The Society for the Study of Labour History is sorry to hear of the death of Stephen Bird. Stephen was born in 1946, second son of Michael and Margaret Bird and educated at Harrow School in north-west London. He found his vocation working as an archivist for the Labour Party at Walworth Road, London. He liked to tell people that he was part of the collections and when the archive moved northwards to join the relocated National Museum of Labour History in Manchester in the early 1990s, he moved too.

Stephen will be remembered by a generation of researchers, for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Labour Party archives and for his unique and often animated insights into the current state of the Labour party and contemporary politics.  He was also an important part of the professionalisation of labour (and Labour) archives in the UK and internationally.  Stephen served for many years as the UK representative of the International Association of Labour History Institutions where he had an extensive network of friends and associates, he also attended several labour history conferences in the United States. Closer to home he was a founder member of Labour Heritage, an organisation which promotes the history of the Labour Movement, particularly among Labour Party members.

Friends and former colleagues are invited to attend the funeral which is likely to be early March in Norfolk.  Please contact Darren Treadwell (People’s History Museum or Janette Martin (The John Rylands Library) for further information.