2-720-493 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Keir Hardie speaking at a peace rally in Trafalgar Square, London, 2 August 1914, (1933). James Keir Hardie (1856-1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and founder member of the Labour Party. As well as championing wokers' rights, he was also a prominent supporter of the suffragettes' campaign for votes for women. A pacifist, Hardie was vehemently opposed to the First World War and unsuccessfully attempted, in collaboration with socialists in other countries, to organise a general strike to stop the conflict. He spoke against the war at demonstrations across Britain and supported the stance of conscientious objectors. Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August and entered the First World War. From "The Pageant of the Century". [Odhams Press Ltd, 1933]