled.'

'It was magnificent and it was war. I confess I was thrilled to the bone when I heard it. I could forgive England all the vulgarity and all the depressing disappointment of London for the magnificent spirit of these north country working people. As long as that is the spirit of which they are made, then indeed Britons never, never shall be slaves.'

James was staying at the home of the cricketer Learie Constantine from summer 1932, having previously been in London for 8 weeks. Constantine was Nelson's professional cricketer, at a time when Nelson was the most successful club side in Lancashire, and James came over to write his (Constantine's) autobiography.

I know there were a number of high-profile strikes in the town in the 1930s - just hadn't heard of this dispute.

I have tried both the library, and the people at the NWLH journal (and indeed the Salford Working-Class Movement Library) - but no-one has come up with any dates yet.

Any one else with leads - would be much appreciated!

[Dave]

PS - have also had an interesting response at

www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5804&FORUM_ID=7&CAT_ID=3&Forum_Title=Local+History&Topic_Title=CLR+James+and+Nelson+cinema+%27strike%27&whichpage=1&tmp=1#pid27879

Dave

[Mitch]

Wow Dave, told you they were good on there!!

Fantastic stuff from Stanley & Boris - I read the whole thread.

That's a fascinating bit of information on changing the cinema rating to try and lower the pay of projectionists!! Militant Nelson wasn't having any of it.

Look forward to any news from the Nelson Leaders of 1932 if you turn up anything.

Keep meaning to get down to Nelson library myself to look through later 1930s copies of the Leader around the Spanish Civil War.

Thanks for coming back with that.

Cheers Mitch