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Burston School Strike

THE longest strike in history was celebrated by hundreds of activists on the church green in the Norfolk town of Burston. In the spring of 1914 the pupils of Burston Village school walked out in protest at the sacking of their teachers, Tom and Kitty Higdon. The two teachers were being punished by the local gentry and church authorities for Tom’s trade union and socialist views. The strike and subsequent boycott lasted for 25 years and since 1984, the commemoration has been an annual event.