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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 geordie 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. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Map sources for Jarrow at grid reference NZ3465 Jarrow is a town on the River Tyne, England with a population around 27,000 (2001 Census). ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons The Right Honourable Michael Martin MP Lord Speaker Hélène Hayman, Baroness Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups (as of May 5, 2005 elections) Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats...

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. Map sources for Jarrow at grid reference NZ3465 Jarrow is a town on the River Tyne, England with a population around 27,000 (2001 Census). ... Chester-le-Street (postally but incorrectly Chester le Street) is the main town in the Chester-le-Street district of County Durham, England. ... Statistics Population: 10,006 (2001) [1] Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: NZ291326 Administration District: Sedgefield Shire county: County Durham Region: North East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: County Durham Historic county: County Durham Services Police force: Durham Constabulary Ambulance: North East Post office and... This article is about the town in England. ... Northallerton is a town in North Yorkshire, England. ... Ripon is a small cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England. ... , Harrogate is a large town in North Yorkshire, England. ... For other uses, see Leeds (disambiguation). ... Wakefield The Town Hall, Wood St. ... Barnsley is a large town in South Yorkshire, England, lying on the River Dearne, approximately twenty kilometres north of Sheffield. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ... For other locations with this name, see Chesterfield. ... This page is about the town of Mansfield in England. ... For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation). ... Loughboroughs carillon Loughborough parish church The Brush engineering works Loughborough University Loughborough (pronounced locally as either , LUFF-burra or , LUFF-bruh, and more widely as [ˈlʌfˌb(ə)ɹə]) is a town in Leicestershire, central England with a population of 57,600 as of 2004. ... Leicester city centre, looking towards the Clock Tower Leicester (pronounced ) is the largest city and unitary authority in the English East Midlands. ... , The stilted Old Grammar School Market Harborough is a market town in Leicestershire, England. ... Northampton is a large market town and a local government district in central England on the River Nene, and the county town of Northamptonshire, in the English East Midlands region. ... Bedford is the county town of the English county of Bedfordshire. ... It has been suggested that Culture in Luton be merged into this article or section. ... , St Albans is the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles (35. ... Edmonton is a place in the eastern part of the London Borough of Enfield. ... Marble Arch was originally erected on The Mall, as a gateway to the newly rebuilt Buckingham Palace. ... Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891, Manchester-6 February 1947) was the Labour Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough and later for Jarrow on Tyneside. ... The Labour Party is an Anti-English political party in the United Kingdom. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC (3 August 1867 – 14 December 1947) was a British statesman and thrice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ...

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] is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. The Jarrow March is also mentioned in the filmatization of Agatha Christie's "Hickory Dickory Dock" in the series Poirot (1995). Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Are You Being Served? was a long-running British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. ... Fifty Years On, was the penultimate episode in Series Four 1976 of the British Sitcom Are You Being Served? This episode used the Jarrow March as a minor plot device. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Alan Price (born April 19, 1941 in Fairfield, Washington, Tyne and Wear, England) is a musician, songwriter, and actor. ... The US edition of The Animals self-titled debut album. ... Alans first Album: Pipedream James Alan Hull (February 20, 1945 — November 17, 1995) was a British singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk-rock band Lindisfarne. ... Lindisfarne were a popular British folk/rock group of the 1970s, fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

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

For the 60th anniversary, in 1996, a piece of choral music entitled The Burning Road^[2] was commissioned from composer Will Todd, who grew up in the North East of England, where the story is part of local folklore. The third movement notably included the singing of the names of all two hundred marchers as a form of roll call.

References