In the mid 19th Century the expansion of railway companies and lines brought about an information revolution as activists working to improve conditions and rights for working people could travel quickly, and cheap newsprint was more accessible to the working classes. The ‘Rochdale principles’ spread to different communities in the UK and saw an explosion of small independent co-ops before the 1860’s. These little ventures were often in cottages or disused buildings until they had a big enough membership to expand. Part of increasing the membership meant communicating with the population and spreading the word that members could benefit through controlling their society.
Spoken word as an art form had long been harnessed by early working class radicals to communicate new ideas because until the 1870’s the masses still had less access to education at the state level and literacy levels were lower. Because of the need to use emotive language and forms which appealed to this audience, public speakers (sometimes called ‘Orators’) used ‘plain language’, regional accents and phrases as well as song and poetry to get their message accross.
There is evidence in our archive of harnessing this format and encouraging others to express themselves through the arts to keep the co-operative spirit alive. There were a number of guides published by the Co-operative Union from the 1870's giving advice on language to use to encourage membership and loyalty to the co-op in advertising and selling as well as organising meetings and events. Music, singing and the use of literature is encouraged as a way for people to feel they are participating.
“ It may be that propagandists, like poets, are born and not made. If so, it is our task to discover them! A few simple and telling illustrations of the many advantages of co-operation can be fittingly introduced; and lastly, the concluding note, carried to such a high plane as the speaker is capable of – is that the co-operative movement is but a stepping-stone to the attainment of the ideal state to which the eyes of all enlightened men and women turn...sometimes in despair but never in vain whilst the principles of co-operation are capable of being extended into everyday life” George E Griffiths (Handbook for Propagandists and Canvassers, 1926)
In 1994 there was a national ‘Co-op Caring’ poetry festival (ages 8 to 80) to mark 150 years of the Rochdale Society and an anthology was published with the winning entries. One of the youth entrants was ‘ALFA’ from Bootle, on Merseyside.
"Together we buy
from a peg to a pie
Together we sell
pepper – even gel.
Together we care
that prices stay fair
Together we dare…
to co-op.
Together we consume
marmalade and perfume
Together we control
money and soul.
Together we boom
when recessions loom
Together we strive…
Together we congratulate
together we celebrate
The Rochdale Pioneers of 1844
who opened the door...
for us in 1994."
The Heritage Trust were recently contacted by Maria - originally from Stoke-on-Trent, now living in Salford, who has been an employee at the Coop Support Centre in Manchester for sixteen years as a data delivery manager within the Digital, Technology and Data department.
Maria was looking for some information and inspiration to write about the Pioneers herself as she is also a poet. Maria’s poetry draws from her experiences growing up in the 1980s and 1990s but also from the experiences of others in the past. She’s recently performed her works on BBC Radio Manchester and is currently compiling her first chapbook. This poem has been shared with her colleagues at the Co-operative Group.
"In the mill town of Rochdale, where industry reigns,
Nineteenth century weavers are striving for change.
Working all hours, yet living in debt,
Bound by the credit, the shopkeepers collect.
How to take a step forward, escape from the trap,
Have savings to show for the grind and the graft?
Now here's an idea, why not start their own shop,
Selling goods to themselves from their very own stock?
Funded from wages, with the aim to invest,
A profit to make with a healthy interest.
The idea takes hold, and it doesn't stop there,
More folk become members, more profit, more shared.
But who are these folk, these entrepreneurs?
Why, the workers of Rochdale, who've been struggling for years!
In the name of self -help, the community gains,
The more they put in, the more they attain.
And they each have a voice on how it should run,
Democracy thriving, a dictatorship shunned.
It marks a new movement, and social reform,
For this is the moment the Co-op is born.
This isn't a business, just after the purse,
It's honest and fair and puts principles first.
One store becomes two, in response to demand,
The future looks bright for the cooperative brand.
All gender, creeds, race, it takes care to include,
It welcomes its members, all backgrounds and views.
Branching out into wholesale and manufacturing goods,
Looking after its staff, as a good business should.
Campaigning for progress, education and health,
Raising cash for communities, in need of the help.
It tackles injustice, speaking out in the fight,
A call to end slavery and violation of rights.
The people of Rochdale, pioneered a new norm,
A member owned business, which took the whole world by storm."
Maria Angotti, 2023.
Thank you to Maria for sharing this with us and contributing to a long tradition of expression within the movement.