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May Day Union Parade In Ladysmith During The Great Strike

Black and white photograph of men in civilian clothes parading downhill along an unpaved street carrying a banner with the wording ‘In Union Is Strength’. Some men wear prominent lapel pins.

Source: Ladysmith Archives

Date: May 1913

On May Day 1913, thousands of miners, their families and union supporters converged on Ladysmith for the largest parade and display of community solidarity the Island had ever seen. A brass band led the way. Banners proclaimed the children as “The Hope of the Future,” “In Union Is Strength,” and “Workers of the World Unite.”