Brave Ellen battles on despite injury as the Jarrow marchers trek over the moors
‘Although obviously in pain, she stuck to her task with admirable grimness’
The sheer bravery of one of the Jarrow marchers stuck out as the crusade faced its next hurdle.
The 200 marchers had to trek over the moors from Barnsley to Sheffield and injuries and illness were becoming a part of the daily life.
But one of the crusaders bravely ignored the pain to battle on and that was the MP for Jarrow Ellen Wilkinson.
Her struggles did not go unnoticed by the Shields Gazette reporter who accompanied the South Tyneside contingency all the way from Jarrow to London.
They reported: “Although obviously in pain, she stuck to her task with admirable grimness; was the life of the party en route —at Ieast of the vanguard—and had sufficient energy left make one of her characteristically humorous speeches at the Town Hall.
“She flatly refuses travel by car. although she admits that the cobbled streets of the industrial West Riding tempt her very much to break her resolve.”
Ellen Wilkinson played a huge role in the march. She walked as much of the route as her responsibilities allowed and spent the rest of the cause speaking on behalf of Jarrow’s cause.
As for the rest of the marchers, their stay in Barnsley came to a glorious end with breakfast of porridge, sausage and mash, tea and bread and butter served to them by waitresses.
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