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The Jarrow March was a protest movement that took place in 1936 in England, during the Great Depression. It was a march of unemployed men from the town of Jarrow to London, a distance of over 300 miles, in order to draw attention to the dire economic situation in their town and the wider country.
Jarrow was a town in the northeast of England that relied heavily on shipbuilding and had been hit hard by the economic downturn. The shipyard had closed down, leaving many people out of work, and there were few other job opportunities in the area. The town had an unemployment rate of over 70%, and the local council was struggling to provide even basic services.
A large part of the shipbuilding industry in Jarrow and other towns in the northeast of England during the early 20th century involved building ships for the Royal Navy. The region was known for its expertise in shipbuilding and many of the largest and most advanced warships of the era were built there. The Royal Navy was the main customer for these ships, which included battleships, cruisers, and destroyers.
During the First World War, the shipbuilding industry in the northeast of England boomed as demand for warships increased. This led to a period of prosperity for the region, with many new jobs created and economic growth. However, after the war, demand for new warships declined sharply, and the industry entered a period of decline. This decline was exacerbated by the Great Depression, which hit the shipbuilding industry particularly hard.
By the time of the Jarrow March in 1936, the shipbuilding industry in Jarrow had all but collapsed, leaving many people out of work and the town struggling to survive. The marchers were seeking government assistance to help revive the industry and bring back jobs to the area.
In October 1936, a group of around 200 men from Jarrow decided to march to London to present a petition to the government, asking for assistance in bringing back jobs to their town. They set off on their journey on October 5th, 1936, and walked over 20 miles a day, through rain and cold weather, sleeping in makeshift camps along the way.
The march gained national attention as it progressed, and the marchers were welcomed by sympathetic crowds in towns and cities along the route. However, the government was initially unsympathetic to their cause and refused to meet with them when they arrived in London on October 31st.
At the time of the Jarrow March in 1936, the United Kingdom was governed by the National Government, which was a coalition of the Conservative, Liberal, and National Labour parties. The Prime Minister was Stanley Baldwin, a Conservative.
The National Government was initially unsympathetic to the Jarrow marchers and their cause. Baldwin and his government believed that the economic situation in Jarrow was due to broader economic factors beyond their control, rather than specific government policies. Additionally, the National Government was focused on reducing government spending and balancing the budget, which limited the amount of money that could be allocated to specific regions and industries.
When the Jarrow marchers arrived in London and presented their petition to the government, they were initially refused a meeting with Baldwin. Instead, they met with a junior minister, Walter Runciman, who promised to consider their demands but offered little in the way of concrete assistance.
However, the Jarrow March did help to bring attention to the plight of unemployed people in the northeast of England and contributed to a shift in public opinion. The government eventually introduced a scheme to assist the worst-affected areas, including Jarrow, and the town received funding for a steelworks that provided jobs for many of its residents.
Despite this, the marchers continued to draw attention to the dire economic situation in Jarrow and other similar towns, and their efforts helped to bring about change in government policy. The government eventually introduced a scheme to assist the worst-affected areas, including Jarrow, and the town received funding for a steelworks that provided jobs for many of its residents.
The Jarrow March remains an important symbol of working-class solidarity and the struggles of unemployed people during the Great Depression. It is remembered as an iconic moment in British social and political history.
the budgets for the Royal Navy were cut during the late 1920s and during the 1930s as a result of a series of disarmament conferences and economic pressures.
After the First World War, there was a general feeling among many nations that the scale of military spending and arms races had contributed to the war and that disarmament was necessary to prevent another global conflict. This led to a series of disarmament conferences in the 1920s and 1930s, which aimed to reduce military spending and limit the size of armed forces and naval fleets.
In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, which set limits on the tonnage of naval vessels that each participating country could possess. This had the effect of reducing the size of the Royal Navy, as well as the navies of other major naval powers such as the United States and Japan.
In addition to disarmament treaties, the economic pressures of the Great Depression in the 1930s also led to cuts in military spending, including for the Royal Navy. The government faced a difficult balancing act between reducing spending to balance the budget and maintaining the country's defense capabilities.
These cuts to the Royal Navy budget had a significant impact on shipbuilding in towns such as Jarrow, which relied heavily on naval contracts for work. The decline of the shipbuilding industry in the northeast of England was a result of both the cuts in naval spending and broader economic factors, such as the decline in international trade and the Great Depression.
The closing of shipyards in the northeast of England, including Jarrow, was certainly a significant blow to the naval military-industrial complex in England, but it was not the beginning of its demise.
The naval military-industrial complex in England had been a key driver of the country's economic and military power for many decades, with shipbuilding and related industries providing jobs and economic growth. However, the decline of the shipbuilding industry in the northeast of England during the interwar period was the result of broader economic factors, such as the Great Depression, as well as government policy decisions, such as disarmament treaties and cuts to military spending.
Despite this decline, the naval military-industrial complex continued to play an important role in the country's economy and defense capabilities during the Second World War and in the postwar period. The shipbuilding industry was revived during the war, with many new vessels built to replace those lost in the conflict, and this helped to provide jobs and stimulate economic growth. In the postwar period, the naval military-industrial complex continued to innovate and produce advanced naval technologies, such as nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, which helped to maintain Britain's position as a global military power.
However, the naval military-industrial complex did face challenges in the postwar period, as the country's economic priorities shifted towards other industries and the costs of maintaining a large and technologically advanced navy increased. The complex faced competition from other countries, such as the United States, which invested heavily in military technologies during the Cold War. In recent decades, the naval military-industrial complex in England has continued to evolve and adapt to changing economic and political conditions, but it remains an important component of the country's defense industry.
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Reference: Article by Greg Scott (Staff Historian), 2024
