A strike in 1911 by seamen in Southampton for better pay and conditions quickly spread to Liverpool and paralysed the port. Some Southampton based shipping lines settled the dispute on a piecemeal basis but in Liverpool attitudes hardened and men in other transport trades went on strike. Although there was little violence the effect on the city was serious and the Police were overwhelmed trying to escort carts driven by volunteers. Tram drivers and conductors joined the strike and the city came to a standstill. The Lord Mayor sought authority from the government to request help from other police forces and the military resulting in Police from Birmingham, Leeds and Dublin arriving in the city together with a battalion of infantry, two cavalry regiments and a Royal Navy light cruiser arriving in the Mersey. The situation calmed but not before two deaths and many injuries.
In 1919, following the First World War, Liverpool City Police took the decision to strike again over pay and conditions. To deter looting soldiers with fixed bayonets appeared on the streets and there were even tanks in front of St George's Hall. This time it was a Battleship and two destroyers that appeared in the Mersey. Although there were two recorded deaths there were fewer injuries and the strike petered out but not before the striking Police officers were dismissed.
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About the Speaker
David Hearn
After a brief spell in the Army and living in France for a year David followed a career in Liverpool in export and property finance before going to university for the first time at the age of 55. After graduating with a BA (Hons) in History from Liverpool John Moores University David went on to take a Masters in International Slavery Studies at The University of Liverpool. David has published three books - one about First World War memorials and two about Liverpool’s role in the slave trade. He is currently working on at least two others. He has been interviewed many times on BBC Radio Merseyside about different aspects of Liverpool history and has appeared in a Channel 5 documentary about the River Mersey. David has given lectures online about Liverpool and slavery for Edge Hill University. David is married with two grown up sons, he has been a Magistrate on the Wirral Bench and has given blood 130 times. For reasons that are far too long and complicated to go into, David is a knight of the Hungarian Order of Vitezi Rend and is entitled to have the title Vitez before his name.
