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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Bloomers & bicycles: a perfect combination! The 'New Woman' shown here leaving her husband with the washboard, two kids & an order for dinner (late #19thc / early #20thc) More feminism, bicycles & rational dress at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Postcard with the caption 'The New Woman. Have dinner ready at one o'clock, John!'. It shows a woman in bloomers & a straw hat about to wheel out a bicycle from a living room. Her husband is using the washing machine and two small children are playing on the floor.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"Cable Street was a sight for sore eyes..." Fresh from the streets, this short, vivid account describes the Battle of Cable Street from the perspective of a young activist This edition of Trotskyist journal 'Youth Militant' was published within days of the anti-fascist action on 4 October 1936

Front cover of the Trotskyist publication 'The Youth Militant', 'the fighting journal for socialist youth', October 1936 (then on sale for one pence) [document reference: MSS.15X/1/343/1].

Article about the Battle of Cable Street in 'The Youth Militant', October 1936:
"THEY SHALL NOT PASS!
All who were present in East London on Sunday October 4th, at the great counter demonstration of the workers to Mosley's threatened march, will long remember the scenes they witnessed. Workers, Jewish and Gentile alike, rallied from all parts of London to bar the streets of working class London to the Fascist thugs.
At Gardiners Corner a dense mass of workers collected, flooding into the surrounding streets, and voicing their determination that Mosley should not pass. The Fascists had carried their provocating propaganda well into the East End, and in an attempt to invade the streets had called out the mass resistance of the workers.
It was obvious that the Fascists could not possibly get through, and the crowd on the whole was apparently perfectly prepared to wait until he tried. The Police however thought otherwise. It seemed that the Police Chiefs were frightened that if their men were allowed to stand about doing nothing they would become demoralised, and in consequence much unnecessary batoning took place. The "Cossacks" in fact did not trouble about trying to push the crowds back with their horses, but came at the crowds with drawn batons on every opportunity.
Cable Street was a sight for sore eyes. Barricades made up of anything that came to hand, paving stones torn up, the concrete of the road littered with broken glass, it would have required more than a demonstration to get down that Street.
Leman Street - tall and forboding, cordons of Police thrown across the road at regular intervals. 5 policemen swing down the road frogmarching one girl, and protected by about fifteen other cops on foot and some half-dozen cossacks. As they pass an open window a cossack mounts the pavement and shouts at the occupant. Five or six policemen charge through the door and come out in a few minutes with the occupant, struggling furiously..."

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Moments on Moscow streets 101 years ago Henry Sara's photos capture the Soviet Union in a period of uncertainty, 8 years after the revolution and a year after Lenin's death These images and more are online at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Moscow street scene taken in 1925. The driver of a horse-drawn cab or cart is caught staring back at the camera.

Photograph of children on a street corner in Moscow, taken in 1925. One is wearing a Red Army hat and lighting a cigarette.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Miss Varley kicks off ⚽ In 1913/4 textile workers at Chipping Norton's Bliss Tweed Mill embarked on an 8 month strike over union recognition Workers' Union organiser Joan Varley was a key figure in the dispute (and had a knack for a photo opportunity) More images at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Printed photo of a woman in a tailored jacket, long skirt and hat standing in the centre circle of a football pitch. She is resting one boot on the ball. A man in a suit and several men dressed in football kit can be seen in the background. Caption: 'Chipping Norton v. Witney Workers' Union, at Witney, 1914. Miss Varley kicking off.'

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

In 1977 Leamington Anti-Racist, Anti-Fascist Committee was formed to fight racism and provide community support in the Midlands town Looking at anti-racist organisation beyond the big cities? The Committee's archives are a great source on 1970s-80s activism mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/LAR

Photograph taken in the late 1970s, showing a child throwing a ball at a board with the caption 'Nobble a Nazi'. Football related graffiti is on the wall behind.

Leaflet for Leamington Anti-Racist Anti-Fascist Committee, including a photo of campaigners holding posters against local fascist Robert Relf.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

School meals! Solid glaring from this child of 1960, as she waits for her dinner to be flung onto a plate The National Union of Teachers' archive is a great source on changing attitudes and campaigns relating to food in schools over the past 100 years

Front cover of 1960 National Union of Teachers' pamphlet on school meals. It is illustrated with a photo of a child glaring at the camera, past the hand of an adult about to fling a lump of mash onto an underwhelming looking dinner.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Open the rather beige covers of one Trades Union Congress file & you're faced with sketches of servant dreams... In 1938 the National Union of Domestic Workers was formed to campaign for fairer working conditions for servants A faint Cinderella & noticeably narked 'Me' feature in the initial plans

A couple of documents in an open archive file (MSS.292/54.76/10). One item is a sheet from a telephone message pad with notes and sketches for publicity material for a new (in 1938) National Union of Domestic Workers. These include a drawing of a maid with her hands on her hips ('Me') being pointed at by 'Ma'am' and the slogan 'I MUST JOIN ToDAY!'. The other item is a red leaflet issued by the earlier Domestic Workers' Union of Great Britain with the title 'Are you sure you have a character?'. It argues that it should be compulsory for employers to given an open character note or reference for their servants when they change jobs.

Faint sketch of a a woman washing up in a kitchen whilst couples dance and drink in a thought bubble. It's captioned 'Cinderella'.

The Charter for Domestic Workers, issued by the National Union of Domestic Workers in 1938. It includes demands relating to working hours, wages, living accommodation, food, holidays, uniform, visitors, address (how the employer addresses you) and termination of contract.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Don't erase history! #EYAErased Montage of selected documents from the Modern Records Centre. Artistic display of erasers absolutely not created by a bored archivist. Explore your archive #ArchivesForAll www.exploreyourarchive.org

Montage of selected documents from the Modern Records Centre in the background. Artistic display of erasers featuring the words 'don't erase history' in the foreground.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

This weekend Notting Hill Carnival marks 60 years of celebrating culture, history and community. #NottingHillCarnival. This programme cover from 1984 features in the Minority Arts Advisory Service Collection, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations (CRER). mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/MAA

Cover of the Notting Hill Carnival programme for 1984. Features a photograph of one of the performers in costume.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Looking to find out more about coal mining archives at the MRC and elsewhere? Our handy guides to sources might be just what you need - warwick.ac.uk/services/lib... ⛏️

Photograph of a coal miner underground, about to hit a pit prop with a hammer. The titles 'Coal mining collections' and 'Research guides' are above and below the picture.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

First published on 11 October 1973, The Warwick Boar has been the main student newspaper at the University of Warwick for the past 53 years. Click on the links for more information on our exhibition and digitised copies. warwick.ac.uk/services/lib... cdm21047.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

Montage of pages from the Warwick Boar. Headlines include 'Warwick? Where's that?' and 'Vodka vote shot down'.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

With the Premier League kicking off this evening, the Cov contingent in the archive are getting ready for the season opener with a scarf, elephant mascot and possibly brief sense of optimism #PUSB

Bronze bust of Tom Mann, trade union leader and Cov Kid, draped in a Coventry City scarf

Detail from an Anti-Nazi League leaflet from the late 1970s / early 1980s, showing an enthusiastic elephant dressed in Coventry City's tramlines kit, balanced on a football. 'Sky Blues' is written over the head of the elephant.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

'Disruptive elements' In 1929 the Trades Union Congress asked UK unions to supply information on Communist 'disruptionists' The evidence preserved in the archives includes rare small circulation workplace Rank and File bulletins from the late 1920s mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/TUC/...

Open folder from the Trade Union Congress archives. It includes a file sticker with the caption 'Disruptive elements. Unions' evidence. Circ. 46.' A circular from the United Clothing Workers' Trade Union National Executive on a strike at Polikoffs, London, 1929, and a Rego Strike bulletin from 1928 can be seen in the open file. Document reference: MSS.292/773.9/4.

Examples of Rank and File (Communist Party) bulletins produced for coal miners in Yorkshire during the late 1920s.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Do you suffer from headaches, rheumatic pains, neuralgia, nerve pain & sleeplessness? You need Yeast-Vite....and an Aunt Mary! Advertisement from The Railway Service Journal, 1947 mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/TSS/...

Cartoon strip showing an exhausted woman who is aching all over. Her Aunt Mary suggests a cup of tea and some Yeast-Vite. The woman is revitalised and can carry on with the washing, much to her husband's relief!

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The 'week for young Londoners' would have been pre-Resolution 42, but it gives an idea of how the TUC was trying to attract the 'youth' in 1960 - TV show rip-off featuring Arnold Wesker and Jimmy Hill, ballads and blues, make up and fashion, demos, and Humphrey Lyttelton + 'Personality Girl Contest'

Leaflet advertising 'A week for young Londoners' in April 1960. The events include a 'Brains Trust' with Arnold Wesker, Jimmy Hill and others; a ballads and blues social evening' a make-up demonstration and fashion show; open air meetings and a conference; and a dance to Humphrey Lyttelton coinciding with the final of 'Trade Union Personality Girl Contest'.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

There's some publicity material, correspondence and other sources on Centre 42, including this poster for a '42 Jazz Workshop' at Congress House The catalogue gives a bit more info about what we do hold at mrc-describe.epexio.com/search/phras...

Poster for '42 Jazz Workshop' at Congress House. It includes overlaid circles of photographs showing jazz musicians playing at Centre 42, with a list of the musicians (band leader Tommy Watt).

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

"Musical Spectacle with a cast of hundreds" In 1947 the Transport and General Workers' Union marked its silver jubilee with a West End musical extravaganza West End actors, 60 ballet dancers, Chorus of 100 voices, symphony orchestra, bands, 'Vehicles of all ages' and some unspecified animals

Poster for the 'Transport Cavalcade', a "musical spectacle with a cast of hundreds" held at Scala Theatre, London, in 1947. The publicity material includes an illustration showing a range of forms of transport (London bus, plane, tall ship, hot air balloon, sedan chair, etc.) and the promise of a West End cast of principals, a ballet troop, a chorus of a hundred voices, a symphony orchestra, military band, trumpeters, Irish pipers band, animals and vehicles of all ages.

Photo of cast members of the Transport and General Workers' Union's jubilee show (possibly at curtain call). A large union banner is at the back of the stage. Someone appears to be in Roman uniform.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

"Mons Albin astride Largest Bicycle ever ridden. 8 foot wheel" Not the most comfortable way to #CycleToWorkDay Undated photograph from the 19th century, featured in the National Cycle Archive. mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/NCA/...

Undated photograph of a man on a penny farthing or ordinary. "Mons Albin astride Largest Bicycle ever ridden. 8 foot wheel".

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

We're starting early for #YorkshireDay with a plug for our digitised archives on Yorkshire Miners, 1811-1945 A selection of branch membership records, publicity material and more all online at wdc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

Recruitment leaflet for the Yorkshire Mineworkers' Association, c.1928.

Advert for 'Special excursion train' to Ashbury for the Belle Vue Gardens, laid on by the Committee of Workmen at Wharncliffe Silkstone Collieries.

Leaflet for the lock-out at the Rock Colliery, Leeds.

Commemorative membership certificate for the Yorkshire Miners' Association, including images of leading union officials, the YMA headquarters and work in the coal industry.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Banners bright Mining history on display in our current exhibition, featuring archives on coalfield communities, health, welfare and mining trade unionism

Banners about the National Union of Mineworkers' archive on display in the MRC's exhibition room. They include banners on themes relating to miners' welfare, the strikes in the 1970s and 1984/5, and pit closures.

Banners about the National Union of Mineworkers' archive on display in the MRC's exhibition room. They include banners on themes relating to the 1926 General Strike, the mining unions, gala days and holidays, and the dangers of the mining industry.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We're going back (*ahem*) 40 years and digging through the zines Some fine DIY cut and paste work on show, alongside music news, implied filth, vegetarianism, nuclear armageddon and cricket

Front cover of Coventry zine 'Not! The Woman's Own', 1985, featuring punk Marilyn Monroe, crossed knives and the promise of band interviews, vegetarian recipes and skateboarding.

Front cover of zine 'Love and Molotov Cocktails', 1983, offering band interviews, articles about CND and cricket, and a mystery 'easy competition'.

Front cover of zine 'Committed Suicide', 1985, featuring cut-up collage of punk Thatcher, an actual punk, someone in a balaclava, a mounted police officer, a hazardous waste symbol and a series of band names.

Front cover of Valentine's Day edition of the zine 'Leamington's Love Letter', 1981, featuring a map of Leamington with a superimposed heart and compass ('From the heart of Royal Leamington Spa'). The publication is celebrating the day of romance / love with an 'interview with Ronald Regan', 'naughty pics', 'obscene letters', a non-existent quiz and assorted lies.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

From Strongroom to Your Screen: Digitising the Fortnightly Returns How do our digitised collections get online? What *are* the operative stonemasons' Fortnightly Returns? Digitisation Assistant Jamie Orton talks us through his latest project in our new blog at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Digitisation assistant at work, copying a volume using an overhead camera. The volume is supported by a split cradle and there are lights along three sides of the A1 scanner.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

#OTD in 1884 there was a demonstration in London to support Third Reform Act which gave the vote to 60 percent of adult men. Women remained specifically excluded from voting in parliamentary elections until 1918 achieving equality only in 1928. mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/LSC/...

LONDON TRADES' COUNCIL.
REFORM BILL in DANGER
TO THE WORKMEN OF LONDON.
Your attendance is urgently requested in support of the
GREAT REFORM
DEMONSTRATION
On MONDAY, JULY 21st, 1884.
The Trades will form a distinctive portion of the Procession, and from the outlying Districts will assemble in order on the Thames Embankment at TWO o'clock.
All Workmen are cordially invited to fall in with the Trade to which they belong, as it is greatly to their interest that the Procession of the Trades should be as large, representative, and characteristic as possible.
THE TRADES' ORGANISING COMMITTEE:
Abrey, J., Carpenters Harford, E., Railway Servants Powell, T., Machine Rulers
Adams, E., Bakers Jones, W, Cabinet Makers Smyth, T., Plasterers
Coulson, E., Bricklayers King, H., Bookbinders Smith, J. R., Cabinet Makers
Cottrell, E., Polishers Mitchell, J., Portmanteau Makers Steadman, W. C., Barge Builders
Drummond, C. J., Compositors Morrison, E. Bookbinders Woods, E., Ironfounders
Fernie, J., Farriers Noon, E., Shoe Makers Willson, I. J., Shipwrights
Humphreyson, C., Cabinet Makers Poole, J., Shoe Makers
GEORGE SHIPTON, Secretary.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Football in exile In 1946 Spain had two national teams. After the civil war, a Spanish Republican team was formed from exiled players. They included Emilio Aldecoa, who became the first Spanish footballer to play in the English league when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1943.

Copy letter written on behalf of Manuel de Irujo, former head of the Basque government and a representative of the Spanish Republican Government in exile, to Stanley Rous, Secretary of the English Football Association.

Irujo asks for a match to be arranged between Republican footballers and a British team. The majority of the Republican players played for French teams, having fled Spain following Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in 1939. The exception was Coventry City's striker Emilio Aldecoa, who became the first Spanish player in the English league when he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1943.

Included in a file on 'Spain, 1945-1948', from the archives of the Trades Union Congress; document reference: MSS.292/946/2.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

'Nourishing and health giving'. A glass of cold Ovaltine is a delightful Summer drink. Opinions may vary. Advertisement featured in the TGWU 'The Record' 1929. mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/TGW/...

Advertisement for Ovaltine Cold. Features a drawing of a woman drinking a glass of cold Ovaltine. Caption reads 'A delightful Summer drink - nourishing and health giving'.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

'Barnsley is a roaring town... BUT Barnsley is always left out' Dr Kat Simpson's talk highlights the experiences of young lads in Barnsley, excluded from traditional routes of education, and explores ideas of 'social haunting' in former coalfield communities warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Screenshot of two poems written by Barnsley teenagers about their town and views on education.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

What does it mean to be the last? In 2015 deep coal mining in Britain ended at Kellingley colliery Judi Alston's talk includes film of the last day at the Big K and more recent reflective interviews with community members warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Title slide for presentation on 'The Big K: The Pit that shaped a community'.

Still from film footage included in presentation on 'The Big K: The Pit that shaped a community'. It shows someone looking at a promotional booklet for Kellingley Colliery ('Move up to Big K Kellingley The pit that's different').

Still from film footage included in presentation on 'The Big K: The Pit that shaped a community'. It shows a former mineworker holding a miner's lamp.

Still from presentation on 'The Big K: The Pit that shaped a community'. It shows the demolition of community buildings. The phrase 'Dance like nobody's watching' can be seen through a partially demolished wall.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Some of the most powerful talks in our conference 'Blood is the Price of Coal' looked at coalfield communities after the pits had closed These and more can be watched in full at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Pair of boots with dates that the owner worked at Kellingley Colliery painted on the toes.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

On #BastilleDay, we're highlighting just some of the French Resistance sources included in the MRC's archives 131 bulletins and leaflets produced by WW2 French anti-fascist groups are digitised and freely available at mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/search/all:r...

July 1942 edition of French Resistance bulletin 'Combat', including column on '14 Juillet 1942'.

Small French Resistance leaflet (small enough to fit in the palm of your hand). It includes an illustration of France being stabbed by a dagger with a swastika symbol on its handle. The caption reads 'On ne collabore pas avec ses bourreaux'.

14 July 1942 edition of French Resistance bulletin Libérer et Fédérer, including column headed 'Manifestez le 14 Juillet!'.

French Resistance leaflet with the title 'C'est le sort le plus beau...'. It includes cartoons (nine panels) attacking recruitment of collaborators by the Nazi occupiers.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

In 1919 laundry workers became entitled to a government-enforced minimum wage Mechanised steam laundries saved time and effort for those who could afford the service, but it could be tough work for those employed there Find out more on the 'Sweated Trades' at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

List of some of the processes involved in work at steam laundries in 1922, including sorting, washing, calendaring, drying and mangling, machine ironing and hand ironing.

Photographs of Wilson's Family Laundry, Willesden Green, c.1917.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Glamorous train travel in the Golden Age of Steam? This 1901 cartoon from 'The Railway Herald' shows some of the more ‘interesting’ habits of fellow passengers 125 years ago… Editions of the Railway Clerks' Association newspaper, 1896-1901, are free online at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

A cartoon which shows how people spend their train journeys: eating from hampers, throwing bottles out of windows, dodging missiles thrown at train windows, defacing the carriage and practising the 'three card trick'.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Digitised! Some of the earliest records of UK trade unionism, containing a wealth of information for labour, social, economic, political & family history 700+ Fortnightly Returns from the Friendly Society of Operative Stonemasons online (& more to come) cdm21047.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

'Black list' of stonemasons who remained at work during a strike at the Army and Navy Club House, Coal Exchange and at Mr - Yard, Bell Lane, Spitalfields, in 1848.

Poster for strike of stonemasons during the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, 1841

Extract from the fortnightly return for 23 November-7 December 1848, reporting on 'an imposter' at Coventry Lodge. John Kennedy had obtained money on false pretences and "abused the hostess with unbecoming language". The report ends with the statement "Beware of him".

Short messages between members of the union in the 'To correspondents' column. It includes requests for individual members to write to family members, to get in contact or "hear of something not at all creditable" to them, and to write about tools obtained "in a clandestine manner".

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Football - how to succeed! #WorldCup2026 This booklet was written by Rev K R G Hunt, Housemaster of Highgate School in the 1930s. Part of the National Union of Teachers archive. mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/NUT/...

Booklet entitled 'Football - how to succeed'. Published for the National Union of Teachers it shows a drawing of a footballer circa 1930s.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Inspired by the Tour de France, we're digging out the board games Snakes-&-ladders-esque 'Wheeling' was produced in the 1890s/1900s to cash in on the cycling boom Can YOU escape police, an unfortunate pedestrian, spikey farm machinery and a weird mossy surface to end up safely at a Derbyshire pub?

Photo of the board game 'Wheeling - A New and Exciting Game For Cyclists'. A sequence of squares numbered 1-99 feature various hazards - police, rough terrain, an unsuspecting older woman, a heavily laden cart, some sort of farm machinery, etc. The winner of the game is the first to get their counter to the pub, specifically late 19th century cycling magnet 'The Anchor' at Ripley, Derbyshire.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Coal conference catch-up ⛏️ On 18 June we welcomed 80+ people to 'Blood is the price of coal' - a conference on coal communities, health and welfare Recordings of 10 talks, conference photos and more are now available online at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib... #histmed #MiningHistory #envhist

Photograph of a miner in the first half of the 20th century. He has come up from a shift below ground and has coal dust coating the lower half of his face.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

For guidance on how to dress in the tennis season, the YWCA 'Our Own Gazette' from 1920 had plenty of tips #Tennis "Chic little chemise-frocks give one freedom of movement as well as grace ...mellow-shaded sponge cloth are best suited to the tennis girl". mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/YWC/...

'Our handiwork page' from the Young Women's Christian Association's 'Our Own Gazette'. Illustrations of two suitable tennis dresses for the 1920s. The text includes tips on suitable material to use. Patterns for the dresses were available for ninepence and you had to remember to include the pattern number and your waist size in the order.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

'With Wheel and Camera' Marking #NationalCameraDay with the excellent Canonbie Cycling Club Chronicle Produced by a group of friends in the 1890s-1900s, the proto-zine features a mix of articles, 'lovely things' (photos), cartoons and a host of in-jokes cdm21047.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

Page from The Canonbie Cycling Club Chronicle, vol. 4, nos. 15-16, featuring handwritten adverts for a bicycle and a camera, a list of the CCCC contributors, a box marked 'To let' and a semi-serious list of prices of advertising space. Document reference: 1043/27/7.

Page from the Canonbie Cycling Club Chronicle. vol. 2, no. 6, including part of a handwritten description of a cycling tour in East Kent. Two photos have been pasted in to illustrate the account - one of Northbourne Church and another captioned 'In the Garden. Mrs + Miss Bechely + Miss B', showing three women standing in a Kentish garden. Document reference: 1043/27/1.

Extract from Canonbie Cycling Club Chronicle, vol. 2, no. 7, written by the editor Arthur C. Armstrong:
"AND ANOTHER
I have decided to give up photography, and if anybody wants an amateurs outfit at a very small cost, or parts of it he can have them at
very small prices; but you will have to look sharp. I am not driven out of the field by the "lovely things" that are continually shown me with the usual remark "You couldn't produce anything like that old chap
I suppose"! No, it's time that ties me down. My leisure hours are few, which is the excuse I make for this number which as far as I am concerned is below par.
Now trusting the Whitsun weather will be alright, and my holiday too (June 3rd to 19th) I leave you. At present weather is settled fine. THE EDITOR"

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

'The match of the season' With women's cricket to the fore in the #T20WorldCup, we're looking back over a century to the rather stylish Sheffield works team of Thomas Firth & Sons A *lot* of 1920s flapper stereotypes in the cartoon vs rather fine photo mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/IPM/...

Photograph of the Princess Street Offices Ladies’ Cricket Team, from ‘The Bombshell’, August 1922. The cricketers are lined up in two rows (six standing and five sitting) and are dressed in loose 1920s clothing. Most have bandanas or scarfs round their heads to tie back their hair. The two women at each end of the back row are leaning on cricket bats and the woman sat in the middle of the front row is wearing pads.

Cartoon from ‘The Bombshell’, August 1922, showing ‘The match of the season!’ – ‘Ladies versus Gentlemen, Shiregreen, July 17th’. It shows the women in a rather unflattering light, as more interested in fashion than the sport and either distracted by jazz or alarmed by the cricket balls.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Picnic weather today? 🥵 In 1912 Workers' Union members were gathered on the Bournville lawns, rugs and banners in hand The WU annual reports contain images of the union's activities, including demonstrations, strikes and social events like this one See more at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Printed photograph of workers having a picnic in a large field with trees in the background. The caption says, ‘The Workers’ Union picnic at Bournville’.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The 'Women's Employment' newspaper encouraged women to use their faculties to be treated the same as "other human beings". Published by the Central Bureau for Employment of Women in 15 Nov 1912. Part of the Institute of Personnel Management archive. mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/IPM/...

Cover of the 'Women's Employment' newspaper featuring the quote "The benefit to be expected from giving to Women the free use of their faculties by leaving them the free choice of their employment and opening to them the same field of occupation as to other human beings, would be that of doubling the mass of mental faculties available for the higher service of humanity". The paper advertises jobs for "educated women" and includes the 'Journal of the Students' Careers Association'. This edition is dated November 15 1912.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

'Rob you of your beer'... In 1920 the USA introduced Prohibition - the British brewing industry was unimpressed, harnessing nationalism, new women voters and sometimes spurious medical advice to fight the threat of 'compulsory teetotalism' More at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib... #NationalBeerDay

Leaflet:
'To Working Men & Women.
"The Anti-Saloon League" of the United States - which has now changing its name to "The World League Against Alcoholism" has sent a number of skilled organisers and specious speakers to our country to help the misnamed "Temperance" Associations to ROB YOU OF YOUR BEER. ... Will you allow these Aliens to: DICTATE TO YOU, INTERFERE WITH YOUR LIBERTIES, CLOSE YOUR PUBLIC HOUSES, HUSTLE YOU INTO COMPULSORY TEETOTALISM"...

Front page of a leaflet headed 'To Working Women.' It includes an illustration of a women doing the laundry, with the statement that "Up to now, you have found comfort and support in a glass of stout or beer with your supper, or even with your mid-day meal after a morning at the wash-tub."

Leaflet containing a statement by Sir W. Arbuthnot Lane that "Alcohol in Moderation has been shown by the most Eminent Physiologists to be A USEFUL FOOD of a VERY HIGH ORDER".

Leaflet reproducing a claim by Dr W. Wallace Fritz of Philadelphia that US Prohibition was "A CURSE TO PUBLIC AND COUNTRY" due to the increase of "GAMBLING and IMMORALITY, ... BLINDNESS, ... daily increases in the army of DOPE FIENDS" and an increase in mental health issues so that "before long the asylums for the insane will be overfilled".

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Making the final preparations for our one day conference on coal communities, health and welfare! ⛏️ 75 delegates booked in but we could take a couple more! Contact us if you fancy joining this great line up of speakers from academia, heritage organisations, community and campaign groups on 18 June

Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health & Welfare in Britain & Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present

This free one day conference aims to bring together researchers from higher education, libraries, archives, museums and community and campaign groups to explore the history of health and welfare in Britain’s coal mining industry.

Conference programme:

Panel 1: Disasters, safety and commemoration

Oaks Colliery Disaster, 1866
Paul Darlow, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Paul Hardman, former NUM National Executive Officer

The Safety Men: the Colliery Deputies union in the British Coal Industry
Professor Peter Ackers, Loughborough University (Emeritus)

Welcomed to Wrexham
Sarah Castagnetti, The National Archives

The 1959 Auchengeich Disaster: class, community and commemoration in Scotland’s coalfields
Professor Jim Phillips, University of Glasgow

Chair: Dr Jörg Arnold, Universität Augsburg

Panel 2: Health

The Violent Realities and Multiple Temporalities of a Miner’s Life
Liv Robinson, Northumbria University

‘A wonderful difference to the home life’: pithead baths, pitwomen, and disability in twentieth-century British coalmining communities
Lucy Jameson, Durham University

Pneumoconiosis, Environment, and the Politics of Coal Miners' Health in Twentieth Century Britain
Dr Andrew Seaton, University of Manchester

A Special Case? Miners’ Health, Wage Relativities and the Fall of Heath’s Government
Robert Rayner, University of Birmingham

Chair: Professor Mathew Thomson, University of Warwick

Panel 3: Welfare

“Feeding on the job?” Pit canteens in 1940s Britain
Dr Ariane Mak, Université Paris Cité & IUF

The Warmth of Home: Concessionary Fuel and Domestic Energy in British Coalfield Communities, 1945-1995
Dr Kathy Davies, Northumbria University

Class, Culture and Democracy: the Miners Libraries of South Wales
John Pateman, University of Leicester

Deindustrialisation and the recreational provision of the nationalised British coalmining industry (1950s-1984)
Dr Marion Henry, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Chair: Professor Keith Gildart, University of Wolverhampton

Panel 4: Legacies

Now The Dust Has Settled
James O. Davies, Historic England

'The Big K: The Pit that shaped a community' Its legacy, a decade after closure.
Judi Alston, One to One Development Trust

Union Poorhouse to Union Leader - Herbert Smith, President of the Miners Federation of Great Britain 1922-1929.
Kathryn Stainburn, Castleford Civic Society

The Afterlife of Coal in Barnsley: Youth, Community, and Intergenerational Legacies
Dr Kat Simpson, The University of Huddersfield

Chair: Professor Keith Gildart, University of Wolverhampton

Showcase of exhibitions, displays and posters:

On Behalf of the People: Work, Community and Class in the British Coal Industry 1947-1994
Professor Keith Gildart, University of Wolverhampton

Coal: a record of an industry
Gary Winter, Historic England

Poster of Mrs Sheila Truman
Daniella Law, Historic England

Glamorgan’s Blood: Dark Arteries, Old Veins – Exploring the Coal Collections at Glamorgan Archives
Rhian Diggins, Glamorgan Archives

When Coal was Clean: Soap and Smoke in Nineteenth Century Britain
Oliver Marshall

Mining Disasters in the Village of Worsbrough
Maureen Gennard, Peter Fairham and David Bullock, Worsbrough Library Heritage Group

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

World Cup? We're dressed for success! #WorldCup2026 Other teams are available. W J Bassett as featured in 'The Sportfolio' - Portraits and Biographies of Heroes and Heroines of Sport & Pastime, 1896 Click on the link for other well-dressed sporting heroes mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/CTC/...

Photograph and biography of W J Bassett as featured in 'The Sportfolio' - Portraits and Biographies of Heroes and Heroines of Sport & Pastime, 1896

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Sorry we're late. We have been busy building up to #InternationalArchivesDay, and now we're exhausted! Feel the burn!

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

... once in Yorkshire, Machen used his artistic skills to draw posters for his local branch of the Yorkshire Miners' Association Machen's papers relating to his work as Thorne Branch Secretary, YMA Compensation Agent and President are now catalogued at mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/MAC

Drawing of a judge in a wig with the caption 'Have the YMA behind you'

Drawing of two men trying to get a big bit of furniture through the door, one is saying 'We'll never get this case in through this door', the other is saying 'Get it in? For this last two hours I've been trying to get it out!!!'.
The image is headed 'Thorne Branch 100% membership' and includes an appeal for non-union members to join up.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

In 1918, a teenage miner wrote out his notes on 'The safety lamp' for his Education Committee course Born in Derbyshire, Alwin Machen moved to Yorkshire to look for work after the 1926 General Strike...

Sketch of miners' lamps (a Davy lamp and Marsaut lamp) and a piece of gauze over a bunsen burner, with notes about how they worked.

Marked coursework by Alwin Machen on 'The Principle of the Safety Lamp', written on 3 February 1918. He got 6 out of 10 for his answer.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The 1811 rules of the Friendly Associated Coal Miners of Wakefield include clauses which specifically ban inappropriate hat wearing and boasting about the size of your wage packet, along with slightly more standard rules for sick pay, unemployment benefit and a yearly pub feast

Extract from typescript version of the 1811 rules of the Wakefield Friendly Associated Coal-Miners, showing rule no.19:

19. If any Member of this Society, after having received his Wages earned at his Colliery, shall in a boasting manner, publish to other people the Amount of his Earnings in a short time; (which hath been too often done to the great Injury of Coal-Miners in general) such Member so offending, shall forfeit two shillings to be paid to the Delegate of the Colliery at which such Member shall be employed: And if the offending Member shall neglect or refuse the same on demand, the Delegate shall report his Conduct to the Committee, who shall thereupon make a Demand thereof; and if the offending Member shall afterwards for one Calendar Month neglect or refuse to pay the same he shall be expelled this Society and forfeit all the benefits thereof.-

Extract from typescript version of the 1811 rules of the Wakefield Friendly Associated Coal-Miners, showing rule no.17:

17. Every Member entering the Committee Room, when they are met shall take off his Hat, and sit down in his proper place, and No One shall be covered but the President - Any Member having any Petition to present or any Complaint or Proposal to make shall stand up and address himself in a proper and direct manner to the President and deliver what he shall have to offer in Writing to the Clerk or Secretary who shall read the same aloud for the Discussion and Decision of the Persons present; and every Member who shall speak on the Subject shall in like manner stand up, and address himself to the President - Every other Member than the Speaker shall during his Speech remain in his Seat silent, yet every Member addressing the President shall be brief in his Address and shall not occupy too much time and shall be subject to be called to Order (if necessary) by the President; And if he shall disobey the President he shall forfeit two pence or leave the Room:-

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

On a *completely* unrelated subject, please admire the scanning of this vast parchment document which had been tightly folded for 225 years and was marginally larger than our A1 scanner bed Now online at wdc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/coll...

First page of the articles, rules, orders and regulations of Wakefield Friendly Associated Coal Miners, written on two sheets of very large parchment (sheep skin) in 1811 and tightly folded ever since.

Back of the articles, rules, orders and regulations of Wakefield Friendly Associated Coal Miners, showing the *extremely* embedded folds in the 225 year old parchment sheet.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

The 'Bolton lady noted for her athletic powers' putting bicycle theory into practice there...

First page of article on 'Self-protection on a cycle' ('How you may Best Defend Yourself when Attacked by Modern Highwaymen'), including three photos of two men throwing unconvincing punches over a bicycle.

Third page of article on 'Self-protection on a cycle' ('How you may Best Defend Yourself when Attacked by Modern Highwaymen'), including photos of a woman on a bicycle using a 'water squirt' to halt an assailant, and a man on a bike about to deck a hoodlum with a pump.

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Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick @mrcwarwick.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

'Can she ride?' We're wheeling out the New Woman for #WorldCyclingDay This 1897 edition of The Wheelwoman combines fashion tips, club news and advice to women on voting in local elections Lots more New Women, pioneer racers & 19th century cycling magazines online at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Front cover of 'The Wheelwoman' (incorporating the 'The Cyclist' and 'The Sportswoman'), 4 December 1897. It includes an engraving done in the style of Aubrey Beardsley, showing a women in a very long clingy dress looking at a bicycle on a plinth, with the caption 'Can she ride?'. The list of contents includes information about fashions and an article 'For wheelwomen who vote'.

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