They were strong men of steel
In flat caps and hobnail boots,
hunger pains all they could feel
dressed in Sunday best suits,
poor diet of potato and marrow
no more ships, unemployment high
for folk in northern town of Jarrow,
work needed government did deny,
Petition signed by many thousands
two hundred men three hundred miles
Poverty that no one else understands,
marchers met with help and smiles,
flags and banners above their heads
autumnal weather for them to contend
hardship ahead little food no beds,
a protest that MPs didn't comprehend
from Jarrow to London they did march
with hope in their minds, sores on feet,
to Downing Street via Marble Arch,
plight never debated, rejection no treat.
Two hundred men marched from Jarrow County Durham to London, started October 5th 1936, reached their destination on October 31st 1936, to deliver a petition asking the Government to create employment for the people on Tyneside, which was totally ignored but remembered by millions today.
Categories:
tyneside, betrayal, character, class, community,
Form: Rhyme