Banner of the Jarrow marchers taken up by the unemployed young of today

On October 13, 1936 a banner was raised in Harrogate to welcome the Jarrow marchers.

That evening at the town’s Drill Hall the crowd grew even bigger and as this was after all a very British protest, they discussed the threat of rising unemployment and poverty as the egg and salmon sandwiches were handed around.

The demonstration had been born out of the collapse of the Palmer’s shipyard which had closed down the previous year, leaving the North East town with an unemployment rate of somewhere between 70 and 80 per cent. With no new jobs on the horizon, 200 men, boots newly heeled and soled, had waved goodbye to their families and set out on a 300 mile walk to Westminster.

For those who had expected to end their working lives in the same shipyard where their careers had begun, a march seemed the only practical thing to do and they took with them a petition, which they carried in an oak box. By the time they arrived outside the Houses of Parliament, three weeks later, they had gathered almost 12,000 signatures. What they wanted was simple. They wanted jobs and their efforts to secure work captured the public imagination.

“All along the road from Ripon, the villagers from Ripley to Killinghall rushed to see the marchers pass, playing their harmonicas and kettledrums,” read one report of the Yorkshire leg of the march. “The organisation seems well nigh perfect. It includes a transport wagon – a bus bought for £20 and converted – which goes ahead with the sleeping kit. It is an example of civic spirit probably without parallel anywhere else in the country.

Later this year, to mark its 75th anniversary, the Jarrow March will be recreated. This time the demonstrators won’t be kitted out with two pairs of new socks and they won’t be given daily rations of cigarettes, but those involved in its organisation believe their cause – to raise awareness of an entire generation who are struggling to find work – is equally as justified.

The march is the brainchild of Youth Fight for Jobs, the trade-union backed organisation which wants action to help the near one million 16 to 24-year-olds who are out of work and when they arrive in Harrogate, Iain Dalton will be among those waving their placards.

After studying for a degree in psychology and criminology, he left Huddersfield University three years ago with debts of about £18,000. Enrolling on a Masters course at the University of Bangor, he had hoped to secure a research job. However, as the cuts began to bite, competition for places proved fierce and after a series of rejections, Iain ended up working in a call centre and later a supermarket.

“Even before the present government got into power, the opportunities for young people to get decent full-time jobs weren’t exactly great,” says Iain, who is now the regional organiser for the Yorkshire arm of Youth Fight for Jobs. “But the cuts have made a bad situation much worse. When I was applying for research jobs I found myself up against people with 20 years experience who had just been made redundant. These were good, talented people and against them people fresh out of university were never going to stand a chance.

“What I don’t understand is why no one can see that if we don’t keep on investing now when times are tough when the economy does pick up there will be no jobs for anyone to go to. We are in danger of running down our industries and by the time the politicians take action to reverse the situation it could well be too late.”

While there has been criticism of recent protests against tuition fees, both in terms of the police handling of the demonstrations and the minority of protesters intent on violence, those behind October’s event hope to borrow something of the dignified stoicism of the original Jarrow March.

“When I was at Bangor University, the student union there was in favour of tuition fees, so a number of us got together to hold a referendum,” says Iain, who now lives in Leeds. “That was a couple of years ago and while the students were generally against the idea of having to pay so much for their education they weren’t actually prepared to do anything about it.

“I remember at the time saying that it was the thin end of the edge, but I think people thought that it wouldn’t get any worse. Obviously it has and there is much more of an appetite for protest.”

The appetite may be there, but with the economic crisis effecting everyone, not just the young, the 21st-century Jarrow March may struggle to find a voice amid the public sector workers, charities and the recently redundant who are all clamouring for the Government’s attention.

“The Jarrow March is imprinted on people’s memories largely because of the Press coverage it received,” says Keith Laybourn, professor of history at Huddersfield University. “Around the same time quite a few hunger marches had taken place, where protesters had demanded things like winter relief benefits and extra help for the blind.

“They were portrayed as having an almost revolutionary element, but the Jarrow marchers were different. At the time Britain was suffering the effects of the world depression and the country was ruled by a National Government, a coalition of all the major political parties. They all recognised the problems of Jarrow and the march received cross party support. Because it wasn’t politically motivated, it was just 200 men asking for work, unlike the hunger marches, it received a lot of coverage on the Pathé news reels.

“While things are obviously very different today, I suspect if an entire town was on its knees it might still inspire the same kind of sympathy, but will a group of young people marching on Parliament have the same impact on the public consciousness? I’m not so sure.”

While the march is an end in itself – a visible sign of discontent, Youth Fight for Jobs is also keen to present some practical solutions to the situation and are calling for the introduction of state sponsored jobs and Government investment in areas like renewable energy which have the potential to provide long-term economic benefits.

“Latest figures show there are 965,000 16 to 24-year-olds who are unemployed,” says Nigel Heptinstall, interim chair of Harrogate Action, a group set up to highlight the impact of the austerity measures. “They have lost the Educational Maintenance Allowance, university fees have reached astronomical levels and youth unemployment is now around 19 per cent. We cannot allow a whole generation to be treated in this soul-destroying way, we must voice our concerns.”

However, while the Jarrow March will provide the model for this autumn’s protest, those involved must be hoping the outcome will be very different.

“The Jarrow marches didn’t get the new steel works they were wanting,” says Prof Laybourn. “In fact, very little changed in terms of their economic prospects. While a few concessions were made, the depression in Jarrow and other parts of the country continued. In fact, it only stopped with the start of the Second World War when the need for armaments kick-started industry again.”

The Jarrow March may have made very little practical difference to the families out work, but for those who took part it was a much needed show of defiance.

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Civic kindness along the way

The Jarrow marchers took 25 days to walk from the North East to London and on the route they received universal support for their cause.

In Leeds, they were given a donation to allow them to make the return trip by train. In Barnsley, they were able to relax in the specially heated municipal baths and those who were already showing sign of strain from the walk were given medical treatment.

This year’s marchers will also be looking for support from businesses, individuals and communities as they retrace the steps of the original Jarrow marchers and are now raising funds in support of the event.

For more details visit www.youthfightforjobs.com