Themes

Members of the Royal Fleet Reserve disobey orders during a miners' strike in Wales

On the 1 April 1921 there began a wholesale strike of coal miners throughout the country. There was a real risk that the strike would escalate with the railwaymen and transport workers joining the miners and the affair developing into a general strike.

On 31 April 1921 King George V had proclaimed a state of emergency. The Government called up the Reserves and instituted the civilian Defence Corps. The Navy drew battalions from the Royal Fleet Reserve (RFR) and sent them to various districts to keep order and protect property. They stationed the No. 2 (reservist) Portsmouth battalion in Newport, close to the South Wales coalfields.

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• The growing discontent of No.2 Battalion

• Personal experience of Captain Kennedy

• Summary of major complaints

• Aftermath

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