Suffragette
and trade unionist Julia Varley to be honoured by Bradford Civic Society plaque
unveiling on 19 December in Centenary Square
Bradford will honour one its greats on Tuesday 19th December
at 1.30pm when a plaque to suffragette and trade unionist Julia Varley will be
unveiled in Centenary Square by retired bus driver Mohammad Taj of Unite the
union who was TUC President in 2013-14.
The funds for the Bradford Civic Society plaque have been
donated by UNITE NEYH region and the union is republishing the booklet Julia
Varley - trade union organiser and fighter for women's rights booklet
by Mark Metcalf.
Joining Mohammed Taj will be Bradford City councillor Sinead
Engel, Simon Cunningham of Bradford Civic Society, Sheila Coleman of the
Hillsborough Justice Campaign and councillor Taj Salam, a Unite workplace rep
for bus drivers.
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The date of the event marks the 133rdanniversary
of the start of the Manningham Mills Strike in which Varley, a teenage mill
worker, was an active participant.
Varley was to go on to lead a remarkable life in which as a
leading representative of the General Union of Textile Workers (GUTW) she helped
organise numerous workplaces in her home city and was active on Bradford Trades
Council. In 1907 she was as a radical suffragette twice arrested and imprisoned
for fighting for the, ultimately successful, fight for the rights of women to
vote.
She later moved to Birmingham and organised many successful
strikes across the West Midlands and the Black Country. She was key to the Clayworkers
Strike in Cornwall in 1913-14 that paved the way for trade unions in the
county. She suffered violence from the police for standing up for all workers
and especially women.
When she was appointed as an officer for the Workers’ Union,
she became one of the first women to be an officer in a mixed sex union.
In the 1920s, Varley was one of the first women to be
elected onto the TUC General Council.
When the WU amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers Union
(which later became Unite in 2007) Varley was appointed Chief Women’s Officer.
Varley later retired to Bradford and died in November 1952.
In 2013 a plaque was unveiled on her Birmingham home. Now she will be rightly
honoured in her home city. If this is something you’d like to be involved with
then see you on December 19th.
The words for the plaque are: -
Bradford Civic Society
Julia Varley OBE
Suffragette and pioneer of the trade union movement,
daughter of Bradford.
Julia devoted more than 50 years to achieve a living wage
and improve conditions for generations of workers.
1871-1952
More details from Mark Metcalf on metcalfmc@outlook.com 07392 852561
Simon Cunningham on 07891 913197 si-cunningham@live.com
To listen to the Julia Varley booklet go to:- https://markwritecouk.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/julia-varley-trade-union-organiser-and-fighter-for-womens-rights.mp3
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