Mary Brooksbank (born Soutar; 15 December 1897 – 16 March 1978) was a Scottish mill worker, socialist, trade unionist and songwriter.[1] She was an active member of the Communist Party of Great Britain between 1920 and 1933, and spent three periods in prison as a result of her agitation.[1][2] She attended John Maclean's last meetings at the Scottish Labour College.[1][2][3]
Mary Brooksbank | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Soutar[1] 15 December 1897[1] |
| Died | 16 March 1978 (aged 80)[1] |
| Nationality | Scottish[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Mill worker, songwriter[1] |
| Known for | Socialist activism, trade unionism and songwriting[1] |
She is remembered today as a prominent figure in Dundee's labour movement.[1] She founded the Working Women Guild to fight for better health and social services in Dundee, securing a membership of over 300, and was heavily involved in October 1934 with the National Unemployed Workers Movement county march to Forfar, to lobby the County Council; contingents were raised from Dundee, Blairgowrie, Montrose, Ferryden and Arbroath.[1][4]
Early life
editMary Brooksbank was born in an Aberdeen slum, the oldest of either five or ten children, and came to Dundee when she was eight or nine years old.[2][4][5] She began working illegally in Dundee's jute mills as a bobbin shifter by the age of 12, and had her first experience of trade unionism at the age of 14, when the girls at her jute mill successfully marched for a 15% pay rise.[5][6]
Mary's father, Sandy Soutar (who died in 1953, aged 86), was from St Vigeans, Arbroath, and had been an active trade unionist amongst the dock workers, working with James Connolly.[1][2] Her mother, Rose Ann Soutar, née Gillan, was a fisher lassie and domestic servant.[1][2] It is said that the Soutar family was "effectively blacklisted in Dundee because of their trade union activities".[5]
Political life
editAt 21, Brooksbank rejected Roman Catholicism, became an atheist and was inspired by John McLean to join the Communist Party to fight for women's rights, equality, and the demise of capitalism.[2] She is quoted as saying:[5]
- “I have never had any personal ambitions. I have but one: to make my contribution to destroy the capitalist system.”
She was expelled from the Communist Party in 1933 as she was critical of Stalin, and became more sympathetic to Scottish nationalism.[1] John Maclean, whose classes she attended in Glasgow, was a major proponent of an independent "Scottish workers' republic".
She continued to be politically active to the end of her life, in campaigning for better housing and for pensioners' rights.[2]
Music
editFamily sing-a-longs nurtured Brooksbank's love of music.[citation needed] She sang, played the violin and wrote songs.[1] When money was low, she took the ferry from Dundee to Tayport and sang for money in the street.[1] In the 1960s and 1970s she sang on radio and television.[1]
Most of her songs were about the life of the working-class mill workers of Dundee, mostly women.[1] She called these songs "Mill Songs". They were full of detail and sympathy for the struggle in which these hard-working, poorly paid women were engaged to feed and care for their families.[7]
Her most famous song was "Jute Mill Song" or "Oh Dear Me".:[1][8]
- Jute Mill Song (Mary Brooksbank)
- Oh dear me, the mill's gannin' fast
- The puir wee shifters canna get a rest
- Shiftin' bobbins coorse and fine
- They fairly mak' ye work for your ten and nine
- Oh dear me, I wish the day was done
- Rinnin' up and doon the Pass it is nae fun
- Shiftin', piecin', spinnin' warp weft and twine
- Tae feed and clad my bairnie affen ten and nine
- Oh dear me, the warld is ill divided
- Them that works the hardest are the least provided
- I maun bide contented, dark days or fine
- For there's nae much pleasure livin' affen ten and nine
- Repeat 1
You can hear it sung by Brookshanks and later folksingers at the Scots Language Centre: Scotslanguage.com - Work Songs.
Her original notebook of songs and poems is part of the Kinnear Collection held by the archives at the University of Dundee.[9] The same institution also holds a collection of her papers.[10] Ewan MacColl recorded some of her songs.[1]
Death
editBrooksbank died at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on 16 March 1978.[1] A library in Dundee was named in her honour.[1][2][3] When the library was closed, the Brooksbank Centre on Pitairlie Road was named after her.[4] A verse from her Jute Mill Song is inscribed in Iona marble on the Scottish Parliament Building's Canongate Wall, which displays quotations from Scottish writers and poets.[11]
Commemoration
editA rearrangement of the Jute Mill Song or Oh Dear Me was created by the American artists Brian House and Sue Huang of collaborative Knifeandfork for a performance installation at West Ward Works and Verdant Works in 2016 for the NEoN Digital Arts Festival.[12]
In 2022, to mark the 125th anniversary of her birth, the Abertay Historical Society published a collection of essays celebrating her life and work.[13][14]
In September 2023, Knights Theatre held a celebration event “Oh Dear Me: The Inspirational Mary Brooksbank” at Dundee Fringe and a creative writing workshop at Verdant Works Museum. [15]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Smith, Graham (23 September 2004). "Brooksbank [née Soutar], Mary Watson (1897–1978), revolutionary and songwriter". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/54394. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 27 December 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chris Bambery (2014). A People's History of Scotland. Verso Books. pp. 240–. ISBN 978-1-78168-284-5. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Mary Brooksbank - Revolutionary, Poet and Songwriter". Alternative Perth. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ a b c Stevenson, Graham. "Brooksbank Mary". Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Mary Brooksbank". Dundee Women's Trail. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ Knox, William (2006). Lives of Scottish women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 205. ISBN 9780748617883.
- ^ The Dundee Women’s Trail celebrates just a few amazing women whose lives touched this city. Dundee Women's Trail: 25 Footsteps over 4 Centuries, Mary Henderson, www.dundeewomenstrail.org.uk 2008.
- ^ Scots Language Centre
- ^ "Item MS 103/3/6/1 - 'Poems and Songs'". University of Dundee Archive Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Collection MS 442 - Mary Brooksbank". University of Dundee Archive Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Canongate Wall quotations". www.parliament.scot. 30 December 2019.[dead link]
- ^ "Knifeandfork fuse music and technology at NEoN Digital Arts Festival". northeastofnorth.com. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ Farley, Erin; Tolland, Siobhan, eds. (2022). In One Woman’s Life – Celebrating Mary Brooksbank. Dundee: Abertay Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-900019-64-7.
- ^ Ritchie, Gayle (15 December 2022). "Mary Brooksbank: Political firebrand-turned-songwriter from Aberdeen on a mission to destroy the capitalist system". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "HOME". KNIGHTS THEATRE.