ABSTRACT
Jarrow on Tyneside was heavily dependent upon the shipbuilding industry and when this failed 8,000 men were made redundant and unemployment in the town rose to 67%. The Jarrow March or Jarrow Crusade was an attempt to bring this problem to parliament’s attention by marching from Jarrow to Hyde Park. Thus two hundred volunteers headed by their local MP ‘Red Ellen’ Wilkinson emulated the example of the Blanketeers.
