
2022 Year 4 First Prize
Matchgirls by Asiya
My work was tough in the factory,
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Aching legs and sore arms, my everyday feelings.
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The girls around me, as young as 6 years old.
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Cancer, spreading through our bones, devouring us each.
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How we craved justice, you wouldn’t comprehend.
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Gritting the few teeth we had left, we decided to take strike …
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It was 1888, and our protest had been successful
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Respect and freedom is what we finally received.
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London, Bow, a factory of labour was finally destroyed.
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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.
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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
Poet.
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Asiya from Blue Gate Fields Primary School won First prize in the Year 4 category with the poem, 'Matchgirls'.