大象传媒

Will Thorne鈥檚 story is a remarkable one. Born in Hockley, he started his first job as a wheel turner in a rope factory but went on strike at the ripe old age of six after a dispute over his wages. From there he moved onto the brick works (as featured in the clip, animated by two students from Newport Animation School, Daisy Gould and Kate Broadhurst). He quit that job after it nearly crippled him.
In 1882 he moved to London, where he worked in a gas works and became politically active. He was taught to read and write by Karl Marx鈥檚 daughter Eleanor and went on to found the National Gas Workers Union. He stood as an MP and was elected to parliament in 1906. He finally retired from political life in 1946 aged 87.