London matchgirls strike of 1888 5206460 224014777 2008-07-06T23:03:10Z Simiansapiens 7432331 The '''London matchgirls strike of 1888''' was a [[Industrial action|strike]] of the women and [[teenage]] girls working at the [[Bryant and May Factory, Bow|Bryant and May Factory]] in [[Bow, London|Bow]], [[London]]. The strike was prompted by the poor working conditions in the [[match]] factory, including fourteen-hour work days, poor pay, excessive fines, and the severe health complications of working with yellow (or white) [[phosphorus]], such as [[phossy jaw]].<ref name=spartacus>Spartacus Educational.</ref> Led by Socialist activist [[Annie Besant]], with the support of [[Herbert Burrows]], the strike began in June 1888. Three weeks later, the factory owners agreed to rehire the strikers and end the fine system.<ref name=spartacus /> ==The campaign against yellow phosphorus matches== Besant and others continued to campaign against the use of yellow phosphorus in matches. In 1891, the [[Salvation Army]] opened up its own match factory in the Bow district of London, using less toxic red phosphorus and paying better wages.<ref name=spartacus /> Part of the reason behind this match factory was the desire to improve the conditions of home workers, including children, who dipped yellow phosphorus-based matches at home.<ref name=emsley-115-126>Emsley, 115-126.</ref> Several children died from eating these matches. Interestingly, the Salvation Army match factory had lower rates of [[phossy jaw]] than did the Bryant and May factory in the same locality; this was due to improved working conditions.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The Bryant and May factory received bad publicity from these events, and in 1901 they announced that their factory no longer used yellow phosphorus.<ref name=spartacus /> Ironically, the owners ([[Francis May (industrialist)|Francis May]] and [[William Bryant (industrialist)|William Bryant]]), who were both [[Religious Society of Friends|Quakers]], had started importing red-phosphorus based safety matches from [[John Edvard Lundström]], in Sweden, in 1850.<ref name=beaver-part-1>Beaver, Part 1: Building a Business.</ref> However, Bryant and May's safety matches sales had increased 10-fold by 1855 and Lundstrom was unable to increase his production any further; so they bought his UK [[Patent]], and with his assistance, built a model safety match factory in Bow.<ref name=beaver-part-1/> They started using red phosphorus in 1855, but could not compete on price against the much cheaper yellow phosphorus-based matches; hence the use of child labour. The Salvation Army had the same problem; their own matches were initially three times the price of yellow phosphorus-based matches. They had some partial success, because many of their supporters refused to buy yellow phosphorus-based matches; they automated much of the match-making processes, but not box filling, thus bringing down costs; and, the use of child labour in dangerous trades was prohibited. The factory still struggled to compete on price; and after 1898 the ''[[War Cry (Salvation Army newspaper)|War Cry]]'' ceased to advertise their matches.<ref name=emsley-115-126 /> Their last make-or-break advertisement was run on [[24 February]] [[1900]].<ref name=emsley-115-126 /> The Salvation Army match factory finally closed and it was taken over by Bryant and May on [[26 November]] [[1901]].<ref name=emsley-125>Emsley, 125.</ref> In 1908 the [[British House of Commons]] passed an Act prohibiting the use of yellow phosphorus in matches after [[31 December]] [[1910]]. This was the United Kingdom's implementation of the 1906 [[Berne]] Convention on the prohibition of white phosphorus in matches.<ref name=emsley-125 /> ==Popular Culture== In the 1960's, the British actor [[Bill Owen (actor)|Bill Owen]] collaborated with songwriter Tony Russell to create a musical about the 1888 matchgirls strike, eponymously named ''[[The Matchgirls]]'' ==Notes== <div class="references-small"> <!--See [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags--> <references/> </div> ==References== *{{cite book | last = Emsley | first = John | title = The Shocking History of Phosphorus: A Biography of the Devil's Element | date = 2000 | publisher = Macmillan | id = ISBN 0-333-76638-5 }} *{{cite book | last = Beaver | first = Patrick | title = The Match Makers: The Story of Bryant & May | year = 1985 | publisher = Henry Melland Limited | id = ISBN 0-907929-11-7 }} *{{cite book | last = Threlfall | first = Richard | title = The Story of 100 Years of Phosphorus Making: 1851 - 1951 | year = 1952 | publisher = Albright & Wilson }} *{{cite web | url = http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TUmatchgirls.htm | title = Matchgirls Strike | publisher = Spartacus Educational | accessdate = 2006-05-19 }} *[http://www.nodanw.com/shows_m/matchgirls.htm Internet based reference, 'The Matchgirls' musical] ==Further reading== *[http://www.mernick.co.uk/thhol/matchgirls.html News reports from the ''East London Observer'' concerning the strike] ==See also== {{organized labour portal}} *[[Albright and Wilson]] *[[Match]] *[[Youth activism]] [[Category:1888 labor disputes and strikes]] [[Category:1888 in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:19th century in London]] [[Category:Labour disputes in the United Kingdom]]