Category: Events

Date: Monday 28th September, 2015
Time: 6:00pm-8.00pm
Venue: Studio 1 & 2, First Floor, MSHED, Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol BS1 4RN
Map: http://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed/getting-here/
Speakers: Chloe Mason and Sheila Rowbotham
Price: Donation

In 1917, socialist, feminist and anti-war activist, Alice Wheeldon, her daughter Winnie and husband Alf Mason were given long prison sentences for supposedly plotting to kill the Prime Minister Lloyd George and Arthur Henderson, the leader of the Labour Party. The evidence was flimsy, their accuser an MI5 agent provocateur so dubious the prosecution kept him away from the trial. It was a time when Britons were increasingly vocal in their opposition to the continuing and pointless carnage of the First World War and there was growing resistance to conscription. The British state inspired the plot against the Wheeldon family in order to discredit the anti-war movement and to keep the populace focused on sending their sons and husbands to the trenches.

Chloe Mason, the great granddaughter of Alice Wheeldon, is leading a campaign to have the case recognised as a miscarriage of justice and to clear the names of Alice and other family members.

Sheila Rowbotham, renowned historian and feminist, has recently authored a new edition of her classic The Friends of Alice Wheeldon which presents her continuing research into the case.

Sheila and Chloe will discuss the new evidence they have uncovered, the issues it raises and its bearing on the ongoing campaign.

Sheila Rowbotham’s books have been translated into many languages and her early works are currently being reissued as classic texts of feminism.  She is an Honorary Fellow in Social Science at Manchester University. Her recent work includes Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love (Verso, 2008) winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Memoir/ Biography 2008 in the US and shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in the UK and Dreamers of a New Day: Women who Invented the Twentieth Century (Verso, 2010). She contributed ‘Alice Wheeldon Revisited’ to Mary Davis (ed.), Class and Gender in British Labour History (Merlin, 2011).

For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

Further details at:

Alice Wheeldon Campaign: http://www.alicewheeldon.org/
BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01qcy03
Friends of Alice Wheeldon: The Anti-War Activist Accused of Plotting to Kill Lloyd George Sheila Rowbotham (2^nd Edtn. Pluto Press 2015):http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745335759&st1=wheeldon&sf1=kword_index%2Cpublisher&sort=sort_pluto&m=1&dc=1

A public meeting presented by Bristol Radical History Group and Remembering the Real World War 1.

Date: Tuesday July 14^th
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Hydra Bookshop, 34 Old Market, Bristol, BS2 0EZ
Map: Here

Speaker: Robert Griffiths – General Secretary of Communist Party of Britain and Labour Historian

Facebook: Here

Among the resistance to World War 1 and its effects on the home front were strikes and industrial disputes. One of the largest of these started on July 15^th 1915 – 250,000 Welsh miners launched a strike for higher pay at a time when their coal was powering British warships in the middle of the war. The miners defied the coalowners, the government, the law, the king and their own leaders. Why? Come and hear about this important dispute, its part in a fuller understanding of World War 1 and what lessons can be learnt for today.

You can download the flyer from here

For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

Every year, the government uses Armed Forces Day to promote war. Activists in Southampton are using this year’s event to explain the reality behind the facade. Bristol Radical History Group are taking part, putting particluar emphasis on mutinies during and after World War 1. Perhaps we should start thinking about doing something similar in Bristol!

Details below – for further information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

Event: ‘The Other’ Armed Forces Day – exploring the conscience of war
Date: Saturday 27th June
Time: 11.30-5.30pm
Place: Central Baptist Church, Devonshire Rd, Southampton SO15 2GY

A day of creative expression, dialogue and workshops that include veterans, artists, historians, poets and we hope- you too! Come and hear accounts of mutineers, deserters and conscientious objectors. Stories of people who were and still are the ‘conscience of war’- telling how it was, is and what it’s like for new recruits.

British Armed Forces’ Strikes, Refusals and Mutinies 1919: From Southampton to Murmansk

Bristol Radical History Group (BRHG) expose the hidden history of WWI strikes and mutinies revealing how mass refusals of troops across Europe at the end of the war included expressions of militant dissent in the British Armed Forces. In January 1919, a movement of British soldiers, sailors and airmen refused their orders, formed ‘councils’ and demanded demobilisation. Alongside these rebellions in army bases in mainland Britain and France the crucial channel ports of Dover, Folkestone and Southampton were occupied and shut down by thousands of soldiers and sailors. This widespread revolt was successful in its aims and helped lead to the collapse of the Allied invasion of Soviet Russia.

The main event also includes:

-New short films by Darren Cullen- Action man: Battlefield Casualties

-Ex SAS soldier Ben Griffin founder of Veterans for Peace UK: What to expect if you ‘join up’ now.

-Interactive workshop with Emily Johns and Gabriel Carlyle: The world is my country- Inspiring art and histories of resistance.

-Art by CRASS Gee Vaucher, Darren Cullen, Emily Johns, Lizzie Jones and more.

-Afterparty gathering open to all friendlies with open mic at Avondale House. Music, poetry, film and fun.

Remembering The Real WW1‘s autumn programme of events opens with a rare opportunity to hear internationally renowned author & historian ADAM HOCHSCHILD speak, based on his book ‘To End All Wars – How World War 1 Divided Britain‘. If you haven’t already read Adam’s book (see here for an appreciation of it), copies will be available at the event. Also you can read Adam’s recent piece in the Guardian here.

1914-1918: The War within the War

Date: Thursday 23^rd OctoberTime: 7.30pmVenue: MSHED, Princes Wharf, Wapping Rd, Bristol BS1 4RN Map: http://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed/getting-here/ Price: £5 (£3 concessions)With: Adam Hochschild

As we mark the centenary of the First World War, this epochal event is usually remembered as a bloody conflict between rival alliances of nations. But there was another struggle as well: between people who regarded the war as a noble and necessary crusade, and a brave minority who felt it was tragic madness and who refused to fight. Writer Adam Hochschild describes this battle in an illustrated talk, focusing on the country where that tension was sharpest, Great Britain.

For more details see here

For full programme of events see here

For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

Current details of the events being staged by Remembering The Real World War 1 in October and November are listed below. Three weeks of talks, films and art uncovering hidden histories of resistance to the ‘Great War’ in Bristol and beyond. From deserters, conchies and pacifists to rebel miners, radical trade unionists and reds. Featuring Adam Hochschild, Sheila Rowbotham, Gee Vaucher and Dominic Rai. Full details including times & venues can be found by following the links to our website. For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com. 

Thursday 23^rd October – internationally renowned author & historian Adam Hochschild talks about ‘1914-1918: The War within the War’. Full details here

Wednesday 29th October – the Campaign Against the Arms Trade’s Arming All Sides project presents ‘World War One: Arming All Sides‘. Full details here

Thursday 30th October – explore Bristol’s cultural links to WW1 through the eyes of asylum seekers and refugees in ‘Echoes of the ‘Great War’: Imperialism, displacement and migration‘. Full details here.

Sunday 2^nd November – delegates to the international History From Below Network conference will present ‘Hidden histories of World War One‘ from across the globe. Also Gee Vaucher of CRASS will be discussing her anti-war art which wil be on display.Full details here

Tuesday 4^th November – hear Sheila Rowbotham talk about Alice Wheeldon who was framed and imprisoned for opposing the war and June Hannam talk about Bristol women who campaigned against the war in ‘Women Resisting the Great War‘. Full details here

Wednesday 5^th November – come down to the Central Reference Library for ‘Opening the Archives: Resistance to World War One in Bristol‘. See primary sources relating to resistance and reaction during World War One. Full details here.

Thursday 6^th November – hear the story of Alfred Jefferies, the Bristolian shot for desertion in November 1916, and how people in Bristol organised and campaigned against the war in ‘Deserters, Conchies and Reds: Bristolian Families in the Great War‘. Full details here

Saturday 8^th November– historian Kevin Morgan discusses trades union opposition to the war and Ian Wright explains how divergent attitudes to the war effected the Forest of Dean Miners’ Association in ‘Trade Unions and Resistance to the Great War‘. Full details here.

Wednesday November 12^th – following on from David Olusoga‘s recent documentary, writer-director Dominic Rai brings to life the experiences of Indian soldiers in Flanders, popularised in the acclaimed novel Across the Black Waters by Mulk Raj Anand in ‘The World’s War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire‘. Full details here.

For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

This event in our programme looks at two examples of how the labour movement reacted to the war. Kevin Morgan will look at trade union radicals who from the earliest months of the war took up an internationalist and anti-war stance, and who gathered increasing support as the war went on. Their contribution to the anti-war movement has often been overlooked because of the unions’ majority pro-war stance. Ian Wright introduces his new book on the Forest of Dean Miners’ Association and the war.

Trade Unions and Resistance to the Great War

Date: Saturday 8^th November
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Hydra Bookshop, 34 Old Market St, Bristol, BS2 0EZ
Map: http://www.hydrabooks.org/location/
Price: Donations
With: Kevin Morgan & Ian Wright

For more details see here
For full programme of events see here
For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

This event in our programme tells stories of Bristol families in the war – those who argued and organised against war, and, in one case, a soldier who deserted and was shot at dawn. At the same time, it will be an opportunity to reflect on how history is presented and to what extent it is possible to know the whole truth about events 100 years ago..

Deserters, Conchies and Reds: Bristolian Families in the Great War

Date: Thursday 6^th November
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Hydra Bookshop, 34 Old Market St, Bristol, BS2 0EZ
Map: http://www.hydrabooks.org/location/
Price: Donations 

“The Bristol Deserter – Alfred Jefferies – His War Story” with Geoff Woolfe

“Freedom of Soul: Bristol and opposition to the First World War” with Colin Thomas

For more details see here
For full programme of events see here
For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

As part of our programme of events, the Central Reference Library will present a range of primary source documents on resistance to World War 1 in Bristol. Highly recommended.

Opening the Archives: Resistance to World War One in Bristol

Date: Wednesday 5^th November
Time: 2.00pm-5.00pm
Venue: Central Reference Library, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TL
Map: Here
Price: Free

In a long tradition of Opening the Archives events the excellent Central Reference Library staff have done us proud in presenting a collection of primary sources relating to resistance and reaction during World War One. So come on down and sample the actual sources in the Bristol Room, from anti-war posters, flyers and pamphlets to jingoist vitriol. Highly recommended.

For more details see here
For full programme of events see here
For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

In this event in our programme of events, we concentrate on the role of women in resisting the war. Well-known writer & historian Sheila Rowbotham talks about Alice Wheeldon who was framed and imprisoned, while June Hannam talks about the role of women in the anti-war movement in Bristol.

Women Resisting the Great War

Date: Tuesday 4^th November
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Trinity Centre, Trinity Rd, Bristol BS2 0NW
Map: http://www.3ca.org.uk/about/contact
Price: Donation
With: Shelia Rowbotham & June Hannam

The Friends of Alice Wheeldon

In 1917 a Derby socialist and feminist in the anti-war movement, Alice Wheeldon was sent to prison on the evidence of an agent provocateur for plotting to kill Lloyd George. The evidence was flimsy, her accuser so dubious the prosecution kept him away from the trial. In this new, revised edition of The Friends of Alice Wheeldon Sheila Rowbotham reveals how militarism and fears about security contrived to devastate the lives of an ordinary family in Derby. The Wheeldon case is both a tragic historical story and contains an immediate reminder for today of the need to protect individual freedoms.

Bristol women campaigning for peace in World War One

June Hannam will focus on women in Bristol who opposed militarism and sought a negotiated peace. The most high profile activists were Mabel Tothill, Annie Townley and Mrs Higgins, all socialists from the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Others, such as the Quaker Helen Sturge, had been involved in the pre-war suffrage movement. The talk will explore what women did to push forward their cause and the ideas that underpinned their peace activism, in particular the extent to which they were gendered. Women used spaces that brought them together as women, notably the Women’s International league, but also worked through mixed sex organisations. It will be suggested that although peace campaigning could bring women together across class and party lines, for socialist women peace would lay the foundations for a new society that could only be achieved through party politics after the war.

For more details see here
For full programme of events see here
For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com

As part of our autumn programme, this afternoon event is an opportunity to hear hidden stories of World War 1 from across the world

International hidden histories of World War One

Date: Sunday 2^nd November
Time: 2.00pm-6.00pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Champion Square, Bristol BS2 9DB
Map: Here
Price: Donation
With: Gee Vaucher, HFB delegates

Bristol Radical History Group are hosting the international History From Below network conference which brings together historian-activists from all over Europe. This is a great opportunity to hear international perspectives, as participants in the conference give short presentations on hidden histories of World War One. In addition we will be exhibiting a collection of anti-war art by one of the most influential graphic artists of the 1980s, Gee Vaucher of CRASS, who will be discussing her work and its impact in the period.

For more details see here
For full programme of events see here
For more information email rememberingrealww1@gmail.com