Keith Laybourn writes: John Halstead is one of those rare individuals genuinely committed to the development of working-class citizenship through the extension of educational opportunities. This is reflected in his support for the active involvement of working-class adults in their own history, and the history-from-below movement which began in earnest in the 1960s. Read more

Emmet O’Connor writes: I first met John Halstead at a labour history conference in Oxford Polytechnic in 1982. There was a gloomy backdrop to the gathering as the left reeled from the first onslaught of Thatcherism. John and I agreed that something fundamental was changing and we had seen the end of the back-and-forth ‘Butskellism’ of Britain’s post-1945 consensus politics. When would a Labour government return to office and what would it look like when it did? What state would the trade union movement be in? Read more

Mike Mecham writes: During the pause for reflection at John Halstead’s funeral, Coleman Hawkins’s sublime playing on the standard ‘Body and soul’ could be heard in the silence. It was not just a masterpiece of the jazz John so loved but a choice that also seemed to epitomize his life. For whatever John did, from cooking to labour history, it was always pursued with his body and soul. Read more