| Original caption: “The Kent delegation of Hunger Marchers as they left Erith to join in the general march on London on Nov. 3, 1932. More than 2,000 marchers from all parts of the country converged on London to protest the application of the means test for the unemployed. Now, however, the majority of them are en route home, their leader arrested and their cause un furthered. The test was a criteria that had to be met to receive benefits.” The Kent contingent of the National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM) on their way to the 4th National Hunger March in Hyde Park, London. The 1932 Hunger March was the largest of 6 national hunger marches in 1922, 1929, 1930, 1932 and 1936. The Kent Contingent, about a 150 people, arrived in Deptford, London, on October 25. The national Labour Party, despite its name, actively opposed the march. Local Labor Party councils were more supportive. NUWM and Communist Leaders gave speeches in Trafalgar Square when the marchers assembled in London. The 1932 Hunger March was followed by days of clashes between the Police and unemployed workers across central London. Some 100,000 people turned out from across the United Kingdom to greet the Hunger Marchers at the end of the march in mid-November, 1932, with 70,000 police mobilized in response. 75 people were injured, some seriously, when mounted police were used against the marchers and their supporters. The Police counted on informers within the NUWM to pass on information about their activities. 2 1/2 1,000,000 people were unemployed by December 1930, just after the last National Hunger March. 37,000 joined NUWM by December 1931. On October 8, 1931, the national government, a coalition of Tories and J. Ramsay MacDonald (October 12, 1866 – November 9, 1937), the Labour Party Prime Minister, instituted a Means Test that determined if people could receive benefits. The NUWM leader, Walter “Wal” Hannington (June 17, 1896 – November 17, 1966) was arrested on November 1, 1932, after his remarks in Trafalgar Square, for “attempting to cause disaffection among members of the Metropolitan Police Force.” Hannington claimed that the Police conducted illegal surveillance, interference of the Royal Mail, and that they had purposefully sexually assaulted women typists in the NUWM Headquarters, where he was arrested. “They have been molested inthe streets by police officers and insulted almost as they were prostitutes. Hannington charged that if the court upheld the charge the term free speech in this country would become “a mockery and a hollow sham.” He was convicted and sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0460.jpg |
| Image Size | 263.01 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1283 x 1029 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | October 20, 1932 |
| Location | |
| City | Erith |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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