Mary Bamber
Encyclopedia
Mary 'Ma' Bamber was a socialist, trade unionist, social worker, and suffragist. Her daughter Bessie Braddock
was a prominent Labour
Member of Parliament
(MP).
Bamber was active in Liverpool and nationally for the best part of fifty years, present at key moments in Merseyside labour history, in the forefront of several prominent disputes. As a Labour councillor and a Justice of the Peace
she promoted the dissemination of contraceptive advice as a mechanism to empower women.
Privately educated and living in one of the most affluent parts of that Edinburgh, Mary’s early life was very different from that of the poor in Liverpool she was ultimately to live among. However, when still a girl, her lawyer father took to the drink and one day walked out on the family never to be seen again. Her mother Margaret Little’s life up until then had been poor preparation for the rigours of single motherhood with six children to provide for. She worked hard charring
and in other jobs to support her family, making a close acquaintance with near destitution and, when her eldest son got a job with a printer
in Liverpool, the family came with him.
The Liverpool they came to, dominated as it was by casualism and irregularity of income, was characterised by poverty
, ill health, squalid housing conditions and hand-to-mouth subsistence.
During the winter of 1906-7, Mary was on the rota of women who made soup to sell at a farthing a bowl from a Clarion caravan parked by St. George's Hall on Lime Street
. She visited the sick, collected for the unemployed and kept open house for travelling socialists. She frequently spoke at outdoor meetings, often at the Wellington monument or on street corners. Sylvia Pankhurst
described her as the "finest, fighting platform speaker in the country". In a city that was dominated by sectarianism
, she refused any religious identification and was a regular heckler at both Catholic
and Protestant political rallies.
However, it was through her work as a trade union organiser that Bamber became most visible. In the years leading up to the First World War, she worked tirelessly as an official for the Warehouse Workers Union. She travelled the length of the dock road, organising women from Johnson’s Cleaners and Dye Works in the North end to Wilson’s Bobbin Works in the South.
Bamber was often up before dawn to catch bag women - who made and mended the millions of sacks used to contain and transport the products which passed through the port - as they walked to work. Like employment in rope manufacture, which also drew Mary’s attention, this was heavy, filthy, poorly paid work often undertaken by only the most desperate – women caring for dependants, married women or those old and single. Mary gave a great deal of time - often fruitlessly in terms of actual recruitment - to talking to these women, pressing leaflets on them and persuading them to come to meetings.
Though her work as a trade union organiser was central to Bamber's politics, it was interwoven with other activity. She was present at the 'Bloody Sunday' demonstration during the 1911 Liverpool General Transport Strike
. In 1919, she stood as the Labour Party candidate in the Protestant stronghold of Everton. Campaigning on everyday issues such as milk, education and municipal laundries, she won by a tiny majority. The same year, she became a founder member of the local Communist Party
and in 1920 she attended the Second Congress of the Third International in Moscow
. She was a local committee member on the National Unemployed Workers Committee and, in September 1921, was one of those arrested at the occupation of the Walker Art Gallery
. She did not seek a second term as city councillor and by 1924 she had left the Communist Party, saying that it interfered with her work as an organiser. She was present at all the key demonstrations held during the 1920s and into the thirties. She spoke at her last meeting just two weeks before she died.
Bessie Braddock
Elizabeth Margaret Braddock JP , better known as Bessie Braddock, was a British Labour politician...
was a prominent Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP).
Bamber was active in Liverpool and nationally for the best part of fifty years, present at key moments in Merseyside labour history, in the forefront of several prominent disputes. As a Labour councillor and a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
she promoted the dissemination of contraceptive advice as a mechanism to empower women.
Privately educated and living in one of the most affluent parts of that Edinburgh, Mary’s early life was very different from that of the poor in Liverpool she was ultimately to live among. However, when still a girl, her lawyer father took to the drink and one day walked out on the family never to be seen again. Her mother Margaret Little’s life up until then had been poor preparation for the rigours of single motherhood with six children to provide for. She worked hard charring
Charring
Charring is a chemical process of incomplete combustion of certain solids when subjected to high heat. The resulting residue matter is called Char. By the action of heat, charring removes hydrogen and oxygen from the solid, so that the remaining char is composed primarily of carbon...
and in other jobs to support her family, making a close acquaintance with near destitution and, when her eldest son got a job with a printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
in Liverpool, the family came with him.
The Liverpool they came to, dominated as it was by casualism and irregularity of income, was characterised by poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, ill health, squalid housing conditions and hand-to-mouth subsistence.
During the winter of 1906-7, Mary was on the rota of women who made soup to sell at a farthing a bowl from a Clarion caravan parked by St. George's Hall on Lime Street
Lime Street
Lime Street is an American action/drama series that aired on the ABC television network during the 1985 television season. The series was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who also served as executive producer alongside husband Harry Thomason and series star Robert Wagner.-Synopsis:The cast of...
. She visited the sick, collected for the unemployed and kept open house for travelling socialists. She frequently spoke at outdoor meetings, often at the Wellington monument or on street corners. Sylvia Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst
Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
described her as the "finest, fighting platform speaker in the country". In a city that was dominated by sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
, she refused any religious identification and was a regular heckler at both Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and Protestant political rallies.
However, it was through her work as a trade union organiser that Bamber became most visible. In the years leading up to the First World War, she worked tirelessly as an official for the Warehouse Workers Union. She travelled the length of the dock road, organising women from Johnson’s Cleaners and Dye Works in the North end to Wilson’s Bobbin Works in the South.
Bamber was often up before dawn to catch bag women - who made and mended the millions of sacks used to contain and transport the products which passed through the port - as they walked to work. Like employment in rope manufacture, which also drew Mary’s attention, this was heavy, filthy, poorly paid work often undertaken by only the most desperate – women caring for dependants, married women or those old and single. Mary gave a great deal of time - often fruitlessly in terms of actual recruitment - to talking to these women, pressing leaflets on them and persuading them to come to meetings.
Though her work as a trade union organiser was central to Bamber's politics, it was interwoven with other activity. She was present at the 'Bloody Sunday' demonstration during the 1911 Liverpool General Transport Strike
1911 Liverpool General Transport Strike
The 1911 Liverpool General Transport Strike involved dockers, railway workers and sailors, as well people from other trades. It paralysed Liverpool commerce for most of the summer of 1911. It also transformed trade unionism on Merseyside...
. In 1919, she stood as the Labour Party candidate in the Protestant stronghold of Everton. Campaigning on everyday issues such as milk, education and municipal laundries, she won by a tiny majority. The same year, she became a founder member of the local Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
and in 1920 she attended the Second Congress of the Third International in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. She was a local committee member on the National Unemployed Workers Committee and, in September 1921, was one of those arrested at the occupation of the Walker Art Gallery
Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group, and is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North" because it is not a local or regional gallery but is part...
. She did not seek a second term as city councillor and by 1924 she had left the Communist Party, saying that it interfered with her work as an organiser. She was present at all the key demonstrations held during the 1920s and into the thirties. She spoke at her last meeting just two weeks before she died.