2024 Year 5 Third Prize
A matchgirls poem by Sunny
Livid women to your left, resentful women to your right,
Foul smells in the air, how could you bare?
Food on the ground, bang smash pound,
Of the dark, damp factory: Bryant and May.
“Get out of my way!
I’m your chief, I’m your leader,
If you want more pay, do as I say,
Work faster, I’m your master!”
Howled the impudent, infuriated owner.
It gets better- just you wait and see,
All because of Annie Besant- that’s me!
I wrote ‘The Link’, that made them think.
Not long after, the maltreated women went on strike,
Courageously, fighting for their rights.
“No more Phossy Jaw - we deserve so much more!”
“Better conditions- we have our ambitions!”
In the end, the women had won - their work here was done,
These brave souls succeeded, the owners had conceded.
5th July 2024 saw the 136th anniversary of the Matchgirls Strike. To mark the occasion, The Matchgirls Memorial took part in the William Patten Primary School morning assembly.
Prizes were presented to the winners of this years school poetry competition. Our judges this year were 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.
Sunny won First Prize in the Year 5 category with her poem.