n By Alan Jones
The unprecedented outbreak of industrial action in the past 18 months by workers ranging from train drivers and refuse collectors to nurses, doctors and teachers has sparked renewed interest in the longest strike in British history – by a group of schoolchildren in a sleepy Norfolk village.
Burston is now permanently engraved in trade union history, but with the help of Unite, the incredible story has become a vital part of the local community.
The reasons for the strike, which lasted from 1914 to 1939, included a campaign by teachers for better conditions for the school's children, an issue at the heart of this year's bitter education dispute amid a lack of funding for decent pay and facilities for youngsters.
The Burston story started when
socialist teachers Annie (known as Kitty) and Tom Higdon were sacked after falling out with the school management committee when they fought for better conditions for the children in their school.
When those in authority tried to take over, the children went on strike, marching around the village waving flags, and having lessons on the green opposite the school.
The village green remains, next to the ‘Burston Strike School’, which was built with union funds during the children's remarkable action.
The school is a museum to the strike, but has also become a community hub, with a weekly event where free food is served up for grateful locals, who can often feel isolated living in a remote part of the country.
The idea came from Bev Kembery, who ran the local pub, the Crown, with her husband Steve until earlier this year.
“It became apparent that a lot of people were suffering hardship because of the cost of living crisis, so with the help of some villagers we decided to offer a warm space, serving homemade, nutritious food, where people could meet once a week and chat to each other.” The school, owned by Unite, was the
obvious venue, so the first ‘taster’ was held a year ago. Now, up to 35 people walk through the school doors every Tuesday, and Bev has started organising home deliveries for people who can’t travel.
“One of the problems of living in a rural village is a feeling of isolation, so it’s wonderful to see people get together, otherwise they don't get
out to socialise,” Bev told Landworker. “The Tuesday meal is well established now, and it’s a great feeling watching people sit down and chatting to each other.”
Some volunteers pop in to serve tea and coffee, turn up with plates of cakes, or just to wash up at the end of the evening.
Shelley Surtees takes great pride in helping out and says there was a definite need for a community kitchen. “It was started because of the cost-of- living crisis, but we also realised the village has a bigger problem in terms of social isolation.
“A lot of people moved here during the pandemic so it was difficult to meet their neighbours. They come together, young and old. The youngest is a 6- year-old girl, and the oldest is 90 – and they are well aware of the history of the strike school.”
Pat Stevens lives next door to the school, so “has no excuse” for not turning up every week with her husband.
“We've met people from the village we didn't know before. Everyone is very sociable - and the food is wonderful." Bev and Steve serve up a two course meal, followed by tea or coffee, with donations from happy ‘customers’ covering the cost of the food.
A scene from Ken Loach’s wonderful film the Old Oak shows Syrian refugees sitting down to eat with locals from a North East town, with community leaders saying, “When you eat together, you stick together.” The sentiment is true of the Tuesday get together in Burston, and fits in perfectly with the trade union ethos of solidarity and helping people in need.
Miles Hubbard, Unite’s regional co- ordinating officer for East Anglia, says it is vitally important the Burston strike
21 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2023/24
story is not forgotten, especially with so many disputes continuing to remain unresolved.
“It is a story of how solidarity can
overcome adversity,” he told Landworker. “It’s a story of exploitation, low wages and dangerous working conditions – issues we still campaign against today.
“We still see examples of the establishment trying to shut down dissent in rural areas, which is pertinent to the original Burston strike.”
Miles is rightly proud of the role Unite plays in keeping the Burston story alive, from owning the strike school, which is now such an integral part of the community, to organising September's annual rally.
The event, one of the biggest in the trade union calendar, attracts thousands of people from across the country, including politicians and union leaders.
Tony Benn and Bob Crow have been among the legends to speak at the rally, which will mark its 39th year in 2024.
Landworker photographer for many
years (among other things) Peter Everard Smith has covered the event every year and has taken hundreds of thousands of photographs in a unique pictorial history he hopes to take across the country next year.
Pete is a trustee of the strike school and is one of the local heroes keeping the story alive.
And so working with Unite’s education department, the union’s London and Eastern region and Landworker, he is compiling a photographic collection, book and exhibition on Burston over the years.
Landworker will keep readers updated as this exciting new production progresses.
Unite hopes the enduring story of the longest strike in history, fuelled by the wave of industrial action against the Conservative government since the summer of 2022, will similarly act as a magnet to next year’s rally, on Sunday September 1.
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