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Archiving is Activism!

Sparrow Artwork by Craig Humpston

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the latest News from the Nest.

This month we took receipt of two new, related archives: Libertarian Education (better known as LibEd) is an international project for radical educators, with roots in the free school movements of the 1960s. It was set up by teachers and authors including David Gribble. Both of their archives came to us via the Mulberry Bush project in Gloucestershire, which is sadly closing down. We’ll bring you news down the line of what both their collections contain and what we hope to do with them.

We are also making great progress with the Veggies/Rainbow/Sumac collection (see last issue of the newsletter). Sumac is kindly hosting a fund-raiser for us on Saturday June 20th, where you can find out more about both the work of the Nest and the Sumac collection, as well as enjoy a home cooked vegan meal. Please put the date in your diary.

100th Anniversary of the 1926 General Strike

This was the only such strike in British History (so far!). It began in support of miners, who faced a lock-out until they accepted wage cuts. It lasted nine days and was essentially a rock-solid shut down of industry, resulting from broader class antagonisms that had been growing since the First World War. It showed the Baldwin government and capitalist class what workers could achieve against them when united. Nottinghamshire was heavily impacted, and the Nest holds numerous publications relating to this part of our history.

Credit: Nottingham City Council - Strikers blocking a bus driven by scabs on the first day of the strike, outside the Theatre Royal. We found this picture thanks to Nottingham and Derbyshire Labour History Society.

Apr 26 Documents of the Month

The General Strike was ultimately betrayed by the TUC, in fear of the autonomous action being taken by workers and its own lack of control over the strike’s levels of radicalism.

Here we bring together some of the publications held by the Nest celebrating and critiquing the General Strike. Freedom newspaper’s contemporary account (April-May 1926) very much understands it as a class conflict, with fascinating insights into the roles of the Church and Winston Churchill, as well as the employers. It is optimistic about what the strike meant for revolutionary class consciousness. Only one issue later (Aug-Sept 1926), the anarchist visionary Emma Goldman takes a more jaded view of what could be achieved through the existing structures. Over the years, anarchist workers continued to be critical of the potential of the established unions to enable real change.

In the June 1966 issue of Direct Action, the anarchist Tynesider Tom Brown’s provided a retrospective of the role of the TUC, as well as of the Baldwin government and employers. Brown had previously devoted a pamphlet to the topic The British General Strike, 1926. The Anarchist Communist Federation’s Organise! issue 67 (Autumn 2006) contains a well-researched account which explains the role of the major unions in relation to authoritarian Left political parties and the essentially mediatory (as opposed to revolutionary) role of trade unionism, as does Past Tense’s Everywhere and Nowhere (2013). To look at events closer to home, have a look at Barton and Gasse’s 1976 pamphlet Newark and the General Strike.

News from Fellow Travellers

Another local date for the diary. The amazing Punk 4 the Homeless are holding an ‘Art 4 Rice’ event at Broadway from 11th to 17th May. There will be music, discussions and activities, as well as art for sale.

Edinburgh’s Lavander Menace Queer books archive had a near-miss financially last month but managed to raise enough to help see them through a couple of months while they seek new on-going grants. They will need more than this to tide them over, however, so please seek out their fundraiser on social media or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

And finally, a HUGE congratulations to our Nottingham collaborator CJ DeBarra for making the DIVA 2026 Power List in the Role Model category. The awards are ‘a celebration of 101 gamechangers who are bringing LGBTQIA+ visibility to sport, music, workplaces and more’, so this is quite something. 

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Thank you once again for your support!

Bank name: Unity Trust Bank

Recipient: The Sparrows Nest Library and Archive

Sort code: 60-83-01

Account: 20379287