British Miners' Delegation to the USSR

The album in this collection depicts a British Miners' Delegation on a visit to the USSR hosted by Soviet miners that took place between August and Octber 1926. The delegation was led by the secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, A J Cook. The album was originally in the possession of H C Stevens, a translator who was part of the British Delegation. The timing of the visit is significant as 1926 was the year of the British General Strike in which miners played an important role. The General Strike itself began and ended in May but the miners began their strike in late April and did not return to work until November. Therefore this visit to the USSR was happening at a very crucial time in labour relations and one in which the issue of British trade union relations with the Soviet Union was very sensitive, particularly since there had been controversy relating to Soviet contributions to strike funds.