2022 Year 5 Second Prize
Matchgirls by Aliyah
Many years ago, in 1888
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At a factory called Bryant and May
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There were young girls working.
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Cautiously, the girls and women tried to make no mistakes.
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Hurrying, they made sure not to be late.
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Girls suffered to put food on the table.
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In the factory, phosphorus made matches.
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Room in the factory was cramped, so the girls got Phossy Jaw.
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Likely, some of them died.
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So, they went on strike and everything changed.
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Huffing and puffing, 56 Matchgirls marched into Parliament on 11th of July.
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Every Matchgirl had put their lives at risk,
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Remaining not many to survive.
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Owners of Bryant and May changed their minds,
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Every little problem was to get fixed,
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So that every little demand of the Matchgirls was met!
On 5th July 2022, a new English Heritage Blue Plaque was unveiled at Bow Quarter (the old Bryant and May Factory) to commemorate the Matchgirls Strike of 1888.
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The Matchgirls Memorial ran a schools poetry competition to celebrate the unveiling.
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Judges were Alice Trickey-Roberts, English Heritage Education Visits Officer, Tanya Landman, Author, Emma Purshouse, Writer and and Poet.
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Aliyah from Blue Gate Fields Primary School won Second prize in the Year 5 category with the poem, 'Matchgirls'.