F: Ben Tillett, Union Organiser Secretary of the
Tea Operatives Union, formed 1887.
The Great Dock Strike of 1889
Worksheet 1
1. Ben Tillett, the dockers' leader, wrote his autobiography, Memories and Reflections, over thirty years after the strike.
a. Which words and expressions in Source A suggest that Ben Tillett held strong views about the call-on and the 'caller-ons'?
b. How do you think this and the fact that it was written in his autobiography some time after the strike might affect its reliability?
c. Do you think it is useful/useless as historical evidence? Explain your answer.
2. Do you think that Colonel Birt's evidence in Source B is very reliable/fairly reliable/not very reliable? Give reasons for your answer.
3a. What, according to Source C, caused the wages of the casual dock worker to be so low?
b. What conclusions can you draw about the wages of the dockers in comparison with other trades?
4. Write an account of the causes of the dock strike of 1889. Using the information on these pages and from the previous chapter write six or seven paragraphs describing the main reasons for the strike. Each paragraph should
- make one clear point
- provide supporting information/evidence for that point.
Make sure that you consider the background to the strike as well as the factors mentioned on the page opposite. This would include the social conditions in which the dockers lived and the growth of trade unionism.
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F: Ben Tillett, Union Organiser Secretary of the
Tea Operatives Union, formed 1887.
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Introduction |
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The Origins |
Building the Docks |
In Operations |
On the Waterfront |
The Dockers|
The Strikes of 1889 |
In the 20c |
In the WW2 |
The Closure |
Contact
Nigel Sagar
Design and Technology
London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham
Email: nigel.sagar@lbbd.gov.uk
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