These articles mark the passing of labour historians, many of whom have played a significant part in the Society for the Study of Labour History.
This week would have see the 75th birthday of Hywel Francis, President of Llafur from 2018 until his death in February. He was one of the founders of Llafur and its driving force whose vision ensured that the Welsh Labour History Society did not become a small gathering of academics but a vibrant gathering of ‘people’s remembrancers’. Continue reading Hywel Francis (1946 – 2021)
Archie Potts, who was one of the founding members of the North East Labour History Society in 1966, has died after a short illness. His long life was marked by a lasting commitment to his community, to working class politics and to the field of labour history. Archie was born in Sunderland on 27 January 1932. His family were hard working, proud trade unionists. In … Continue reading Archie Potts (1932 – 2021)
Nigel Todd who died suddenly last week will be sadly missed by his many friends in labour history circles as well as mourned by his close family and friends. Nigel was a veteran Labour councillor who served the city of Newcastle upon Tyne from 1980 onwards but he was also so much more: an anti-fascism activist, a stalwart supporter of the Co-operative Movement, a well … Continue reading Nigel Todd (1947-2021)
Lewis Minkin, who has died aged 84, wrote three authoritative, even definitive, books on the exercise of power and political influence inside the Labour Party. In researching The Labour Party Conference (1978), The Contentious Alliance (1991), and The Blair Supremacy (2014), Minkin accessed records available to few and clearly spoke to everyone; equally clearly, everyone spoke to him. Taken together, these three monumental works are … Continue reading Lewis Minkin (1936-2021)
The former Labour and Co-operative Party MP and MEP Stan Newens has died aged 91. Newens was a keen and knowledgeable labour historian throughout his adult life, and remained chair of the Labour Heritage group of which he had been a founder member until his death. Continue reading Stan Newens (1930-2021)
Chushichi Tsuzuki’s membership of the Society for the Study of Labour History was first recorded in the Bulletin of Spring 1962. He remained a Society member for many years – almost certainly well beyond 2006, when he and I attended our South Bank University conference marking the centenary of the Parliamentary Labour Party’s formation. Chushichi first left Japan in July 1952 as a Fulbright scholar … Continue reading Chushichi Tsuzuki (1926-2020)
Ian MacDougall had a remarkable impact on labour history with his pioneering interim bibliography of the Scottish working class movement and other labour records held in Scotland of 1965 and his subsequent Catalogue of Labour records in Scotland of 1975. His 1965 work had an impact on discussions within the Executive Committee of the Society for the Study of Labour History. There was no equivalent … Continue reading Ian MacDougal (1993-2020)
Peter Jackson, who died on 19 February in Panama, born on 14 October 1928 in Sheffield, was a member of the Society for the Study of Labour History from 1961 until at least 1968. At the time of joining, Peter was studying at the University of Liverpool in the Department of Social Science, which is where he registered for a PhD, eventually completed as’ Some … Continue reading Peter Michael Jackson (1928-2020)
It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Malcolm Chase – the great historian of British radical politics and the labour movement, particularly Chartism. Malcolm was active in SSLH for over forty years, occupying the role of Vice-President for some years. With a prolific career, some 37 years of it spent at the University of Leeds, Malcolm’s best known book, Chartism: A New History (2007) … Continue reading Malcolm Chase
Labour and social historians around the world will be saddened to hear of the death of the renowned J.F.C. Harrison, who has passed away at the age of 96. During his long and distinguished career, John held posts at the University of Leeds, University of Wisconsin and was Professor of Social History at the University of Sussex, where he was based until his retirement. He … Continue reading J.F.C. Harrison (1921-2018)
