2022 Year 4 First Prize
Matchgirls by Asiya
My work was tough in the factory,
​
Aching legs and sore arms, my everyday feelings.
​
The girls around me, as young as 6 years old.
​
Cancer, spreading through our bones, devouring us each.
​
How we craved justice, you wouldn’t comprehend.
​
Gritting the few teeth we had left, we decided to take strike …
​
It was 1888, and our protest had been successful
​
Respect and freedom is what we finally received.
​
London, Bow, a factory of labour was finally destroyed.
​
So, as worthless as people thought of us, we DID make a difference and gain the appreciation we deserved.
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.
​
The Matchgirls Memorial ran a schools poetry competition to celebrate the unveiling.
​
Judges were Alice Trickey-Roberts, English Heritage Education Visits Officer, Tanya Landman, Author, Emma Purshouse, Writer and
Poet.
​
Asiya from Blue Gate Fields Primary School won First prize in the Year 4 category with the poem, 'Matchgirls'.