the Mary Quaile club

British delegation in Soviet Union 1925

The transcription work on the minutes, and the financing thereof, was done by the Mary Quaile Club which was set up in December 2013..

The founders of the Club feel that conferences and seminars on working class history are often too academic in nature and are failing to engage with a wider non-academic audience. We believe there is a new generation of political activists campaigning on issues such as the bedroom tax, the privatisation of the NHS, zero hours contacts, fracking, the slashing of welfare benefits etc who would engage with discussions on history and politics, but who are not being reached at present.

Mary receiving TUC silver medal in 1951

We were clear that we wanted to hold events in different venues and in different parts of Greater Manchester. We were very clear also that the events should be accessible, inclusive and should be either free or reasonably priced to allow all to attend. Since February 2104 we have held many events which have included meetings, conferences and film screenings. We have also produced two publications, Northern Resisters and Dare to Free; women in trade unions, past and present. In 2016 we commissioned a play Dare to Be Free, written by Jane McNulty, about Mary Quaile which was put on in a number of venues, and was well received.

For more information about our activities, please visit our blog https://maryquaileclub.wordpress.com/