(Image: Provided)
A North East shipyard has marked the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow March with a commemorative event.
Balaena Tyne hosted a gathering in Hebburn, honouring the 200 men who marched from Jarrow to London in 1936 to protest unemployment and demand a better future for their community.
Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, unveiled a commemorative plaque at the shipyard to honour the marchers and the generations of workers they represent.
Among those in attendance was 96-year-old Jim Cuthbert, who, as a five-year-old boy, watched the marchers set out from Jarrow with his father.
(Image: Provided)
Ninety years later, Mr Cuthbert returned to help commemorate the marchers.
Alan Donnelly, Chairman of Balaena, said: "The Jarrow March is woven into the history of this part of the North East.
"Having spent so much of my own working life representing the people and industrial communities of Tyne and Wear, it is a privilege to be here today to remember those 200 men and what they stood for.
"The marchers were fighting for work, for industry and for the future of their community.
"Those principles remain enormously relevant today.
"Shipbuilding and engineering continue to provide skilled employment here on the Tyne, and at Balaena we are determined to invest in those skills, create opportunities for the next generation and ensure that this region’s proud shipbuilding heritage has a strong future."
Schoolchildren from the local area also attended, uniting different generations in remembering a key event in the region’s industrial and social history.
Mr Donnelly said: "What makes today particularly poignant is having Jim here with us.
"As a five-year-old boy, he stood with his father and watched the men set off on their journey.
"Ninety years later, he has returned to commemorate them alongside local schoolchildren who are now learning that story for themselves."
The event concluded with the laying of flowers and the unveiling of the plaque, creating a permanent tribute at Balaena Tyne to the marchers.
(Image: Provided)
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Balaena Tyne is part of the Balaena Group, which employs more than 2,000 people across the UK and Gibraltar.
The group continues to invest in apprenticeships and the next generation of maritime and engineering talent.
The Jarrow March, also known as the Jarrow Crusade, remains a defining moment in the history of the North East and a symbol of the fight for dignity and opportunity.