1911 Liverpool general transport strike

The 1911 Liverpool general transport strike was a major protest of unskilled workers including dockers, railway workers, sailors and other tradesmen for the right to unionize, along with better pay and conditions. For the first time, unskilled trade unions were able to establish themselves on a permanent footing and become genuine mass organizations of the working class. The strike paralyzed Liverpool commerce for most of the summer of 1911 since Liverpool's industry was based around ports, whose workers were striking. The strike peaked on Bloody Sunday when a crowd of 80,000 congregating in the city center, 365 people were injured in total including when police opened fire resulted in the death of two and wounding 13.

Strike

Strike action began on 14 June when the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union announced a nationwide merchant seamen's strike. Solidarity action in support of the seamen led to other sections of workers striking. A strike committee, chaired by the syndicalist Tom Mann, was formed to represent all of the workers in dispute.

Many meetings were held on St. George's Plateau, next to St. George’s Hall, on Lime Street, including the rally on 13 August in which police carried out a baton charge a crowd of 85,000 people, who had gathered to hear Tom Mann speak. The event became known as "Bloody Sunday".

In the police charges and subsequent unrest that carried on through the following night, over 350 people were injured. 3,500 British troops had become stationed in the city. Two days later, soldiers of the 18th Hussars opened fire on a crowd on Vauxhall Road, injuring fifteen, two fatally: John Sutcliffe, a 19-year-old carter, was shot twice in the head, and Michael Prendergast, a 30-year-old docker, was shot twice in the chest. An inquest into their deaths later brought in a verdict of "justifiable homicide".Near to Revolution: The Liverpool general transport Strike North West TUC, 2011

Home Secretary Winston Churchill sent in troops and positioned the cruiser in the Mersey.

1911 Liverpool general transport strike

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