Multiple Brands - US Press Photo Petrol Strike 1953
1953 London Tanker Drivers Strike.
I have four photos of this small part of history starting with this American Press Agency photo - presumably distributed to each press office in the States from a British news agency. Anyway, it's the genuine article as on the back is a typed note on paper glued to the back of the print and then a large red print stamp across both the photo and the paper reading Keystone Press Agency, Keystoglobe inc. 141 West 42nd Street, New York 36 N.Y I'll get a photo of that uploaded soon.
In 1953 the tanker drivers based at the Fulham depot called a strike in protest at working alongside one driver who refused to join the Transport and General Workers Union. Every single one of the other drivers working at the depot were in that union. It may be that because the one disenting driver was a retired sergeant-major that he wasn't exactly popular with his fellow workers in any event - if he had kept the stereotypical sergeant-major attitudes into his civilian life. However as time went by the full truth emerged about drivers concerns of changes to contracting for certain deliveries and the strike involved every depot in London, not just Fulham. Eventually when every station within a 15 mile radius of London had run out of fuel the government decided to call in troops to distribute the fuel. This ultimately prompted the tanker drivers to return to work soon after. There is a long article from which I have extracted the bare bones here....... freedomnews.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Freedom-195... and further reading here........ trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/52936391
Multiple Brands - US Press Photo Petrol Strike 1953
1953 London Tanker Drivers Strike.
I have four photos of this small part of history starting with this American Press Agency photo - presumably distributed to each press office in the States from a British news agency. Anyway, it's the genuine article as on the back is a typed note on paper glued to the back of the print and then a large red print stamp across both the photo and the paper reading Keystone Press Agency, Keystoglobe inc. 141 West 42nd Street, New York 36 N.Y I'll get a photo of that uploaded soon.
In 1953 the tanker drivers based at the Fulham depot called a strike in protest at working alongside one driver who refused to join the Transport and General Workers Union. Every single one of the other drivers working at the depot were in that union. It may be that because the one disenting driver was a retired sergeant-major that he wasn't exactly popular with his fellow workers in any event - if he had kept the stereotypical sergeant-major attitudes into his civilian life. However as time went by the full truth emerged about drivers concerns of changes to contracting for certain deliveries and the strike involved every depot in London, not just Fulham. Eventually when every station within a 15 mile radius of London had run out of fuel the government decided to call in troops to distribute the fuel. This ultimately prompted the tanker drivers to return to work soon after. There is a long article from which I have extracted the bare bones here....... freedomnews.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Freedom-195... and further reading here........ trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/52936391