Bristol Radical History Festival 2019

Saturday 12th October 2019

Bristol Radical History Group (BRHG) and the Remembering the Real World War I Group (RRWWI) have organised a full programme of events, in collaboration with our hosts at M Shed.

Again, we will reveal hidden histories, debate and agitate for a future of better pasts. 

The 2019 festival has two main themes:

• 1919: Year of Revolutions

The aftermath of the First World War was one of the most revolutionary moments in the Twentieth Century. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, there were revolutions and uprisings across Europe, in Germany and Hungary, and beyond, in Egypt and Mexico. In Ireland, 1919 would witness the establishment of a separatist parliament in Dublin, an escalation of guerrilla warfare and the establishment of a ‘soviet’ in opposition to British rule. In Britain, these were tumultuous times as thousands of rebellious troops returned from the front-line demanding immediate demobilisation, whilst mass strikes broke out on the railways and amongst miners and engineers threatening a syndicalist takeover. We look at what happened, what was at stake and the legacy of the ‘Year of Revolutions’ in Bristol, Britain and Ireland. 

• Green History: from 18th Century roots to Extinction Rebellion

Our second theme features the history of concern for the environment. We will cover more than two centuries from origins of ‘green’ awareness during the Romantic era through to first-hand accounts from those who took part in late-twentieth-century activism and Black2Nature, who campaign for inclusion and ethnic diversity in environmentalism. How can green history inform present-day debates during the resurgence of environmental concern on the part of Extinction Rebellion, Youth Strike 4 Climate and Earth Strike?

Following the success of the 2017 and 2018 events, this year’s Bristol Radical History Festival is again hosted by M Shed, Bristol’s social history museum located on the historic harbourside.

It’s not just talks! 

Expect walks, films, singing, a performance space with a puppet show, storytelling and poetry, and an exhibition space, as well as stalls with books and merchandise from local and national groups. Not to be missed – go up to Level 2 to see the Regional Radical Press exhibition, with highlights from UWE Bristol Regional History Centre’s current project  All the events are free with no booking required!

We are also thrilled to announce a tie-in event: ‘3 Acres and a Cow: A History of Land Rights in Folk Song and Story’. This will be hosted at Bristol’s Cube Microplex on the evening of Friday 25thOctober.

Stalls

Active Distribution • Black Skin Black Flag • Bloom and Curll Bookshop • Bristol Radical History Group • Bristol Transformed • Fiducia/Long John Silver Trust • Haymarket Books •  Just Seeds • Mayflower Mavericks • Our Chartist Heritage • Past Tense  • RRWWI Group • Tangent Books • Unite Community • Wessex Solidarity • West of England and South Wales Women’s History Network

Full Radical History Festival Programme here

Note: events will be added to this list and there may be changes of times.

Selected Highlights:

“We want out” – Bristol and the British armed forces strikes of January 1919

Event Details

Date: Sat 12th Oct, 2019 
Time: 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm 
Venue: M Shed, BS1 4RN 
Price: Free 
With: Roger Ball, Neil Gordon-Orr 
Series: Bristol Radical History Festival 2019

Regional Radical Press in Britain 1968-1988 exhibition

Event Details

Date: Sat 12th Oct, 2019 
Time: 
Venue: M Shed, BS1 4RN 
Price: Free 
With: Steve Poole 
Series: Bristol Radical History Festival 2019

The 'Industrial Unrest Committee' and Industrial Legality during the 1919 Railway Strike

Event Details

Date: Sat 12th Oct, 2019 
Time: 11:30 am to 12:20 pm 
Venue: M Shed, BS1 4RN 
Price: Free 
With: Philip Kuhn 
Series: Bristol Radical History Festival 2019

‘England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity‘: How Irish Nationalism responded to the Great War

Event Details

Date: Sat 12th Oct, 2019 
Time: 12:30 pm to 2:20 pm 
Price: Free 
With: Joe Mooney, Dee Daley, Nick Heath 
Series: Bristol Radical History Festival 2019

and lots more...

Bristol Radical History Festival (12 Oct): Call out for stallholders and contributors

Advance notice and invitation to participate, from email

Bristol Radical History Group (BRHG) are writing to invite [kindred groups] to take part in the third Radical History Festival (BRHF) in Bristol on Saturday 12th October 2019. The all-day  event (10.30am-4.30pm) will include history walks, talks, performance, bookstalls and displays and is taking place on several floors and galleries in the M Shed Museum. 

This year’s Festival follows two successful Radical History Festivals run at the M Shed in 2017 and 2018. This year’s themes are 1919 and environmental history. On the centenary of 1919, we are working closely with the Remembering the Real WWI Group to explore the tumultuous events and revolutionary spirit of that year. 1919 saw major industrial unrest in the UK and the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence as well as revolutions in Germany, Egypt, Hungary and Mexico. Our environmental history programme will look at a broader sweep of history, from previous centuries through to a consideration of the current wave of green activism in a historical context.  Do let us know if your group can contribute (e.g. to deliver a talk, share ideas or experiences in a panel discussion or participate in the performance space) related to either of these themes. 

This year, subject to confirmation with the Museum, we are planning to set up all stalls in the busy Level 1 area. This may result in a slightly smaller number of stalls than previously, so book now to avoid disappointment. Full or half trestle tables (6ft x 2.5ft) will be available. The cost will be £15 per full table (£7.50 half). As space is limited, we will only guarantee one table for now, but depending on demand we may be able to give you more space. There are two meeting rooms which will have history talks throughout the day and there is also gallery space for performance. 

We had many fantastic contributions at our 2017-2018 events. As previously, BRHG are keen on your group bringing history publications but also visual displays of your projects, research and the history your group has brought to life. The RHF will be taking place on a normal day in the museum, with members of the public visiting galleries and wandering through the bookstalls. So if you have 'pop up' displays, banners, display boards or interactive media (projectors/lap tops) please bring them along.

The BRHF aims to bring radical hidden histories and histories from below into the public domain through various media and to link these to contemporary movements and struggles.

Please let us know before Wednesday 31st July answers to the following questions:

1. If you would like to take part in the Bristol Radical History Festival
2. If you would like 1/2 or 1 table (or more)
3. If you will be bringing display material
4. If you need electrical sockets/power/wifi
5. If you have any other ideas for taking part in the event

More information to follow. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 12^th October.

Note: If you are travelling from outside of Bristol and arriving the night before, please let us know if you need somewhere to stay.

... for Bristol Radical History Group 

Ten years of the RaHN blog and a Merry Mayday to all our readers

It' a bit over ten years since the first item on this blog was posted, a meeting notice like many of the early ones: (Posted Sunday, March 29, 2009) The Ideas and Life of Thomas Spence. As titles of meetings and blogposts indicate, the group was and is concerned not only with local history, although ties in north-east London remain strong, but with all types of radical history. The Radical History Network of North-East London (RaHN) had been going for about 3 years already when the blog was started, and continued to hold regular meetings for a further three, then, after the death of founder member and organiser-in-chief Alan Woodward, rather less regular ones.

Nowadays the 'network' function is key, with the blog adding to the exchange of information and spread of ideas among more-or-less likeminded people that goes on via our mailing list (email us to sign up.) At the same time, many members are active in their various situations, communities and campaigns, and  may be encountered, armed with quantities of fascinating free printed matter, on the RaHN stall at events like the annual Haringey Local History Fare.

An overview of  the group's first ten ywars was posted in February 2016:  Part 1 and Part 2. 
At that time, with well over 100,000 page-view "hits" chalked up by early 2016, the top five most popular blogposts, after the multi-item 'Spain and the World' set (Preface 15/6/11), appeared to be: 
The London Workers Group [1977-1985] (29-10-09)
McDonald's and McLibel [1985-2005] (13-9-09)
Great Enoch (Luddites, Machine Breaking...) (28-5-11)
FINSBURY PARK - a history of community empowerment (10-7-13)
ALAN WOODWARD 1939-2012 (21-10-12)the 

At present (end of April 2019) we have some different contenders, but this is looking at 'All time'  page rather than each post's recorded page-views** as such (they don't seem to match) so the comparison is not direct (and as pointed out before, more recent posts* have obviously not had so much time to build up their total):
* For example, if Christopher Draper's 'Walsall Anarchists' and related posts were considered as a set, they would surely be up there with the best - and the latest got to 500+ in a fortnight.

Women in the Spanish Revolution by Liz Willis Aug 14, 2010, 4 comments	1652
Suffragette Conspiracy Trial, 1912. May 15, 2016, 4 comments	1204
Autumn 2016 Listings Update Oct 4, 2016	1063
Spirit of Combination Acts lives onn in the Strand.... Jun 6, 2016	993
Looking Back at the Grunwick Strike 1976-1978 Nov 6, 2016, 1 comment	982

While noting that the statistics may be skewed by attempts at hacking or phishing, random tweets or who knows what, it seems safe enough to say that the all-time total of pageviews has gone up satisfactorily (given as getting on for 230,000) and a respectable monthly average for this kind of thing (currently about 1600 overall) is being maintained.**Update: After trawling 18 pages of listed posts for actual pageviews over 1,000 counted, the following emerge as the Top 12 (short title/keyword) - not counting a weird surge that gave us extra thousands, mostly from Russia, around the end of 2016 (i.e.shortly after the US Presidential election -who knows what was going on there?)

Women in Sp.Rev.  2330

Great Enoch          2207

Spain & World (6)  1986

London Workers G. 1712

FINSBURY PARK  1535

McDonald's & McL 1381

ALAN WOODWARD 1303 

MEETING Span. Rev. 1123

Spain & World (7)       1108

Spies for Peace/RSGs  1104

INVERGORDON Review  1091

and Remembering the Real WW1  960 

Pageviews last month

1,636

Pageviews all time history

229,127

Followers

10

Our 'audience' is of course international. Top ten source countries of viewers, above caveat applies: 

Entry	Pageviews
United States	78909
United Kingdom	38556
Russia	37400
Germany	12856
France	9812
Ukraine	6641
Italy	4437
China	2235
Netherlands	1126
Poland	1106

Click link on right of blog page to see the current leaflet

As ever, the blog editor would be happy to receive contributions on relevant topics - broadly libertarian socialist perspective on historical events and characters, social movements, current activism -  and in whatever format - articles, reviews, listings, reportage - as well as comments on any of the 440 previous posts. We have nearly 200 comments already, the majority admittedly by the blogger but often with input from correspondents via radicalhistorynetwork@gmail.com.

Join the Rad’s Army Radical History Zone in Bristol on 30th April!

From Bristol Radical History Group

We are celebrating two anniversaries this year! 2016 marks the 10th birthday of the Bristol Radical History Group. This year we have also organised the 5^th Radical History Zone (RHZ). The RHZ is an autonomous space for ideas about radical history that takes place alongside the annual Bristol Anarchist Bookfair. As ever there will be an eclectic mix of topics taking a critical approach to hidden history, with perspectives and themes rarely explored in conventional histories or the mainstream media.  

Members of the home guard of Bristol Radical History Group will kick off the day with the first two sessions. First up we have Mike Richardson’s launch for his meticulously researched book about the Barton Hill Cotton Factory, The Maltreated and the Malcontents: Working in the Great Western Cotton Factory 1838-1914. Roger Ball and Steve Mills will follow with their lively account of James Acland, the radical agitator who launched the original Bristolian paper in 1827. Then as now The Bristolian is the ‘smiter of the high and mighty’ (They don’t like it up em!). Both of these sessions are perfect examples of the kind of investigative history that can be carried out to reveal and expose forgotten stories from our own city and neighbourhoods.

Since the first Radical History Zone in 2010, we have also prided ourselves on including first-hand accounts of history in the making. Peter Crump appeared at the first event in Stokes Croft to talk about his adventures in the 1970’s eco-anarchist collective Street Farm, which designed the first ecological house, and the heady days of student power at the Architecture Association. Di Parkin shared memories of anarchism in the 1960s in her session entitled ‘Running down Whitehall with a black flag’. Last year Mac McConnell recalled the squatting scene and housing activism in Bristol in the 1970s. This year we are excited to host a discussion with David and Stuart Wise, veteran Situationists from that most underground 1960’s group, King Mob. The conversation could take us from Newcastle to New York and may cover art and anti-art, the Sex Pistols, revolution then and now, ecology and rare butterflies… we’ll have to wait and see! Please do come and join the discussion – permission to speak is not required.      

Other sessions in the RHZ have often taken a long view of contentious issues in the present day. This year we are delighted that Molly Conisbee of Bread, Print and Roses will be raising current debates about the railway system and public transport in the context of the 1960’s Beeching Cuts. The legacy of this wholesale axing of the rail infrastructure still impacts upon the everyday lives of millions of people. We are also fortunate to have a visit from Eileen Turnball of the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign. This account of efforts to redress the wrongs of a notorious assault upon striking trade unionists is equally topical in the context of the government’s current Trade Union Bill to curb workers’ organisation. Who do they think they are kidding?        

Finally it has also become something of a tradition to include a literary or musical session within the RHZ, such as Pilar Lopez’s musical rendition of the Spanish Revolution, Anna Freeman’s reading fromThe Fair Fight her novel about women boxers in 18^th century Bristol. Don’t panic! – this year is no exception. Ciaran Walsh is going to treat us with a full performance of ‘The Red Dagger’, Heathcote Williams’ epic poem about the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt.    

Check the contributors’ section of the Bristol Radical History Group website for video recordings of past talks and events.

As ever our trusty comrades in the Hydra Bookshop will be hosting and catering at this year’s RHZ. The Hydra is a hub of the Old Market community and a treasured space for independent events throughout the year. Support your local radical bookshop and café.   

So don’t be stupid boys and girls, come along on 30^th April. The Radical History Zone is a free event. The Bristol Radical History Group is independent and takes no funding from government or business sponsorship so donations are always welcome. 

Radical Histories/Histories of Radicalism conference and festival, July 1-3

Registration now open! www.raphael-samuel.org.uk/radical-histories/

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the death of the socialist historian Raphael Samuel, along with the fortieth anniversary of the journal he helped to found, History Workshop Journal. A weekend of discussion, celebration and debate bringing together activists, community historians, students, teachers, writers, artists, practitioners of history, from inside and outside universities
Talks, films, screenings, theatre, song, dance, walks and talks; stands, exhibitions, caucuses, debates.

Themes include
What is radical history? ● History and radical struggle ● Utopianism, radical visions and visionaries ●Radical education ● Radical religion ● Gender and sexuality ● Race, ethnicity, and activism ● Radical London ● The politics of housing ● Radicalism and the university ● Radical arts and aesthetics ● Radical archives, radical publishing ● History online ● Oral history ● Protest movements ● Class, communities, labour history ● Local and global connections ● Peace activism

Plenaries
Radical Histories Then and Now; History Workshop and its Legacies; open plenary discussion to conclude the conference

The conference takes place over three days, at Queen Mary University of London, with a pre-conference day event at Birkbeck.

THURSDAY 30 JUNE: pre-conference day event, Radical Utopias

Including workshop and screening on Greenham Common, and roundtable discussion ‘Feminism and Radical Utopianism, Past and Present’.

This pre-conference event will be held at Birkbeck, University of London, organised by Birkbeck Centre for Gender and Sexuality and Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image
This event is free, but booking is essential, and places for the workshop and screening are limited. For booking information go to  www.raphael-samuel.org.uk/radical-histories/

FRIDAY 1ST –SUNDAY 3RD JULY: RADICAL HISTORIES/ HISTORIES OF RADICALISM
Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd, London E1
Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July, conference at Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road, London E1

Chargeable, registration essential.  

Fee: Full price £50, Unwaged £25, Day rate £20, Unwaged £10.

For booking information go to  www.raphael-samuel.org.uk/radical-histories/

Online booking is now closed; please register by paying in cash on the day. Go to the Great Hall in the People’s Palace to register. 
Fee: Full price £50, Unwaged £25, Day rate £20, Unwaged £10.

Share this:

Twitter: #radhist16
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RaphaelSamuelHistory

For more information go to www.raphael-samuel.org.uk/radical-histories/

New link on "kindred spirits" list

A link to a radical history podcast has recently been added to our home page:

Paul Case writes:

"The Rebel Chronicles is a series of short podcasts, looking at little snippets of radical history. It was originally created for a digital radio show, so I decided that each podcast finishes on a track that's befitting to the topic I talk about. Currently, The Rebel Chronicles focuses on late nineteenth and early twentieth century radical history, exploring the loose but important connections between historical events.

Mark Leier, a professor of history at SFU in Vancouver, called it "informative, detailed and capitvating".

One of the main aims of The Rebel Chronicles is to help popularise this history. I'm hardly a scholar, so I've written it in the style that I enjoy learning most from - accessible narratives which are not only informative, but, hopefully, also engaging as stories.

I'm very interested in anyone's comments on the podcast; whether they're suggestions on events/people to do an episode about, corrections, or anything else anyone can think of. If you wish to get in touch, please email captainoftherant@riseup.net"
--------------
Click on 'The Rebel Chronicles' tab on Paul's wordpress blog as linked.
It may also be possible to access the podcast directly using:
https://soundcloud.com/paul-case-245440601/sets/the-rebel-chronicles
- But this appears not to work on some computers.

===============================

And don't forget to check out the excellent Past Tense blog, added to our list at the start of the year and going strong with daily items on significant events in the radical history context that happened on each date.

On today's you can read what Ken Weller had to say about opposition to the Boer War as a foretaste of the First World War and resistance to it - and what its opponents would have to face:

“For socialists the Boer War of 1899-1902 was a prefiguration of their experiences in the First World War, and in many ways the similarities are quite marked. Jingoism had been growing for years, imperialism was at its height, the ‘rush for Africa’ – of which the Boer War was the culmination – all had contributed to a climate of the most extreme chauvinism..."

In celebration of 10 years of RaHN (1)

The inaugural meeting of the Radical History Network of NE London (RaHN) was held on 15 February 2006, as previously noted on this blog, where you can find a brief account of the group's early years as well as material relating to the life and work of one of its founders and convenors, the late Alan Woodward.

In addition, a ground-breaking "online pamphlet" on Spain and the World with various contributions looking at many aspects of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War, 1936-39, was added to the blog in 2011. The several posts included under this heading have been and continue to be among the most frequently viewed here.

The sequence starts with Spain and the World... (Preface) 15/6/11

and includes:-

Spain and the World: Aspects of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War (1) The View from the East End. Joe Jacobs, Out of the Ghetto, Spain and the World  6/15/11

Spain and the World : Aspects of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War (3) Health Service Spain 1936-39, Medicine in War, Socialised Medicine, Spain, Spain and the World, Spanish Anarchism, Spanish Civil War, Spanish Revolution  15/6/11

Spain and the World: Aspects of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War (on Workers' Control) (4) Anarcho-Syndicalism, CNT, Collectives,Collectivization, Spain, Spain and the World, Spanish Civil War, Spanish Revolution, Workers' control 16/6/11

To mark the 10th birthday occasion, here is a selection of highlights from the blog, which has not been going for quite as long as the group but is now well established as a go-to site for radical history, with well over 100,000 page-view "hits" chalked up by early 2016.

The following show up as the most frequently viewed so far, with dates (UK-style) when posted, and in some cases tags to indicate their scope.

RaHN blog greatest (number of) hits

Spain and the World as above, and Women in the Spanish Revolution (Solidarity pamphlet, 2010 edition) 14/8/10

The London Workers Group [1977-1985] - a relic of an exciting past, or an inspiring example for the future? Anarcho-Syndicalism, Labour Movement, London Workers Group 29/10/09

McDonald'sand McLibel - the successful humiliation of a multinational [1985-2005] - by the McLibel Support Campaign. Campaigning, Food Politics, MacDonalds, McLibel, Multinational 13/9/09

GreatEnoch - a weapon of choice. Great Enoch, King Ludd, Luddites, Machine Breaking, Poplar revolt, Popular Uprisings 28/5/11

FINSBURYPARK - a history of community empowerment. Community activism, Finsbury Park, parks 10/07/2013

ALANWOODWARD 1939-2012 Alan Woodward, Alan woodward a tribute, alan woodward haringey, alan woodward haringey workers, alan woodward tottenham, Local campaigners, radical history network, Tottenham local history 10/21/12

Further to comment and reply on Spies for Peace [Image of a vintage pamphlet] 04/06/2013

London Remembering the Real World War 1 group [Meeting report and outline of aims] 05/01/2014

MEETING : The Spanish Revolution 1936-39 (Report of 75th Anniversary event, addressed by Brian Bamford) 18/6/11

Book review - Poplar: Lessons of a Historical Struggle. Labour Movement, Labour Party, Poplar councillors, Poplar revolt, Trade Union Movement 18/11/09

INVERGORDON MUTINY - Review. Book review, Invergordon Mutiny, Joe Jacobs, Royal Navy Mutinies 30/8/11

Tottenham 100 years ago; R M Fox's autobiography. Autobiography, Pre First World War, R M Fox, Richard Michael Fox,Smokey Crusade, Tottenham local history 23/9/10

                                                             

History From Below network (International) Conference. Bristol, Conference, First World War, international, radical history 06/10/2014

UK Anti-Poll Tax Movement 1988-1991. Campaigning, Poll Tax 21/10/09.

n.b. More recent posts have not had time to build up views to the same extent.

If you would like to see what RaHN has had to say (or pass on) about some other subjects, try the Search button on the right to locate relevant posts.

UPDATE:

A fuller list (5 pages) of non-ephemeral posts with links to this blog has now been compiled.

Also available in plain text compatible mode.