Remembering The Battle of Lewes Road

Out now with the Socialist History Society Occasional Publications and with the support of Brighton and Hove Trades Council –

Remembering The Battle of Lewes Road – Brighton and the General Strike of 1926

Ernie Trory / Andy Durr – edited by Christian Hogsbjerg

Published April 2026

ISBN 9781917929028

‘On its centenary, this is a much-needed reproduction of writings on the events in Brighton of the General Strike of May 1926. It contains two pamphlets, written by Ernie Trory, the famous Communist and leader of the unemployed, and by Andy Durr, of the Brighton Trades Council, published in 1975 and 1976. Above all, it is an affirmation of the support which the working class of Brighton gave to the miners in their dispute with the coal owners and the Conservative government, and an homage to the 22 men who were imprisoned from two to six months for their attempt to prevent the tram sheds at Lewes Road being opened for strike-breaking purposes on 11 May 1926. Both pamphlets draw from the personal experiences of those involved, and the pamphlet finishes with Ernie Trory’s rewriting of the song   ”Sussex by the Sea’, written in the idiom of the strikers. It is an excellent tribute to the those who fought the foot and mounted police, and the fascists and ‘Black and Tan’ forces who sought to suppress the right to strike and force wage reductions on the miners.’

Prof Keith Lavbourn, author of The General Strike of 1926 (1993)

For how The Battle of Lewes Road is being commemorated as part of General Strike 100 in Brighton please see link below thanks

Commemorating the Battle of Lewes Road 1926