Sean Creighton, who has died aged 76, was a community activist and independent historian who worked extensively on the working-class history of his native South London, and in particular on Black history in the area, but also made a significant and lasting contribution to the study of labour history in the North East of England.

Born in Wandsworth, Sean gained a history degree from the University of Sheffield in 1969 before returning to the capital where over a forty-year career he worked in local government and the voluntary sector, often with a focus on housing issues. He was for many years self employed, offering his services as a research project worker to a wide range of community projects.

But, in parallel, Sean was also a committed activist – with Wandsworth Poverty Action Group in the 1970s, and later as a school governor and community association and law centre volunteer. He also served on the committee of the Labour Heritage Committee including for a time as its secretary, and as secretary of the Black and Asian Studies Association.

In his work as a project consultant, Sean was central to the North East Popular Politics Project which ran from 2010-12, creating the architecture for a huge online database at the centre of the archive that remains an essential resource to everyone researching North East history, and continuing to edit it thereafter.

After retiring in 2012, Sean was able to devote more time to his historical interests. He self-published extensively on the radical and labour movement history of South London, including pamphlets on John Archer, Battersea’s first Black mayor in the 1920s, and on peace and anti-war campaigning in Croydon. He organized walks and talks on Black and labour history, and was a regular attendee at Chartism Day events.

John Charlton, who led the Popular Politics project, wrote on the North East Labour History Society Facebook page: ‘Sean will be remembered for his gentle, good humoured manner and research tenacity. He will be missed.’