Thanks, Alan
You may be correct in the source of the pics being the Garston & Woolton Weekly News although I'm a tad sceptical as the pics would take up a great deal of print space in a non-specialist local newspaper without attracting a great deal of reader interest. Even so, do you know if the Garston & Woolton Weekly News is available online so that I may check?
You have mentioned the "Ludlow Scabs" previously although apart from your nan's story neither of us have discovered other confirmatory evidence. We need also to bear in mind that after 1880 Garston had 2 copper works: Bibby's and the Crown. It's not clear which one your nan was talking about, or both.
Bibby's was originally established by John Bibby across the water at Poulton cum Seacombe as part of his business with Richard Nevill, who owned the Swansea Copper Works. My gt gt grandfather David Owens (and William Roberts, the subsequent owner of W. Roberts & Co., the Crown Copper works, also in Window Lane) was recruited from Morriston, Swansea, by Bibby in the 1830s. If you look at the 1841 Census for Poulton you will see that many of the workers were recruited from different parts of Wales. In 1865, in order to accommodate the then new Birkenhead docks, Bibby's business was transferred to Garston. My gt gt grandfather and his family followed and by some time in the 1870s or 80s my gt grandfather and namesake (b.1844) became foreman copper rollerman, and of course, by that time, English of Welsh descent. The same was true of Roberts' business e.g. Peter Davies, who took over from Roberts, was my gt grandfather's wife's brother. He and his family hailed from Bagilt, where the Greenfield Copper Works was located outside Holywell, Flintshire. Many other Crown workers were also recruited from the same area of North Wales.
Now, my gt grandfather and namesake died in 1923. Probably, by 1916 his son Johnny (in the pics) had become foreman. However, in 1906 Bibby's had been acquired by the Broughton Copper Co., of Manchester although it continued under the Bibby name with John Hartley Bibby managing director. In 1934, it was taken over by ICI the same firm having bought the Crown Works and closed it down the previous year. This of course was the time of the Great Depression. It might well be that a strikes and/or industrial disputes at one or both of the copper works occurred in this context of rising unemployment and dire economic conditions. Swift (1937: 171, 190) states that the ICI takeover of Bibby's and the Crown "was a severe blow to Garston" with numerous workers being transferred elsewhere. Since your nan was born 1907, she might well have witnessed and been involved in all this. It could well be that scabs were shipped in from Wales and elsewhere at this time to displace the existing workers, many of whom were of Welsh descent.
A fascinating story that is an important part of Garston's history. If only I could get RootChat to load photos more efficiently, I would attach a couple of cuttings from the Garston & Woolton Weekly News handed down to me by my grandfather, which show the chief honchos in the Bibby firm, including my gt grandfather and namesake.
Best
John