1903 – THE MATCH GIRLS WITH ROTTING JAWS, LONDON This photo was taken in 1903 inside the Bryant & May match factory in Bow, East London. Look at the young women’s faces. Their jaws are swollen, rotting, glowing in the dark. They are teenagers — 14, 15, 16 years old. This disease was called “Phossy Jaw.” Their job was dipping matches into white phosphorus.White phosphorus is poison. Every day they breathed it. First their teeth fell out. Then their gums turned green and black. Then their entire jawbone rotted and had to be cut out by a doctor with no painkiller. Some died screaming.
The factory owners knew. They knew since 1880 that white phosphorus kills.But it was cheap. Safer red phosphorus cost 3 times more. So they kept using white. These girls worked 14 hours, 6 days a week, for 4 shillings. If they talked, they were fined. If they dropped a match, they were beaten.
Their faces glowed at night from the phosphorus — they called them “ghosts” on the streets of London. In 1888, 1,400 of them went on strike. All teenagers. Led by a 16-year-old girl named Sarah Chapman. They marched to Parliament with their swollen faces and said: “We would rather starve than rot.”
London was shocked. And finally, in 1908, Britain banned white phosphorus — because of these girls. This was not medieval times. This was 1903 in London, the richest empire on earth. They were just teenage girls working in a factory… but their courage forced an entire nation to change.
Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
canisgallicus 