Blog | Matchgirls Memorial

Aug 203 min read

DONALDA CHARRON and Les Allumettières

A hundred years on, we celebrate the heroism of Donalda Charron who in 1924 led the matchgirls (les allumettières) strike at the E. B....

Oct 5, 20227 min read

A DRINKING FOUNTAIN TO CELEBRATE THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE MATCH TAX

THE FOUNTAIN - THE LOCATION – THE CEREMONY - THE PEOPLE THE FOUNTAIN The idea of a Drinking Fountain most likely arose from Bryant and...

Aug 24, 20227 min read

Matchgirls Blue Plaque Unveiling

Wow, what a day 5th July was in Bow, London – both in 1888 and in 2022! In my capacity as Chair of The Matchgirls Memorial and Great...

Apr 24, 20217 min read

THE MATCH TAX 1871

PROPOSAL – REACTION – RETREAT – MOCKERY - CELEBRATION A PARLIAMENTARY PROPOSAL AND DEBATE “. . a tax from matches. I do not mean...

Nov 24, 20202 min read

The 'Other' Bow Quarter Plaque

UPDATE Since this blog was written in 2020, the Bow Heritage plaque has been removed. An official English Heritage Blue Plaque was...

Nov 7, 20206 min read

The Bow Quarter Plaque . . . . Or is it Not the Plaque, That is the Question!

UPDATE Since this blog was written in 2020, an official English Heritage Blue Plaque has replaced Alan Cock's plaque. It was unveiled on...

Jun 18, 20204 min read

The Red Hands of the Bow Gladstone Statue

The statue of four time Liberal Prime Minister, William Gladstone, in Bow was called a ‘gift to the east of London’ - and who doesn’t...

Jun 10, 20203 min read

Slater becomes Sclater, and what's the Link between the Matchgirls Strike and Ornithology?

Early in the Matchgirls Strike, at the suggestion of Harry Hobart, a Social Democrat Federation activist, a Strike Register was created...