NAUTILUS P01 OCTOBER 2010.qxd - Nautilus International

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20 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | October 2010 TRADE UNIONS Classroom struggle Trade union members from across the UK descended on a little Norfolk village last month to celebrate the anniversary of the start of what went on to be the longest strike in Britain’s history. MITCH HOWARD reports… a When Kitty and Tom Higdon, the teachers at Burston village school, were sacked on trumped-up charges on 1 April 1914 their pupils were no fools. They came out on strike to get their teachers reinstated. Led by Violet Potter playing her concertina, the children marched through the village and surrounding lanes behind a banner declaring: ‘Justice. We want our teachers back.’ So began the Burston strike school — the longest strike in history. For 15 years virtually all the village children attended the Norfolk village’s alternative school, set up by the Higdons and parents and supported by trade union branches throughout Britain. It is a remarkable story which was all but forgotten outside of Norfolk until 1984 when a rally marked the 70th anniversary of the strike. The rally is now an annual event, held on the first Sunday in September and organised by the union Unite and the South East region of the TUC. a The old school building is now a museum Headmistress Kitty Higdon and husband Tom, the assistant teacher, started at Burston, near Diss, in 1911. They complained about conditions in the school, particularly damp and poor heating, while Tom upset the local squirearchy by recruiting men into the agricultural workers’ union. Both fell out with the rector, We’re doing very special deals on home insurance... Come direct to Endsleigh; we’ve got all kinds of cover to protect your home. You can even get free home emergency cover when you buy buildings and contents insurance together directly from the Endsleigh website or calling us*. We’d love to tell you more Call free on 0800 028 3571 or visit endsleigh.co.uk/nautilus Former MP Tony Benn arrives in traditional style Pictures: Peter Smith also chairman of the school managers, who Tom defeated in the 1913 local council election. Then the school managers accused Kitty of lighting a fire without permission (to dry the clothes of children who had walked miles in the rain) as well as gross discourtesy when reprimanded and beating two Barnardo’s girls. A Norfolk education committee inquiry ignored the fire incident and declared the beating not proven, but gave the Higdons notice for discourtesy to the managers. After their dismissal and the children’s strike, lessons were held on the village green and parents were fined for not sending their children to the official church school. A national appeal raised funds for a new building and on 13 May 1917, thanks to donations from miners’ and railway workers’ unions, trades councils and Independent Labour Party branches, the children’s leader Violet Potter declared the new school open. It continued until 1939 when Tom Higdon died and Kitty could not carry on alone. She died in 1946. a This year’s rally saw 2,000 union members and their families gather on the village green next to the school, now a museum dedicated to the strike, to celebrate the events that took place nearly 100 years ago — and to have a good day out. Volunteers from the presentday village school served homemade pies, sandwiches and cakes, while elsewhere you could sample locally-made pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tarts), organic ice cream, and real ale. You could take your pick of campaign, union and community stalls, browse the bookstalls, listen to music from Diss High School Soul Band and Red Flags, or enjoy the dialectical patter and tricks of ‘Marxist magician’ Ian Saville. At the head of a march following the steps of the schoolchildren in 1914 was a horse-drawn farm cart with a distinguished passenger — veteran campaigner Tony Benn, who showed he has lost none of his fire. ‘Kitty and Tom Higdon fought for basic rights. We need their example to inspire us now,’ he told the rally. ‘We have to preserve our confidence in what we want — jobs, pensions, homes, health, security in old age. These are things our society can afford if we share the wealth fairly. The coalition government is just Thatcherism reappeared. We must stand together in solidarity and fight for what we believe is just.’ The general secretaries of the two main teaching unions — Christine Blower from the NUT and Chris Keates of the NASUWT — and Unite assistant general secretary Len McCluskey also drew on the Higdons as inspiration for today’s fight to defend pubic services and jobs. Labour leadership contenders Diane Abbot and Ed Balls made an unexpected cameo appearance, standing side-by-side on the stage to deliver brief words of encouragement. a Meanwhile, in the quiet of the churchyard next to the green, Geoff Higdon, a descendant of Kitty and Tom Higdon, laid flowers on their graves. His daughter Natasha Higdon, a drama teacher in Ipswich, was with him. ‘Teaching must be in the Higdon blood,’ he said. ‘My niece Alice Higdon is a teacher as well.’ Also at the rally was Ann May Potter, niece of the strike leader Violet Potter. ‘I was brought up “ The Higdons fought for basic rights ” and lived in Burston during and after the war until I was 13 and was totally imbued with the strike school,’ she recalled. Her father, Tom Potter, was named after Tom Higdon, attended the strike school and was a tenant farmer until he took over the village post office and stores. He was a parish and district councillor for many years. ‘The Higdons were a great influence on my father who was both a humanist and communist,’ said Ann. ‘He believed in people having equal rights. ‘He had a great love of literature and a store of poetry he had learned from Mrs Higdon. He loved singing and I am sure this came from Mrs Higdon’s love of music.’ Both personally and politically, the legacy of the Higdons and the Potters lives on in Burston and beyond. * Available until further notice when customers purchase buildings and contents together and come directly to Endsleigh. Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Finanical Services Authority. This can be checked on the FSA Register by visiting its website at www.fsa.gov.uk Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited. Company No: 856706 registered in England at Shurdington Road, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire GL51 4UE. Listening to speeches at the Burston Strike School rally
October 2010 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 21 SEAFARER SAYINGS Charity minding your language w Britain’s long maritime heritage has helped to enrich the English language with a remarkable range of words and phrases that originated at sea. From giving someone a wide berth, to getting carried away, letting the cat out of the bag, being taken aback or starting with a clean slate, people routinely tap into this rich seam of nautical expressions. Now, to mark international Year of the Seafarer, the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society has launched an initiative designed to capture modern-day seafaring sayings, which will form part of the maritime linguistic inheritance that we perhaps unknowingly use every day. And the charity needs your help. It is calling on serving and retired members of the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy, fishing vessel crews and port workers to get involved in the ‘Royal Alfred Gung Ho Language Workshop’ and send in the modern words and sayings they use in everyday language, inspired by their time at sea. The Royal Alfred has teamed up with the author of the naval slang and jargon guide ‘Jackspeak’ to develop the project. Former RN Surgeon-Captain Rick Jolly will be using the material to produce a new compendium of modern nautical terms for the next edition of his book. ‘The beauty of nautical language, just like all language, is that it is constantly evolving,’ said Capt Jolly, who also spent six years with the Merchant Navy, including with Saga Shipping and onboard RMS Saint Helena. ‘Shaped by changing times and technologies, the expressions Your words can win! The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society needs your help to support its nautical language project — and you can win a book by assisting the charity. You may know your caboose from your caboosh, your fid from your fiddle, your soojie moojie from your shuff duff, but the charity wants to know what you consider to be the best words in nautical language today. Telegraph readers are invited to send in modern nautical sayings and be entered into a prize draw to win one of three signed copies of Jackspeak, written by former maritime medic and author Dr Rick Jolly. The Royal Alfred has teamed up with the naval slang and jargon expert to celebrate the diversity of nautical language and to find even more unique sayings and words for a forthcoming new edition of Jackspeak. They are particularly Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society sets up new initiative to safeguard the terminology of the sea… An illustration from Rick Jolly’s book on maritime words and phrases used often carry that classic mariner sense of humour — inherent in sayings such as “kecks” which are underpants (or trousers in Liverpool!) and “spondoolicks”, a 19th century word for money! ‘Projects like this are vital in preserving the significance and awareness of nautical language and we look forward to hearing from today’s seafarers who may interested in hearing about the new words and sayings you and your colleagues use that may have been influenced by changing times and technologies from 1990 to the present day. The words and phrases you send will form part of the charity’s have their own “first rate” suggestions or may really “know the ropes” when it comes to modernday sailor speak,’ he added. The Society canvassed its retired seafarers at its Weston Acres Estate nursing and residential home in Surrey to reveal their favourite phrases coined from a life at sea. Most of these have passed into metaphorical usage, compendium of modern-day terms to be considered for the new edition of Dr Jolly’s book. g To enter, email: nauticaltalk@ acceleris-mc.com or post your words and sayings (a maximum of three per person), to: Nautical Talk, Acceleris Marketing Communications, Town Centre House, Cheltenham Crescent, Harrogate HG1 1DQ Closing date is Friday 22 October 2010 — and the prize draw winners will be announced in the Telegraph. gYou can also order a signed copy of Jackspeak: a guide to British Naval Slang and Usage, by Dr Rick Jolly OBE, for just £10 including p&p — a saving of £2.50. Send a cheque or postal order for £10 to Palamando Publishing, PO Box 42, Torpoint, Cornwall, PL11 2YR, marking your order ‘Nautilus Telegraph Offer’. The author will personalise copies being bought as gifts on request. with their nautical origins virtually forgotten by the wider public. Some of the favourites included: 1. The cat’s out of the bag — originates from the instrument of punishment in the Old Navy, the ‘cat o’nine tails’. It would be taken out of its special storage bag before a flogging 2. Brass monkeys — originates from the saying ‘cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’. Freezing temperatures would cause the brass monkey, a plate beside each gun on a ship to hold iron cannon balls, to contract and some of the balls to fall off 3. Batten down — meaning to prepare for trouble or bad weather, originating from ships ‘battening down the hatches’ when bad weather was expected 4. Splice the mainbrace! — the order given on ships for everyone onboard to enjoy an additional serving of rum as part of a traditional naval celebration. Nowadays this is used to describe a toast to royalty 5. Three sheets to the wind — originates from an old description of a square sail flapping almost uncontrollably in the wind; now often used to describe an inebriated person Commander Brian Boxall- Hunt, chief executive of the Society, said: ‘Seafarers do literally have their own language, which is LEGAL evident every time our residents socialise together. But it’s astounding how much of this language is used by everyone — every day. ‘This heritage must not be lost or forgotten, which is why we are embracing today’s generations of seafarers alongside the generation we care for at our residence in Surrey, to take that understanding to the wider public and celebrate it,’ he added. www.nautiluslegal.org Legal Helpline 0800 9 87 88 88 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm) For out of hours and emergency shipping enquiries please continue to call your present contact Your Nautilus International membership entitles you and your immediate family to a full range of legal services provided by specialist lawyers. z Accident Claims z Clinical (Medical) Negligence z Family Law z Housing Advice z Personal Insolvency z Discounted Residential Conveyancing Members Email: member@nautiluslegal.org Royal Alfred chief executive Cdr Brian Boxall-Hunt says it is important for the public to understand their maritime heritage z z z z z Standard Single Will Standard Mirror Will Lasting Power of Attorney Disease Claims Employment Law Claims Family Email: family@nautiluslegal.org
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