Robert George Gammage facts for kids
Robert George Gammage (born around 1821 – died January 7, 1888) was a British surgeon. He was also a very important leader in a political movement called Chartism during the 1830s and 1840s. Gammage also wrote the first history book about the Chartist movement.
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Robert Gammage's Early Life and Activism
Robert George Gammage was born in Northampton, England, around 1821. His parents were Charlotte and Robert Gammage. When he was 12, he started learning to be a coachbuilder. This was like an informal apprenticeship.
Gammage helped start the Northampton branch of the Chartist "Working Men's Association." He began speaking at public meetings to share Chartist ideas. Because of this, he lost his job. He then started traveling to find work, but he also became more active as a Chartist speaker.
Speaking Out in Brixworth
In June 1839, Gammage walked six miles from Northampton to the village of Brixworth. He planned to speak at a public meeting there. Before the meeting, Gammage and two friends went to a church service. The local priest, Charles Frederic Watkins, told them off. He threatened to have them arrested if their meeting went ahead.
Despite the priest's threats, Gammage remembered that hundreds of people came to the roadside meeting later that day. The priest tried to get the police officer to arrest the speakers, but he was not successful.
Traveling for Work and Chartism
On February 6, 1840, Gammage left Northampton. He traveled to many towns, including Newport Pagnell, Bedford, Cambridge, and Hertford. He stayed with friends and family along the way. In London, he stayed with his uncle and aunt for six weeks.
He continued his journey through towns like Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Brighton, and Southampton. In Southampton, he heard about work in Portsmouth, but he was not hired because he lacked experience. He then traveled to Bath and finally found work in Sherbourne.
Gammage noted that both Devizes and Sherborne were not friendly towards Chartism. He wrote about how he received the Chartist newspaper, Northern Star, every Sunday. He shared it with friends, and they realized Chartism was not as bad as some people said.
Unfortunately, work became hard to find in Sherborne. After eight months, Gammage had to leave again. He wrote about how difficult it was to find a new job. He traveled about 1,400 miles across England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland before he found work again.
His exact route is not fully clear. He visited Halifax and Bradford. By New Year's Day, 1841, he was in Edinburgh. He then took a boat to Ireland, visiting Belfast and Dublin. When he returned to London, he finally found a job in Chelmsford.
In late 1841, he was fired from his job in Chelmsford because of his political activities. He returned to Northampton, traveling through Ipswich and Cambridge.
His job in Northampton lasted only three months. He started traveling again, passing through Leicester, which he described as being in "constant ferment" due to severe hardship. In Sheffield, he met the Chartist leader George Julian Harney. In Leeds, he worked for seven weeks and spoke at meetings there and in nearby towns.
He briefly stopped in Harrogate. He finally arrived in Newcastle in September 1842. During his travels since Chelmsford, he had become a more active speaker. In Newcastle, he was advised to become a full-time Chartist lecturer.
Robert Gammage's Chartist Leadership
Gammage traveled widely in late 1842 and throughout 1843. He visited the north west, the midlands, and the south of England, arriving in London by Christmas. He also visited Scotland in the autumn of 1843. He returned to Newcastle in November 1843. He stayed in the north east for several months in early 1844, having made connections with other activists there. He returned to Northampton by the end of the year.
In 1845, he moved to Stony Stratford after a disagreement with the Northampton Chartists. He worked first as a hawker (someone who sells goods by traveling) and then as a shoemaker. In 1848, he became involved in a new wave of public protests. He lost his job and moved to Buckingham. During this time, he gave lectures in many towns in the area.
After a period of less activity, Gammage was elected to the executive committee of the National Chartist Association in 1852. After this, he again traveled widely as a speaker. He even ran as a candidate in Cheltenham during the General Election of 1852.
In 1854, he had a disagreement with another Chartist leader, Ernest Jones. As a result, Gammage was not re-elected to the Chartist executive. He then moved to Newcastle and Sunderland. He lived there from 1854 to 1887. During this time, he became a doctor and mostly worked for friendly societies, which were groups that helped people with medical costs.
In 1874, Gammage helped start the Manhood Suffrage League. This group worked for the right of all men to vote. In 1887, he had to retire because of poor health. He returned to Northampton. He died there on January 7, 1888, after falling while trying to get out of the way of a tram.
Gammage as a Historian of Chartism
Robert Gammage was one of the first people to write a history of the Chartist movement. Historians like Gareth Stedman Jones have noted that these early Chartist historians often focused a lot on disagreements and arguments between the movement's main leaders.
