In 2022 playwright and poet Tom Kelly told me about the story of the 7 lads of Jarrow, which I had never heard.
He gave me a set of 3 verses, a middle 8 and a few pages from some history books and the song was created through consultation and collaboration. The opening stanza comes from a poem by Shelley who, along with others, tried to raise the awareness of the plight of the working classes after the Peterloo massacre.
In the 1830s 10 men were arrested, 3 escaped, and the remaining 7 men sentenced as they tried to participate in a peaceful strike to try and get reasonable hours and conditions, most notably for children who were expected to work up to 18 hours a day. This all happened in 1832, before the Tollpuddle martyrs (1834), and Lord Londonderry was known to fly into a rage when the subject of the abolition of child labour was raised.
The 7 were basically scapegoated and transported on the flimsiest of charges and sentenced to 7 years of penal servitude. 5 survived their sentences and were accepted as upstanding members of Australian society.
Every year there is a commemoration of the 7 lads of Jarrow.
Негізгі бет Ойын-сауық TONY WILSON "7 Lads of Jarrow" 2024 by TOM KELLY & TONY WILSON
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