Cramlington Library - Local History Month Talk with Ed Waugh

May 2026 marks the centenary of the 1926 General Strike - the biggest rupture in British society since the civil war of the 1640s.

The working class withdrew their labour and the country ground to a halt.

Arguably the biggest story of those historical nine days in May 1926 was when striking miners in Northumberland inadvertently derailed the Flying Scotsman. No-one was injured and only one person was slightly injured yet eight Cramlington miners were sentenced to penal servitude for 48 years.

Playwright Ed Waugh (Wor Bella, Hadaway Harry, Carrying David) will give a talk about The Cramlington Train Wreckers at The Hub, Cramlington. The fascinating illustrated talk will also include the (1970) 30-minute BBC film Yesterday's Witness during which the surviving train wreckers give their version of events.

Ed's play The Cramlington Train Wreckers transfers to Newcastle Theatre Royal in July 2026. His show Centenary - songs, comedy and sketches - which commemorates the first day of the 1926 General Strike is on at Glasshouse (formerly Sage) Gateshead on Monday, May 4. Both shows are must-see.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Cramlington Library, The Hub at Cramlington, Cramlington, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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