JULIA VARLEY PLAQUE IN BRADFORD FINALLY OFFICIALLY UNVEILED

 

Former TUC President Mohammad Taj and Caroline Conway of Bradford TUC unveil Julia Varley plaque 

The long-planned Julia Varley plaque dedication event on the former Bradford Trades Union Council building finally took place at 1pm on Friday 1 May, 2026, at the junction of Sackville Street and Sunbridge Road, BD1 2SX 

The speakers were Mohammad Taj (TUC President 2013-14), Caroline Conway (Bradford and Shipley TUC), cllr Taj Salam (Unite), Jane Aitchison. (Leeds TUC President)  It was chaired by Mark Metcalf (NUJ)

 30 people were in attendance - Bradford City Council had failed to close the road and in order to ensure the safety of those attending the event was not as widely publicised as I would have wanted. 

       The Leeds TUC President Jane Aitchison was one of the speakers and she was well received. 

The speakers on the day are joined by Julia's cousin Joanne Downing,  who was afterwards really happy about the event. She took away a copy of the Julia Varley booklet, a link to which can be found below. 

Mill worker Julia Varley was a prominent campaigner for workers’ rights during the city’s late Victorian industrial boom. She was a key figure in the infamous Manningham Mills strikes, as well as being involved in the formation of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford. Varley campaigned for better wages for workers, and was a leading figure in Bradford Trades Union Council.

As a suffragette she struggled for the Rights of Women to vote within the Women's Social and Political Union and was twice sent to prison for her commitment. 

In 1909, Varley moved to Birmingham to work as a trade union organiser, firstly for George Cadbury and George Shann before joining the Workers' Union where she inspired thousands to join the trade union movement. She was key to the  struggle the Cornish clayworkers in 1913 who despite being brutally attacked by Glamorgan police were to win the right to join a union. The success established unions in mid-Cornwall. 

She was one of the first women to serve on the TUC general council. She later became the Chief Women's Officer of the Transport and General Workers Union. On her retirement she moved back to Bradford where she died in Hampden Street, Horton, where UNITE's Taj Salam, a speaker at the unveiling, currently serves as an Independent Councillor. 

Julia Varley booklet:- https://markwrite.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/6328-julia-varley-booklet.pdf

* The reasons for the long delay in the unveiling of the plaque will be explained on this blog in the near future. It is not a tale that has any merit for prominent individuals in parts of the Bradford Labour Party, trade union and anti-fascist movement. 

The photographs are courtesy of John Mooney. I'd like to thank him for taking them.

ONGOING PALESTINE ASSEMBLY IN HALIFAX

On International Workers' Day I, again, attended the Friday public gathering in Halifax Town Centre. The reception was mixed with lots of car drivers tooting their horns in support and passengers giving big thumbs up. Some of those in local pubs are not so supportive and have chosen to come and tell us so. Racism and sexism has been employed by our opponents as the backbone of the regular assembly are women of colour. 

Sunderland talk on the 1926 Miners' Lock Out and General Strike

On 13 April 2026 I spoke in Sunderland at a public meeting organised by the Literary & Philosophical Society. The subject was the 1926 Miners' Lockout and General Strike. I was one of three speakers alongside academic Duncan Hamilton and a political hero of mine, Heather Wood. 

This was how I introduced myself -  Peterlee born football author and socialist Mark Metcalf supports the only football club to be formed by a trade union, Sunderland AFC. A semi-skilled machine operator and GMWU shop steward at Tudor Foods in his early years, Mark was the secretary of Sunderland Fans Against Racism in the 90s through to 2004.

Working in London in the 90s, Mark was spied upon by the Special Demonstration Squad for ‘crimes’ such as successfully organising workers who defied the anti-union laws + victims of miscarriages of justice.

Now living in West Yorkshire, Mark has been a full-time writer since 2008 and has, in particular, an extensive knowledge of rural affairs. His work for Unite the Union has included many booklets on heroes from the past + a short booklet on the 1926 Miners’ Lockout and General Strike.

Mark was very active during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, about which he later co-wrote a highly successful book: Images of the Miners’ Strike.

In recent years, Mark has made a number of short films including The forming of Sunderland AFC in 1880 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usd-c8GvpQE and Sunderland’s Peterloo – Remembering The 1825 North Sand’s Massacre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_VXf_IIVs

www.markwrite.co.uk   metcalfmc@outlook.com   07392 852561 

40+ attended the event and which I enjoyed. There were lots of questions and the society has a very good venue in which to organise similar events going forward. Well done to them. I'll be recommending it to anyone living on Wearside.