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The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) strikers’ demonstration at Eyam and Stoney Middleton, March 1918.

There was a strong tradition of shoe and boot making in the peak district with Eyam and Stoney Middleton establishing factories by the late 19th century. The Stoney Middleton factories produced heavy working boots, including army boots during the First World War, while Eyam produced women's and children's shoes and slippers. In 1910 the two villages shared three wholesale boot, shoe and slipper manufacturers, all providing essential jobs though the workers received only half the national average pay for the trade.

Many workers became members of NUBSO and a strike was called in February 1918 over poor pay and the right to join the union. The workers asked for a reduction in hours from 59 to 52 hours 30 minutes, a war bonus payment and the re-instatement of dismissed trade unionists. The strike dragged on for some three years with many of the men supplementing their strike pay by home-working, quarrying or farm work over the strike period.

This photograph forms part of the papers of Professor Hugh Clegg held at the Centre, though the Modern Records Centre also has the archives of NUBSO itself. The Centre holds mainly national records (rather than local branches) of the unions and therefore many of the photographs and images held at the MRC show national events rather than regional ones. Ref. MSS.54/BST/3/2/8

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

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