On 5th July, The Matchgirls Memorial was delighted to be invited to the morning assembly at William Patten Primary School in Stoke Newington. We presented prizes to the winners in years 4, 5 and 6 and congratulated all that had taken part. We then gave a short talk about the 1888 Matchgirls Strike, noting that this day was very special as it marked 136 years since the Strike began. We were also lucky enough to be joined by pianist, John Marseglia, who taught the children to sing the song , ‘Phosphorus’ from the Bill Owen and Tony Russell musical, ‘The Matchgirls’. Everyone threw themselves into it and it was a sheer delight to see everyone bringing the song to life. Our final treat was when the fabulous Lottie Walker, dressed in full Victorian dress, got everyone singing, to the tune of ‘John Brown’s Body’, the song the Matchgirls sang as they marched towards Parliament to take their case to MPs of the day. Very fitting on this first day of a new Labour Government.

 

​Thanks also to our wonderful poetry judges this year, Tanya Landman, Author, Debbie Rolls, Educator, Freelance Writer and Unionist, and Dr Anna Robinson, Senior Lecturer at the University of East London (UEL) and Poet.

​​

Winning entries can be found here:

​

FIRST PRIZE WINNING ENTRIES

​

Year 4: Matchstick Girls by Amaiyah

Year 5: A matchgirls poem by Sunny

Year 6: We Will Set This Factory Alight by Amber

​

SECOND PRIZE WINNING ENTRIES

Year 4: The Match Stick Girls by Arya

Year 5: A matchgirls poem by Ellie

Year 6: Stamp. Stomp by Juno

​

THIRD PRIZE WINNING ENTRIES

Year 4: Magnificent Matchmakers by Grace

Year 6: Match Girl Strike by Isabella

​​