Sherlock’s brave, smart, and tough little sister is back Enola Holmes 2With a brand new case to solve. The fictional mystery of NetflixThe detective story of ‘The Detective Adventure’ is anchored in historical events. It has a real moment of women’s and labour rights history at its heart.
Sherlock (Henry CavillEnola (Millie Bobby Brown), an investigator in a high-flying case of financial corruption, picks up a case about a missing working class lady whose disappearance may not have made it to 221B Baker Street. Bessie Chapman (Serrana Sus-Ling Bliss), is a young girl who recruits her to help her find Sarah Dodd, her missing sister. Sarah works in a match factory on London’s South Bank.
Enola is guided by Jack Thorne and Harry Bradbeer through Victorian London’s top echelons. More importantly, this case involves a deadly conspiracy in London’s brutal factory factories. These were run by male greedy managers who are more concerned with worker safety than the bottom line. This is where Thorne & Bradbeer introduce an historical figure to their mystery. Knowing the background of this character can be a bit spoiler so be careful.
Who was Sarah Chapman, anyway?
Sarah Chapman is the missing woman at heart of the story. Enola Holmes 2He was a real person and was the key organizer of the Matchgirls Strike at Bryant and May’s match factory in Bow on July 5, 1888. This action, according to the film, was “the first industrial action by women for women.”
According to A piece written for People’s History MuseumSam Johnson, Chapman’s great granddaughter, was born in East London’s Mile End on 1862. She was working as matchmaking machinist at the tender age of 19. Johnson also refers to Dr Anna Robinson’s MA thesis. Sarah Chapman: Not Hidden nor Condescended To)
Chapman was integral to both the strike and some of the first labour unions in England — she, along with Alice Francis, Mary Cummings, Kate Sclater, Mary Driscoll, Eliza Martin, Jane Wakeling, and Mary Naulls, formed the Matchgirls Strike Committee (more on the actual strike below). There’s A great photo of Chapman is available on the PHM WebsiteShe was elected to the Union Committee, where she was among only 10 women to be among the 500 who attended the International Trades Union Congress held in November 1888.
What was the Matchgirls Strike?
The working conditions for women and girls at the Bryant and May match factories in Bow, East London were extremely harsh. According to BBCAs did others in similar factories. They included very long work hours and measly wages, which were further reduced by severe penalties. You can be caught for small infractions such as lateness or using the restroom.They will also have to purchase their equipment.
The big reveal comes in Enola Holmes 2 The evidence shows that the workers were also exposed. Working with white phosphorus poses serious health risks — the wooden matches were dipped in it. The most important development was the painful form of necrosis, dubbed “phossy jaw.”A character is Enola Holmes 2After the foreman falsely declares that it is typhus, the employee is denied work. As newspaper articles from National Archive demonstrateFactory owners Francis May, William Bryant, and Francis May, failed to report numerous cases of phosphorous poisoning and “deliberately and systematic concealed and suppressed them.”
Bryant and May were simultaneously making profits. According to The Matchgirls MemorialA non-profit organisation raising awareness about the strike. British socialist organization the Fabian Society held an meeting on June 15. Henry Hyde Champion, member of the Fabian Society, discussed the astonishing profits Bryant & May were making, even though their workers were barely scraping by. Champion then suggested a boycott of the matches.
Unrest was bubbling in the factory. Annie Besant, a women’s rights activist, met workers outside of their workplace to learn their stories. Published an article on factory conditions The LinkNewspaperJune 23, 1888 According to the British LibraryBryant tried to get workers not to report the incident, but May refused.
The real spark for the movement came when one of the factory workers was fired. 1400 women & girls protested the dismissal of one worker at the factory and their treatment at the workplace on July 5, 1888.
What did you do after the strike?
The Matchgirls Strike was a topic of conversation in England, and helped to grow the worker’s rights and union movement. Onscreen text at the end of the film states that the strike “improved their work conditions forever.”
According to The Matchgirls Memorial, After the walkout around 200 women and girls marched to Annie Besant’s office, and three women — Mary Naulls, Mary Cummings, and Sarah Chapman — spoke to her about forming the aforementioned Matchgirls Strike Committee, which was founded on July 8 (three days after the strike). Besant brought 56 girls and women with her to the House of Commons for a meeting with MPs on July 10, and received a lot of press attention.
Bryant and May met with Bryant and May a week later to reach an agreement. TermsThe agreement included the following: the elimination of all worker fines; the rehiring of all women who walked out; the supply by company of key tools like paint brushes and brushes (previously supplied by workers), a lunch room and most importantly, the formation a union. However, white phosphorous has been banned from matches. It took Bryant and May more than 10 years to accomplish this feat in 1901, after the strike..
This action had a significant impact on the British trade union movement. The newly formed Union of Women MatchmakersTwelve women were elected in the following: Sarah Chapman (Alice Francis), Mary Cummings and Mary Sclater. Jane Wakeling and Mary Naulls of the Matchgirls Strike Committee were also elected. (The union would later be open to men workers. The union was founded a year later. London Dock StrikeAfter the formation of a union of docker workers, there was a rise in worker’s pay. These protests and the rise of trade union movements in Britain led to the founding of the Labour Party in 1900.
To commemorate the strike, a blue plaque from London Heritage was placed at the Bryant and May match factories on July 5, 2022.
There you have it. You can watch when you are watching Enola Holmes 2Remember working women like Sarah Chapman who were forced to protest their poor working conditions to start a workers’ movement that would benefit all workers for future generations.
