DORSET BANNER ON DISPLAY

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2021 :: RMTnews 22 T he Dorset Rail banner is now part of an exhibition Art and Protest at the Giant gallery in Bournemouth. The Gallery is in the top floor of the Department store which was Debenhams and previously "Bobby's" until October 31 2021 and is free entry. The exhibition is important to Bournemouth as it seeks to develop the arts as it has done with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch attended the opening last month along with Dorset branch chair Jim Buchanan, branch secretary Mark Carter and Ed Hall who made the banner in 2008. The banner which was seen by many during the recent ‘Keep the guards on the train’ dispute shows the Tolpuddle Martyrs who in 1834 were transported to Australia for forming a trade union. A huge campaign brought them back to England as heroes. Through links with artist Stuart Semple and curator Lee Cavaliere, Jim Buchanan secured a place for the banner in the exhibition. Other works included those by Banksy, and Jeremy Deller. A wonderful polar bear puppet was also made by Greenpeace. The Dorset Rail branch banner is always at the Tolpuddle Festival a few miles from Bournemouth. The event of 1834 is a milestone for trade unionists and a building block for our freedom to freely associate. The exhibition organisers ask visitors to compare the punishments for protest then, and the curtailing of protest now. The scene on the banner reflects this with the Tolpuddle Martyrs meeting under the Martyrs tree, still in the centre of the village. At the court at Dorchester in 1834 George Loveless said... "Let every working men come forward: unite firmly but peaceably together as the heart of one man: then no longer would the interest of millions be sacrificed for the gain of a few". P reston No 1 branch has stamped two new badges. The cost to members is £3 the small badge and £6 the large one plus £1 pp. That is £10. You don't have to buy both but it’s still a £1 pp. Branch chair Mark McCarrick, a conductor Instructor on Trans Pennine Express, has a supply of the new badges without the £1 postage. Payment can be made to PayPal using the email preston1@rmt.org.uk Send cheques to Trevor Jordan, 3 Edward Street, Morecambe, Lancs, LA4 4BL. PRESTON BADGES P reston No 1 branch has stamped two new badges. The cost to members is £3 the small badge and £6 the large one plus £1 pp. That is £10. You don't have to buy both but it’s still a £1 pp. Branch chair Mark McCarrick, a conductor Instructor on Trans Pennine Express, has a supply of the new badges without the £1 postage. Payment can be made to PayPal using the email preston1@rmt.org.uk Send cheques to Trevor Jordan, 3 Edward Street, Morecambe, Lancs, LA4 4BL. PRESTON BADGES DORSET BANNER ON DISPLAY BANNER: from left to right Dorset rail branch secretary Mark Carter, banner maker Ed Hall, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch and Dorset Rail branch chair Jim Buchanan