Tyneside and the 1926 General Strike, talk by Ed Waugh

Discover the history of the General Strike on Tyneside with Ed Waugh. The 1926 General Strike was the biggest rupture in British society since the Civil Wars in the 1640s, almost 300 years earlier. Millions of workers and their families were involved.

The story of resistance took place in Cramlington. On 10 May, day seven of the General Strike, miners inadvertently derailed the Flying Scotsman with 281 people on board. No-one died. The only injury was minor, to a man’s foot. Eight Northumberland miners were sentenced to 48 years’ imprisonment. They returned home as heroes. This incredible story about Geordie fortitude is told by Ed Waugh, whose hit plays include Carrying David, Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry and, of course, The Cramlington Train Wreckers.