The Working Class Movement

I am writing to invite you to join the Friends of the Working Class Movement Library, and help to support this marvellous and unique collection.

Put simply, the library tells the story of how working people have worked together over the last 200 years to change society for the better.  The collection includes  holdings on  Thomas Paine in the 1790s, the Peterloo massacre of 1819,  200 years of trade unionism, Chartism, the Socialist movement, the Suffragettes, the International Brigade and many other movements.

The late Ruth and Edmund Frow started the library in their own home in the 1950s because they believed  that working people should remember and value  their own history. For forty years this remarkable couple spent their spare time travelling the country with their caravan and collecting thousands of rare items.
 
The library is a national collection and is recognised as one of the most important working class historical archives in the country. It is a registered Charity, and run in a democratic manner by a voluntary Board of Trustees in partnership with the staff and  our volunteers.  It is open to all to use without charge, and has many visitors and researchers.

We hold regular exhibitions, meetings and  other events in the course of the year.

The running costs of the library are met by contributions from individuals and trade unions and by an annual grant from Salford Council which has  substantially decreased over the past 10 years.   In 2011 the Council  cut our grant by  a further 33%. We are currently  drawing on our reserves  to keep going but these will not last forever. We are therefore appealing to those who support the aims and ideals of the library to  join the Friends of the library .

I am a Trustee of the WCML because I  believe that these stories should be saved for future generations, and celebrated. Lee Hall, the writer of “Billy Elliott” and “The Pitmen Painters”,  is a Friend of the library  and wrote to us  to say  that “what you represent and protect is incredibly important to me. So much of my work is about celebrating the politics and creativity of working class people. I feel it is only right I should support others doing the same.”

The  cost of joining  for individuals is £10  per annum plus any donation you might like to make.
I hope you will be able to help.

Yours sincerely

Maxine Peake, Trustee