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Awakening the nation: The rise and fall of the middle classes union in interwar Britain

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Time: 5.00pm - 6.30pm
Venue: Room 1004, John Galsworthy building, Penrhyn Road campus, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE
Price: free
Speaker(s): Dr Steve Woodbridge, Kingston University

Awakening the nation: The rise and fall of the middle classes union in interwar Britain

During the 1920s and 1930s an organisation was formed in Britain called the 'Middle Classes Union' (MCU), which was designed by its founders to lobby and fight for the 'man in the middle' or the 'middle interest' in society. It wanted to 'awaken the nation' to the plight of the supposedly hard pressed middle classes. In 1922 it re-titled itself the 'National Citizens Union' (NCU) and continued to campaign for the middle classes across the nation. For a brief period in the 1920s it became quite an extensive national organisation but drew much of its strength mainly in the south. In the 1930s it went into steady decline, increasingly showing fascist tendencies.

Steve Woodbridge will provide an overview of the MCU based on his recent research, and explore the organisation at national level but also with particular reference to branches in the Thames Valley area.

For further information about this event:

Contact: Marisa Linton
Email: m.linton@kingston.ac.uk

Directions

Directions to Room 1004, John Galsworthy building, Penrhyn Road campus, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE:

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