Preferred Citation	Rachelle Hope Saltzman Collection of 1926 General Strike Research Materials (Manuscript Collection MS-05289). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
	Acquisition:	Gift, 2012 (12-07-004-G)
	Processed by:	Courtney Welu, 2023

Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

	The 1926 General Strike was a key moment in labor history; it took place in the United Kingdom from May 4 through May 12, 1926. The strike was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) due to the wage reductions and dangerous working conditions faced by coal miners. Other working-class Britons joined the strike in support of the miners. The strike was ultimately unsuccessful, due in part to upper- and middle-class volunteers who stepped into the striking workers’ jobs. Saltzman’s research focuses on these volunteers, and how the folklore and memories around the strike have informed British cultural identity.
	The Rachelle Hope Saltzman Collection of 1926 General Strike Research Materials documents the research process of Saltzman’s 1988 dissertation and eventual 2012 book, A Lark for the Sake of Their Country. The collection contains correspondence, interview transcripts, and notes from 1985 to 1987, as well as research materials including clippings, photocopies, and original newspapers. The papers are organized into three series: I. Correspondence, 1985-1987; II. Interview Notes and Transcripts, 1976-1987, undated; and III. Research Materials, 1926-2010, undated.
	Series I. Correspondence contains correspondence between Saltzman and people and organizations related to her research on the 1926 General Strike. It is arranged in three subseries: A. Responses to Advertisements, B. University Letters, and C. General. Subseries A contains letters written in response to her advertisements asking for firsthand accounts of the strike, which were solicited via newspaper and radio.
	Subseries B contains correspondence solicited from alumni of various local universities who had memories of the strike, arranged alphabetically by school. Subseries C contains all other correspondence, including letters exchanged with institutions, archives, and clubs about the strike. There are also correspondents belonging to the upper class that Saltzman reached out to regarding their experiences of the strike.
	One notable correspondent is Rose Kerrigan, a member of the Community Party of Great Britain, who helped found the party in Glasgow in 1921 and worked on issues related to labor for her entire life. Saltzman corresponded with Kerrigan’s daughter after her mother’s death as well, and was invited to A Red Rose, a short documentary about Kerrigan’s life.
	Series II. Interview Transcripts and Notes is arranged in two subseries:A. Interview Transcripts and B. Notes. Subseries A includes both the interview transcripts themselves as well as excerpts from the letters Saltzman received. They are organized alphabetically by surname. Subseries B includes notes on the interview transcripts as well as on books and articles, along with multiple reporter’s notebooks. The subseries also contains notecards with contact information for many of Saltzman’s correspondents.
	Series III. Research Materials is arranged in three subseries: A. Printed Materials, B. Journal and Magazine Articles, and C. Newspapers. Subseries A includes printed materials, both photocopied archival materials from 1926 as well as more recent materials, including booklets, about the strike from the perspective of the 1980s. The material from the 1920s includes materials that come directly from the Trades Union Congress and other labor organizations, as well as documents from organizations that helped coordinate the volunteer effort. There are transcripts of the Trades Union Congress meetings in the aftermath of the strike, as well as the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Souvenir, which commemorates the strike; the official organs from the Salvation Army (The War Cry) and the mechanical department at Ealing Common Depot (Puffing Billy) cover the volunteer efforts.
	The material from the 1980s includes many booklets about the history of the General Strike, including one called More valuable than gold which includes recollections of the striking miners’ children. There is also an activist handbook from the Association of Liberal Trade Unionists, which includes a membership card for Saltzman, who is identified as an associate member.
	Subseries B contains articles written about the strike and how it relates to British society more broadly, spanning the 1930s through 2010. They are often accompanied by notes from Saltzman on their content. Many of these articles originate from 1976, reflecting on the General Strike on its 50th anniversary. In conjunction with the anniversary, a series of articles were printed about how the General Strike affected specific cities across the United Kingdom, including Aberdeen, Battersea, Birmingham, Brighton, Bolton, Devon, Kilsyth, Lanarkshire, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Reading, Southwark, and York.
	Subseries C includes both photocopies and original papers from 1926 about the strike. Many newspaper copies are also accompanied by Saltzman’s handwritten notes. The collection includes both mainstream papers like the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail as well as papers dedicated to covering workers’ issues such as the Daily Worker, British Worker, Scottish Worker, Sunday Worker, and Workers’ Daily.

66 unpublished, non-commercial audio recordings, principally oral history tapes related to the Great Strike of 1926 and original accounts, were transferred to the Ransom Center's Sound Recordings holdings and are described separately in a database.