1911 Llanelli Rail Strike commemorated
On
Saturday 18th August there was a march and rally to commemorate the anniversary
of the Llanelli rail strike of 1911. The strike was memorable both for the
slaughter of two workers by the British army, and for the heroic and steadfast
spirit of resistance which animated the strikers and their many supporters. The
CPGB-ML contingent was proud to support this event, distributing their
literature as they marched through Llanelli.
At the rally many spoke about the spirited local
campaign to prevent the downgrading of the Accident and Emergency service at
the local Prince Phillip hospital. Sadly, a number of speeches seemed more
concerned with point-scoring between Labour and Plaid Cymru, with each blaming
the other for the threatened cuts coming down the line. A speaker from the
CPGB-ML was invited by Llanelli Trades Council to say a few words, a welcome
opportunity to put the historical events of 1911 in the context of today’s
crisis of capitalism and the tasks facing the working class. The comrade spoke
as follows:
“On behalf of the CPGB-ML I would like to thank
Llanelli Trades Council for inviting me to say a few words on this day of
commemoration.
“When we recall the murder by the British army of
John John and Leonard Worsell, we do not comfort ourselves with the false idea
that this was the last time workers were slain by the British state. It is
sufficient to recall
(a) the fatal battering of anti-Nazi
campaigner Blair Peach in 1979;
(b)the judicial murder of Jean Charles
de Menezes in 2005, shot seven times in the head whilst pinned to the ground in
Stockwell tube station;
(c) the killing of bystander Ian
Tomlinson at the G20 demo in 2010, now revealed to have been the subject of a
criminal cover-up by the official pathologist; and
(d) the public execution of
father-of-three Mark Duggan in 2011 on the streets of Tottenham.
“All four were victims of state violence. In their case, the
instruments of the state wore police uniforms. The army in recent years has
been reserved for the slaughter of workers in faraway places – though we note
that the Irish murdered in Ireland by the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday
(to mention but one of the myriad crimes against the Irish nation) were said by
the colonisers to have met their deaths on ‘British soil’.
“In remembering the events which took place in
Llanelli one hundred years ago, we are inspired by the fighting spirit shown by
working people resisting capitalism, by the spirit of non-cooperation which
erupted even within the army itself, and by the electrifying effect this
resistance had throughout the whole community. So far from being merely a
historical footnote, the events of the 1911 Llanelli rail strike have real and
urgent lessons for all those workers today who are fighting to prevent their
living standards being ground down by a capitalist system in crisis.
“The uprisings triggered last summer by the assassination of Mark
Duggan revealed a depth of anger amongst young workers deprived of a decent
future by the crisis of capitalism, and a willingness to fight back against a
system that is effectively declaring war on the entire working class. Those
uprisings were closer to the true spirit of 1911 than anything the TUC has yet
come up with by way of ‘coordinating resistance’, despite the proven
willingness of local government workers, doctors, construction workers,
teachers, transport workers, students and Occupy activists to make a fight of
it. All that is missing is the political leadership.
“It is time to stop lying to the working class about
the character of this crisis. The choice which faces us all is not ‘destructive
cuts’ versus ‘humane cuts’. The choice is between a warmongering capitalist
barbarism spinning out of control – or socialism. The best commemoration of the
martyrs, strikers and fighters of 1911 will come when the red flag is hoisted
over Wales, Scotland and England. Bring it on! Join the struggle! Long live the
spirit of 1911!”
After the rally, we marched up the hill to the cemetery
where our two fallen comrades are buried. We laid one floral tribute (from the
CPGB-ML) on the grave of Leonard Worsell, and a second (from Red Youth) on the
grave of John John.
Report by Wales and South West Region CPGB-ML