The Good
Neighbour
is a new kind of history walk; a piece of street theatre starring the fire that
destroyed Arding & Hobbs in 1909,
George Neighbour one of the 12 who died in it, John Burns as political firebrand, MP, and
firefighter, and the rioters and victims of last year’s riots at the Junction.
All set within the context of the changes in Battersea from rural farming and
marshland to industrial and post
industrial, and the multi-faceted functions of the old Town Hall now Battersea
Arts Centre; and lots of music and singing. Adults went down to the Junction
and back fortified with umbrellas against the rain and with hot chocolate and
Indian nibbles. Meanwhile back at the
Arts Centre children and their parents experienced an indoor tour and
activities. The event ended with group singing. A definite must to experience.
I will say no more about the detail until after its final performance on 4 November,
as there are plenty of imaginative surprises. It was nice to hear inn the script
some of the information I provided the production team. It is so imaginative
that the approach can be adapted anywhere. To find out more about times of
performances etc go to Battersea Arts Centre: www.bac.org/whats-on/good.neighbour.
Monday 22 October 2012
A Local Economic Strategy for Croydon and the Croydon North By-Election
Having
moved into Norbury in July 2011 I find myself faced with having to decide how
to vote in the forthcoming by-election. It’s a difficult choice. Should I vote
Labour despite my continuing reservations about what it did under Blair and
Brown and the as yet far off distancing from that legacy. Do I vote Labour
because not to do so might help the Tory get in even though the Labour majority
in 2010 is over 16,000? Do I vote based on who the Labour candidate is, her/his
track record and vision for the future?
And if that record and vision is flawed should I protest vote instead for one
of the progressive minority candidates?
The
way Labour treats two policy areas may help me make up my mind. Firstly, the
future of the Croydon (and Wandsworth) Libraries. The results of the joint
tendering will be known in the next few weeks. The by-election provides an
opportunity to put pressure on the Croydon Tories to think very carefully about
whether to accept a bid and finalise a contract or to abandon out-sourcing the service. It also provides an
opportunity to obtain promises about safeguarding the funding for the heritage
and archives service. This is vital given the failure of the Tory controlled
Council to value local cultural organisations and heritage. Cultural activities have a particularly important
role to play at a time of recession, growing depression among those adversely
affected. Although also being a Tory controlled Borough Wandsworth sees
heritage as an important part of its activities, as I know as a member of its
Partnership group with local amenity and historical organisations.
The
by –election also provides an opportunity for a detailed debate about the
future of the local economy and Labour will need to put forward a set of robust
proposals rather than generalised waffle.
The
statistic that one in four Croydon kids are in the poverty trap, alongside the
collapsing economy in Croydon, the lack of action to support the business
victims of last year’s riots, makes it increasingly urgent for the development
of a local economic strategy for the Borough which will address the real needs
of the local people and not the profits that developers think they may be able
to make.
Poverty
takes many forms. Low income is just one factor. Other factors include long
term health problems, as first identified by Professor Peter Townsend at the
Child Poverty Action Group in the 1970s (‘the inequalities of health’), at a
time that the late Malcolm Wicks and I were active members. Croydon North needs a new MP who will continue
to work on the economic and anti-poverty challenge, continuing the real legacy
of Malcolm Wicks, not just paying lip service to it.
Croydon’s
Health and Wellbeing Board’s strategy for 2013-18 notes that people with long
term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and respiratory problems are
the most intensive users of local health services, and the numbers will grow.
The
electoral wards which experience the highest child poverty are Fieldway (46%),
New Addington (40%), Broad Green and Selhurst (36%), Woodside and S. Norwood
(33%), Waddon 31%, Thorton Heath and West Thornton (29%). Norbury is 24%.
Should we be
surprised? Back in 2004 I undertook a
project for what became South London Law Centres assessing the incidence of social
deprivation including Croydon. Although Croydon was not in the worst tranche of
local authority areas marked by social deprivation, there were a number of wards which resulted in the
Borough being included in the 88 Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy Boroughs
allocated special funding. The Government’s 2000 analysis of deprivation in measured
every ward and local authority area in England. It combined a number of
indicators relating to income, employment, health deprivation and disability,
education skills and training, housing and geographical access to services into
a single deprivation score for each area. Croydon had 8 wards in the most
deprived deciles: worst 10% Fieldway; worst 20% New Addington and Broad Green;
worst 30% Whitehorse Manor, West Thornton , Thornton Heath, Upper Norwood and
Bensham Manor. Clearly it appears that significant improvements have not
happened.
The
ConDem Government’s ruthless cuts are particularly being targeted at those
living in poverty so the situation will deteriorate.
The
Council seems obsessed with the grotesque plans of developers to build yet more
unaffordable high-rise apartment blocks, and replace perfectly adequate retail
centres, concentrated in the Town Centre, none of which address the real needs
of the Borough.
A
key issue is how can new jobs of the right kind
be created, rather than low paid
and insecure ones, or ones which suck in workers from a wide catchment area and
which do not benefit those wanting work near where they live? Retail does not have to consists of low
quality/pay jobs. As John Lewis and Waitrose show it is not just being members
of the partnership that is important, but also training, so that pride in the service and the visual
tidiness and cleanliness of the stores. The downside for many people however is
that both stores are in the higher price bracket and therefore unaffordable. The Co-op is more expensive than its main
rivals. It may claim to be good with food but it does too much promotion of
booze, crisps, sweets and chocolate. It clear that store management is muddled
and unfocussed, and that staff lack motivation and training.
Economic
activity starts with small businesses. If small businesses can survive the
first 18 months they have the potential to last and some develop into the next
generation of medium sized enterprises. The ideas the creation of a digital hub and a
‘tech city’ cluster of IT buildings in the Town Centre could help stimulate new
small businesses as well as provide a solution for empty or underused office
blocks. But it is probably dependent on landlords being prepared to offer cheap
rentals. The 3 year business rate relief scheme being offered by the Council
and the Great London Authority may ease that element of business costs but may stimulate landlords to put rents up
by the amount of the saving. Cashflow is often the problem facing the survival
of businesses, made worse at the moment with banks calling in loans/overdrafts
with little notice.
A
local economic strategy that is comprehensive needs to start from a careful
analysis of the economic, social and environmental needs of local people and
businesses in Croydon, both for the Borough as a whole but also for each
neighbourhood. This will become possible once the in-depth local data from the
2011 Census becomes available for analysis.
A strategy also needs to factor in the community dimension, and look at
alternative ideas suggested by organisations like New Economics Foundation, the
Transition Towns movement, Spacemakers, the Meanwhile Project, and the
experiences involved in the revitalisation of Brixton Market and the West
Norwood Feast. It needs to take into account the creative elements of the
former Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy of the 2000s and anti-poverty strategies
from earlier decades. Re-visiting previous initiatives such as the 1990s Living
Over the Shop can be important to local shopkeepers with underused upper
floors.
An
important element is building policy and services on the assessed needs of
individuals rather than shoe-horning them into generalised service provision.
The importance of this was strongly highlighted in 2001 RAMSEP study
examining the process of
‘impoverishment’. It suggests that there
are three types of poverty: (1) Intermittent/transitory: borders on
non-poverty; (2) Overall poverty: involving serious lack of resources, use of
survival strategies, and optimism, weak social ties; and (3) Extreme poverty:
involves resignation so that there is less control over the environment and evidence loss of
identity. Individuals react differently to their deprivation. RAMSEP suggests
that reactions involve different levels of loss of control of identify, caused
by (1) intensity of material deprivation – low availability of goods enjoyed
and/or basic services benefited from; (2) loss of engagement in informal social
networks and with formal social networks; and (3) lack of will and capacity to
act. It ‘is often possible to enter a vicious circle of impoverishment due to
an illness, due to the lack of professional help, due to unstable housing
conditions, due to a high crime rate in the areas, etc’. The ConDem assault on
every group that comes under the umbrella of RAMSEP’s analysis demonstrates
their failure to understand how individuals are adversely affected by their
experiences and circumstances.
Going
back to providing a digital hub, perhaps the advocates could offer new types of
service: free support for local
businesses to have websites and email systems set up in a way that supports the
ability to trade between each other; and one for community and voluntary organisations
to notify each other of their concerns, services,
activities and events.
The
Croydon North by-election enables the leading candidates to spell out what
their economic development and anti-poverty strategies will be. It would also
be good if they would promise if elected to initiate an inquiry into the
economic and social state of Croydon North through which to develop ideas and
networking. If Labour wins such an inquiry would assist it develop a new approach
to running Croydon for use in the local election campaign in 2014. This poses a
challenge to the way Labour operates locally. Picking the right candidate with
an open, enquiring and listening mind, who is not on the usual politician’s ego
trip, is therefore crucial.
Notes:
Digital
Hub ideas:
New
Economics Foundation: www.neweconomics.org.
Centre
for Local Economic Strategies: www.cles.org.uk.
To keep up to-date with news summaries on what is happening
in Croydon sign up for my History & Social Action EDiary & News: sean.creighton1947@btinternet.com.
Saturday 20 October 2012
More Clarity On The Ruskin Dispute
The
row over Ruskin College’s archives, records and artefacts has been continuing
with Hilda Keen’s latest views being circulated around the enetworks (http://hildakean.com) and a former student at
the College posting a piece on the History Workshop Journal website: www.historyworkshop.org.uk/thoughts-questions-of-a-ruskin-graduate-on-the-college-archives.
.
1)
What further clarifications are needed from the College?
2)
What is the goal we are trying to achieve: a personal vendetta against
the Principal, or learn the lessons, have a good future for the College, and
ensure that the University world thinks carefully about its archive and student
record policies?
I
have now received further clarification from Professor Mullender as follows:
Denis
Pakeman refers to a number of pieces of memorabilia. The Bowerman plaque was
the sole piece we held about him and it has gone on loan to join an entire
display about him and his union at the Marx Memorial Library where it makes
much more sense. The Raphael Samuel portrait and photograph went with the half
of his archive that we held, which made perfect sense. We deliberated long and
hard about loaning our holdings to the Bishopsgate Institute but Hilda’s own
research assistant told me that he had to read everything twice because the
collection was split and made so much less sense in that form, the clincher
being that he found one letter that had one page in London and one with us. He
was on a year’s full-time funding but I can’t imagine many other researchers
being able to duplicate their reading of an archive just because of the
eccentric way it was held. It must also be owned that the Bishopsgate, with its
funded archivist, is better able to catalogue and promote the material than we
are, to the benefit of scholars. It is often forgotten, but we are a working
college and we are funded to serve our learners, first and foremost. The GB
Shaw portrait was not ours and I returned it to its rightful owners, the Labour
Party. Can it please be acknowledged that I found this lost painting, had
someone from Canada confirm that this was the case and have this week had a
most handsome congratulation from a Shaw scholar in Ireland. The Kitson mural
is going to South Africa, by special request, and we naturally retain the
commemorative plaque to David Kitson as an Honorary Fellow of our college. If
the past is no longer wanted at Ruskin, as Denise alleges, why have I spent so
much of my own money on repairing and framing photographs and other items for
display, why have I spent whole days with removers and premises staff bringing
memorabilia to our newly consolidated site and embellishing the new Boardroom,
reception area, two trade union studies areas and so on with our wonderful
collections? I am particularly glad to get the chance to comment again on the
miners’ strike banner which Hilda Kean characterised as being displayed on a
corridor leading to a toilet. It is actually the corridor leading to the Common
Room in our flagship trade union studies centre, where coffee is served and
evenings are spent. There happens to be a toilet next to the Common Room, which
is probably not an uncommon juxtaposition, given the aforementioned coffee. The
banner is large, the wall-space was perfect and the users of the building are
much enjoying its highly appropriate presence. I would hazard a guess that, in
its former home in our own library, folk relatively rarely glanced at it. It is
now in solitary glory and much better displayed, in my opinion. We have also
been able to give prominence to photos taken over a period of a century and a
half, portraits and other memorabilia in our new home. Further, we have kept
the working class visual tradition alive by helping to design and make a
three-storey mosaic with a mosaic artist and participants in a series of WEA
classes locally.
We
are not a museum or a public library and we do not employ an archivist. One set
of papers we held was never consulted while it was with us but has been
constant use since it was married up with a whole family of papers at the
People’s History Museum, on loan from us. We care about a living, learning
present drawing upon the lessons of the past. Because we really care, we share
our riches with other collections and we retain only those we can truly care
for and truly make useful to others.’
Student (and Staff)
Records
As
has been pointed out to me by a local authority archivist the question of the
preservation or not of student records is the same one faced by any employer
re- its staff records, or indeed a local authority social services department
re-clients or a school re-pupils. I have been in local authority archives
recently at which enquirers have been told personal information on pupils is
subject to a 100 year rule. The Records
Management Society has issued guidance on the retention of records for local
authorities and schools, supported by documents such as a toolkit for schools.
The archivist wonders whether there is similar guidance issued for
Universities.
Another
archivist has drawn my attention to several matters which I have drawn Prof
Mullender’s attention to. The ICO/SoA (now ARA) has a Code of Conduct on Data
Protection. JISC has guidance on Records Management aimed at the Higher
Education sector. Ruskin College may be classed as a Public Authority under the
Freedom of Information Act and therefore its corporate records may well also be
classed as public records. The archivist stresses that it is possible to deposit
records containing sensitive personal information with an archive and find a
solution to deal with Data Protection subject access requests from living
individuals or their legal representatives. Archives are doing this on a
frequent basis – such requests are few and once an individual is deceased then
DP is no longer relevant. There are a lot of college heads who have
successfully implemented records management and archive procedures for their
records. In Oxford several archivists/records managers should be available for
advice
and for a small and lasting impact. Finally the archivist suggests that the College might consider developing a retention schedule for its own records from a records manager on a consultancy basis.
and for a small and lasting impact. Finally the archivist suggests that the College might consider developing a retention schedule for its own records from a records manager on a consultancy basis.
What Should Be Done Now?
With
all the concern about what has happened at Ruskin and the obvious interest in
the history and tradition of working class education, including its independent
strand from the Plebs League to the National Labour Colleges, the time is right
for several things to be done, especially by academics:
·
Go to the Open Day if you can and see the new building and the
Library.
·
Spread the word about Ruskin’s far-reaching educational opportunities
for those with few or no qualifications (see www.ruskin.ac.uk
).
·
Return to the principles and values behind the original History
Workshop movement, and develop of a new network to promote them.
·
Support the Independent Working
Class Education Project, which meets again on 24 November at The Northern
College in Barnsley.
·
Initiate debates in every College and University about the future of
their archives and student records.
·
Stimulate a national debate about the relationship between data
protection and the retention of material that may be considered of historical
interest.
(1)
Anne Summers Editorial Blog on the crisis facing archives can be read
on www.historyworkshop.org.uk/archives-a-house-on-fire.
In it she mentions the new Campaign for Voluntary Sector Archives. www.voluntarysectorarchives.org.uk.
(2)
See my blog pieces:
a.
‘The Abolition of MLA: Is Part of Wuider Threat to Inclusive Heritage?
(August 2010): http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/abolition-of-mla-is-part-of-wider.html.
o ‘The Threat to Archives and Records’ in
December 2010: http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2010_12_01_archive.html.
o Sing Along with Peggy
Seeger: Taking Ruskin College Forward and the Future of Archives (October
2012): http://historyandsocialaction.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/sing-along-with-peggy-seeger-taking.html.
Monday 15 October 2012
William Cuffay - New Biography
New book aims to raise the status of William Cuffay as a leading figure in British history
William Cuffay (1788-1870) was one of the leaders of Chartism, which was the
largest political movement ever seen in Britain. His grandfather was an enslaved
African and his father was a West Indian slave, from St Kitts, who managed to
gain his freedom and settle in Chatham, Kent.
Cuffay trained as a tailor and moved to London where, in 1834, he was involved
in the tailors’ strike for shorter hours. In 1839 he joined the Chartist movement
and soon became well known for his oratory and sense of humour. At the final
mass demonstration for the Charter on Kennington Common on 10 April 1848,
he protested strongly at the decision to call off the march to the House of
Commons to present the petition. He called the national leadership ‘a set of
cowardly humbugs’.
In August 1848, Cuffay became involved in a secret revolutionary committee
which was planning an uprising in London. He was arrested, tried and convicted,
on the evidence of two police spies, of levying war against the Queen. He was
sentenced to transportation for life in Tasmania. In Hobart he carried on working
as a tailor and remained actively involved in Tasmanian politics for twenty years. His wife
was able to join him in 1853 and he was granted a free pardon in 1856. In 1870 he died a
pauper in the workhouse.
William Cuffay’s reputation during the Chartist years was immense, yet he was
subsequently forgotten for over 130 years. This book aims to set him in his historical context
and restore him to his rightful place as one of the key figures in British history.
Includes more than 200 historical pictures & illustrations
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Martin Hoyles taught in Newham secondary schools in east London and at the University of
East London. He has written books on gardening, childhood and literacy. His latest books are
The Axe Laid to the Root: The Story of Robert Wedderburn
and Ira Aldridge: Celebrated 19th Century Actor.
With his wife Asher, Martin wrote
Remember Me: Achievements of Mixed Race People, Past and Present, Moving Voices: Black Performance
Poetry
Dyslexia from a Cultural Perspective and Caribbean Publishing in Britain.
William Cuffay: The Life and Times of a Chartist Leader
by Martin Hoyles
Publication Date: 31 October 2012 • Paperback • 284 pages • 228 x 152mm • £9.99 • ISBN: 978-1-906190-62-0
HANSIB PUBLICATIONS LIMITED
P.O. Box 226, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 3WY, United Kingdom • Email: info@hansib-books.com
Diary of Events 18 October following
To 4 November.
The Good Neighbour. Discover Hidden Stories About Battersea. (See poster
details next page.)
Thursday 18 October. Implementing the Law on, and Policing of, Racial Abuse in the Age of Twitter and Social Media: An “Impossible Job?” Roundtable Debate. Birkbeck Sport Business Centre Seminar in the Kick It Out One Game One Community weeks of action campaign– see www.sportbusinesscentre.com/news/2012-10-11. Panel members including a former Premier League footballer and representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the FA, and a leading law firm, will discuss the challenges faced by football in ensuring that the law on combating racial abuse is applied effectively in this new era of social media. Is it an impossible job? Or can the power of social media be mobilised to address the problem, not just in terms of prosecuting those that abuse, but also by educating a new generation on the necessity for respect and tolerance in football and in society? The event is organised in collaboration with Kick It. Free. As it is anticipated that there will be heavy demand for this event, in order to secure your place can you please send a confirmation of attendance e-mail to: s.hamil@bbk.ac.uk
Friday 19
October. 11am.
A Memorial
Service for Malcolm Wicks, MP. Croydon
Minster. Reception to follow in the Parish Hall across the Minster Green. The Minster’s website includes location details. Prior to his death, Malcolm expressed a wish
that anyone choosing to make a charitable donation in his memory to consider Carers UK. You may do this via www.justgiving.com/malcolmwicks.
Saturday 20
October. 1pm. Murals in Battersea. Free
Talk & Walk by
Brian Barnes, MBE. Illustrated talk
about Community Murals in South London with visit to Battersea in Perspective
in Culvert Road /Dagnall Street and Chesterton school playground mural. Light
refreshments will be provided. Doddington & Rollo Community Association,
Charlotte Despard Avenue, London, SW11. 020 7627 5821.
Tuesday 23
October, 'Broken Pastoral and the English Folk: Art and Music in Britain,
1880-1914'.
Talk by Professor Tim Barringer (Yale University). rank Davis Memorial Lecture
series at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London; see here for details: www.courtauld.ac.uk/researchforum/events/2010/autumn/oct23_FrankDavisLecture.shtml. Editorial Note: I have emailed
Barringer to point out that although interested in Negro folk music Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer who was part of the wider movement
among European composers in using folk music.
Thursday 25 October. 7.30pm. Looking for Samuel:
Commemorating the life and works of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor through talks, music and poetry. Join poets Maika
Booker and Dorothea Smart as they
collaboratively re-imagine the life and works of SC-T with poetry and original music composed and performed by
ensemble Music Off Canvas. £7 (£5 concessions). To book go to: http://canadawaterculturespace.org.uk/events/looking-samuel. Canada
Water Culture Space, Canada Water Library, 21 Surrey Quays Road, London, SE16.
Thursday 25
October. 7.30pm. Vauxhall Society AGM
and Talk on Nine Elms. St Stephen’s Church, St Stephen’s Terrace, London
SW8. Helen Fisher, the new Nine Elms Programme Director of the Vauxhall Nine
Elms Battersea Strategy Board, will be the guest speaker. She will give an
overview of the Nine Elms Vauxhall programme, governance, and progress. She
will be joined by Brigid Burnham from TFL, who leads the consultation on NLE,
and by Lambeth’s Sandra Roebuck (Programme Manager, Regeneration), who will
take questions relating to the newly-published Vauxhall Supplementary Planning
Document. Everyone is welcome, members and non-members alike.
Saturday 27
October. 10am–8.30pm. Ruskin College Grand Opening and Gala Evening. Dunstan Road,
Old Headington, Oxford, OX3. See details in Ruskin College story below. For
information on venue: www.ruskin.ac.uk.
Saturday 27 October. Sport & Politics. Historians on Sport Conference. De Montfort University's International Centre for Sports History and Culture. www.dmu.ac.uk/research/research-faculties-and-institutes/art-design-humanities/icshc/icshc-events/2012/historians-on-sport-2012.aspx.
Tuesday 30 October. 6-8pm. Patterns of dissent - thoughts towards a geography of war resisters in Britain 1916 to 1919. The creation of a database of over 16,000 British World War 1 Conscientious Objectors has made it possible to explore more of the detail and diversity of opposition to that war. Distinctive anti-war communities can be identified and much more can be said about the extent and character of individual and group acts of resistance. The connections with elements of the women's movement are seen to be crucial as are the new alliances forged within the broad left - from radical Liberals to Socialist and Anarchists. It was a process which was to exercise significant influence on the evolution of the radical politics of Britain in the years after the war and a process within which members of the Society of Friends played important parts. Cyril Pearce is a retired University Lecturer and Visiting Research Fellow at the University Leeds. Some years ago he published Comrades in Conscience, a study of the anti-war movement in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield. In it he argued that opposition to the war there was far more extensive than traditional accounts of public opinion insisted should have been the case. Since then he has been working to discover whether there were other 'Huddersfields'. The CO database has been part of that process. Quaker History Meeting. 6pm in the Quaker Centre Café for a 6.30pm start. The Library will be open that day until 6pm. Register for a free place by emailing or telephoning Jennifer Milligan jenniferm@quaker.org.uk. 020 7663 1132. Quaker Centre, Friends House, 173 Euston Rd, London, NW1.
Wednesday 31 October. Closing date for suggestions for panels and papers
for the European Rural History Organisation's annual conference, taking place
at the University of Bern in August 2013. See: www.ruralhistory2013.org/rh/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=55.
Monday 5 November. 7.45pm. The Gordon
Riots of 1780. Talk by Bernard
Winchester. United Reform Church, East Croydon. Croydon Natural History &
Scientific Society. www.greig51.freeserve.co.uk/cnhss/index.htm.
Tuesday 13
November. 6.30pm. John Milton as a theorist of
liberty. Annual
Creighton
lecture given this year by Professor Quentin
Skinner (Queen Mary, University of London).
Followed by a wine reception. Logan Hall, Institute of Education (20
Bedford Way, London, WC1. Attendance is
free and this event is open to all. To RSVP, please contact IHR.Events@sas.ac.uk.
Tuesday 13 November. Spa Towns. Talk by Dr Astrid
Kohler as Annual lecture of Queen Mary, University of London, School of
Languages, Literature and To find out more and to book to attend: www.qmul.ac.uk/events/items/2012/83834.html.
Thursday 15
November. 8pm. After the Great Exhibition. Talk by Brian Bloice (Streatham
Society). Phoenix Centre, Westow St, Upper Norwood. Norwood Society.
Saturday 24
November. British Society of Sports History North West Sport & Leisure
History Network Workshop. Manchester Met Univ. Manchester Metropolitan
University, Crewe, Cheshire. Diane Clements (Director, Museum of Freemasonry)
will talk on ‘Devoted exclusively to Association Football’: New Light on
Freemasonry and Football,’ Other papers will be given on Psychology and the
Outdoor Movement in the 1920s; Golf and the Common: The Hertfordshire
Experience; ‘The Finest Spectacle in P.O.W. History’: the 1952 ‘Inter-Camp
Olympics’ and British Prisoners of War in the Korean War; Wilson of ‘The
Wizard’: Asserting the Rural in Post-War Britain; The Regional and Local
History of North-West Leisure: A Historiographical Review; Leisure, Politics
and the Conservative Party Hegemony in North-West England, 1880s-1930s; Pantomime
and the Bankruptcy of Captain Bainbridge – 1889; ‘Pen and paper quizzes, games
and dancing’: Holiday Making with the Co-operative Holidays Association and
Holiday Fellowship. Further details from Dave Day on D.J.Day@mmu.ac.uk or
07785545193.
|
London Socialist Historians Group
Seminars
Mondays. 5.30pm. Gordon Room (G34), Ground Floor
(except 5 Nov).
Institute of Historical Research, Senate House,
Malet St, London
15 October. George Paizis (UCL): Retranslating
Victor Serge's Memoirs of a Revolutionary
5 November. Dan Gordon (Edge Hill): Immigrants
& Intellectuals: May 1968 and the rise of anti-racism in France. Joint
session with Modern French History Semina. Please note: this session takes
place in the Bedford Room (G37)
12 November. Chris Blakey: Georges Cheron and the
1936 Hotchkiss factory soviet.
26 November. Pete Brown: Shakespeare's Local.
10 December. Keith Flett. History of Riots
project: research update
|
|
'Imbibing Bodies: Histories of Drinking and
Culture'
Centre
for the Study of the Body and Material Culture’ Seminars. The History
Department, Royal Holloway University of London. Wednesdays. 5pm . Royal
Holloway, 11 Bedford Square, on Wednesday at 5.00pm.
17
October, Karen Harvey (Sheffield), ‘Politics by Design: Drink, Allegiance and
Manly Consumption’
21
November, Lyanne Holcombe (Kingston), 'Leisured Spaces, Liminal Bodies:
Gender and the Practice of Consumption in the Lyons Restaurant, Grill and
Hotel 1914-1939'
12
December Mark Hailwood (Exeter), 'Alehouses, Sociability and Intoxication in
Seventeenth-Century England'
Winter
Term
16
January, James Kneale (UCL), 'Measuring Moderate Drinking Before The Unit:
Medicine and Life Assurance in Britain and the United States, c.1860-1930'
13
February, Stella Moss (RHUL), '"An Abnormal Habit": Methylated
Spirit Drinking in Interwar Britain'
13
March, Tessa Storey (RHUL) ‘Salute! Drinking to health in late
Renaissance Italy’
Due
to security requirements at Bedford Square we need to notify reception in
advance if attendees are coming from outside RHUL. Please email in advance if
you wish to attend: charlotte.brown.2010@live.rhul.ac.uk
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Institute of
Contemporary British History, King’s College London
Wednesday 17
October. 5pm. Enoch
Powell and the Making of Postcolonial Britain. Camilla Schofield (UEA). Contemporary British History seminar. KCL History Department
Seminar Room, 8th floor, Strand Building, Kings College London,
WC2.
Tuesday
23 October. 6pm. ‘Seeing Red: British socialists visit
revolutionary Russia’. Dr
Jonathan Davis (Anglia Ruskin University). Holden Room, Senate House,
London, WC1E.
Wednesday 24 October. 6pm. The Left and
Constitutional Reform, Gladstone to Miliband. Professor Kenneth O. Morgan. Institute of Contemporary British History
Annual Lecture 2012. Council Room, King’s College London (Strand
campus).
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SING ALONG WITH PEGGY SEEGER: TAKING RUSKIN COLLEGE FORWARD AND THE FUTURE OF ARCHIVES
Ruskin
College is entering an exciting new phase moving to new buildings. If you can
why not go to the College’s Open Day on Saturday 27 October to see the new
building, and find out what Ruskin will be doing.
Aspects
of the move, however, have caused much consternation and raise broad issues
about archives and student records.
That
consternation has been reflected in the press, in hundreds of people objecting
to the alleged destruction of archives at Ruskin College in Oxford. Emails, web
postings, and letters of objection have been sent to the College Principal and
the Governors. I did my bit to send the information around the labour history
network and proposed at the meeting of the Independent Working Class Education
project on Saturday 5 October sending a letter of protest. Although it raises
some broader issues, it now appears to me to be all based on a regrettable
misunderstanding.
The
following email alert was sent out by Anna Davin:
‘The archives of Ruskin College,
pioneer institution of working-class education, have been partly destroyed, on
the instructions of the college principal and despite protests and an offer
from the Bishopsgate Institute to take everything. What remains may still be at
risk.
'Papers have not gone to a landfill site but have been specifically destroyed. Even the removal firm seemed puzzled and sought clarification from the principal who allegedly confirmed that indeed such material must be destroyed', writes Hilda Kean in an article on the History Workshop
website.
Please read Hilda's article for more information if you have time
http://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/whose-archive-whose-history-destruction-of
-archives-at-ruskin-college-oxford/
And please urgently sign and publicize the petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/120/368/331/stop-further-archive-destruction-
at-ruskin-college-oxford.’
'Papers have not gone to a landfill site but have been specifically destroyed. Even the removal firm seemed puzzled and sought clarification from the principal who allegedly confirmed that indeed such material must be destroyed', writes Hilda Kean in an article on the History Workshop
website.
Please read Hilda's article for more information if you have time
http://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/whose-archive-whose-history-destruction-of
-archives-at-ruskin-college-oxford/
And please urgently sign and publicize the petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/120/368/331/stop-further-archive-destruction-
at-ruskin-college-oxford.’
This
is what I forwarded on to others. This in turn led to a query to the Principal
Audrey Mullender whose reply was copied to me.
‘No, the story is not true. Thanks for
checking! …….. We have actually expended a great deal of time and care on
moving the College and MacColl Seeger archives into specially designed space in
the new library. Do come to our grand opening on 27th October and see it and do
please help spread the word that we are now in wonderful premises, set fair for
the future. The one thing we have done is to digitise our student records in an
interactive database, in a way that complies with data protection legislation
but which will allow our alumni to stay in touch with us and with one another.’
Professor
Mullender also emailed a general statement providing more detail:
‘Ruskin College is now in wonderful
new premises that mean we can look ahead from the firm foundation of
celebrating our past. We have spent a lot of money on moving and housing our
archives and memorabilia. The College archive is in a brand new rolling stack,
affording access on request to bona fide scholars. The MacColl Seeger archive
has its own room, with built-in display cabinets and its sound archive will be
backed up on computer. The miners' strike banner had its own vehicle and two
teams working on moving and hanging it. It is now in Stoke House at our
Headington site. The Bowerman plaque is on loan to the Marx Memorial Library.
The one thing we have done is to digitise the student files in a way that
complies with the Data Protection legislation. Please come and see us at our
grand opening on Saturday 27th October and please help quash these dreadful
rumours.’
I
then followed it up with an email to Professor Mullender, in which I asked her
to clarify the situation based on the following questions:
(1) What happened in respect of instructions to the removal firm which could have led to a misunderstanding about the possible destruction of archive material?
(2) Has any part of the archive material been pruned and destroyed, and if so what did it cover.
(4) Is any further part of the archive material to be pruned and destroyed, and if so what does it cover?
(5) Can you give an assurance that no part of the archive will be pruned without discussion with the Governing Body and the wider body of labour historians and archivists?
(6) Are all original documents in the archive being kept even if they are digitised because of the danger of digital failure or replacement by new technology?
(7) Which sections of the archive are subject to the equivalent of 30 years rule as in the case of Public Records and 100 years as in the case of personal information about people who are still alive?
(8) Given that 100 years have now passed with regard to the personal records of staff and students up to this month, are these now available for public viewing?
Subsequent
Discussion
In
our telephone discussion Professor Mullender explained to me the following.
The Archive
& Library:
There has been some rationalisation:
·
Raphael
Samuel material has been sent to the Raphael Samuel archive held at Bishopsgate
Institute. This seems to me to be perfectly rational. Prof Mullender cited for
example that Ruskin had one half of a letter and the RS collection the other!
·
Middleton
papers have been transferred to the People’s History Museum in Manchester.
·
Multiple
copies of pamphlets have been reduced. Again this appears to be perfectly rational.
·
The
MacColl Seeger Collection is in a special room in the new building including in
display cases. The sound material is being digitised.
Student
Records
·
The
student records were not part of the College Archive as such but held in the
Registry section, and were not seen to be part of the Archive. The decision to
destroy student records was taken after looking at the College Data Protection
policy. This states that records should only be kept for 6 years.
·
The
records were not comprehensive e.g. some from the earlier years had not
survived and the records of those who undertook social work courses at the
College had not been retained. Approximately A5-size ledgers with entries for
past students are being kept. An accessible database has been created of the
names and subjects of former students.
·
Prof
Mullender tells me that she did not know about the 100 year rule convention
e.g. re-Government held personal information. As the College is not government
or government-related it is less clear that the 100-year rule would apply to it
as a private institution. As the records are private property of the College it
is taking legal advice about the 100-year rule.
·
Files
were offered to Ruskin Fellowship members rather than to all alumni, whom it
would not have been feasible to contact. Some Fellowship members requested them
and these were posted to them at the College’s expense. Because the records
were in the Registry she did not see them as archives and only thought about
them in terms of Data Protection.
·
She
accepts that there are different views to be taken on this: those who would
argue that personal records should be kept and then made available after 100
years, but there are others who argue against the keeping of personal records
and then their release.
·
She
also stresses that in former days there were no controls over tutors’ comments
on students in records. They could write what they wanted, and sometimes
students themselves recorded very personal detail in connection with their
applications.
Artefacts.
Prof Mullender explains that a lot of money (chiefly her own, through personal
donation) has been spent on repairs to artefacts and on framing/re-framing
items.
·
A
miners’ strike banner. This is already on display in one of the refurbished
buildings, having had its own vehicle and two teams of skilled workers involved
in moving it.
·
The
Bowerman plaque is on loan to Marx Memorial Library.
Future of the
Library/Archive.
The College does not have an archivist. The Archive is held in the Library.
Ruskin’s Past,
Present and Future.
Prof Mullender stresses that she and the Governors are proud of the College’s
history and wish to promote alongside current and future work. It seems to me that the recent row may have
damaged the reputation of Ruskin which could undermine its ability to deliver
in the future. On the other hand a lot more people now know about the unique
contribution that Ruskin has made. It may be a case of any publicity is good
publicity. But if you agree with me that the row has been based on a
misunderstanding then Ruskin deserves positive support from now on.
On-going
Debate
Following
my sending the above to my Labour History elist I have received a number of
responses, drawing my attention to three
issues, which I emailed Prof. Mullender about.
Firstly,
given the shredding of student records (confirmed in the Telegraph piece. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9590455/Row-after-John-Prescotts-old-college-shreds-archive.html)
there does not appear to have been a guarantee that all surviving student
records from the 1940s will be retained and that as a priority assurances are needed that no further destruction of
archival material will take place. Of course this makes the assumption that the
student records are archives.
Secondly,
a real concern that student records from between the foundation of Ruskin in
1899 and the 'strike' in 1909 may have been among those shredded.
Thirdly,
issues relating to Data Protection and Freedom of Information. I set out below
my understanding of points made to me by archivists. as a section to be added
into my Blog.
I
suggested to Prof. Mullender that it would be very helpful if she would
consider the following:
(1) making it clear whether or not student
records from 1899 to 1909 were in existence and were shredded or whether they
had not survived from earlier times.
(2) stating that all remaining student record
files will be retained while the College considers the matters raised by
archivists below.
Data
Protection and Freedom of Information
It
has always struck me that Data Protection and Freedom of Information are mine
fields, at it is no wonder that things can be misunderstood. It is therefore
very helpful to have received advice from archivists on the following matters arising
from the Ruskin affair.
1. Although one of the 8 principles of the
Act does advocate the destruction of records including personal and sensitive
personal information as soon as they are no longer required, this does not mean
that such records cannot be retained for future use as historic archives.
2. The Society of Archivists (now Archives
and Records Association) did establish a Code of Practice on the retention of
records including personal information for future historic research that have
been approved by the Information Commissioner.
3.
Managers of organisations do need
to seek advice from an Archivist/Records Manager.
4. The Code is available at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/data-protection.htm.
5. JISC has created excellent records
management guidance for further education bodies that provide support in such
circumstances. See www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/records-management.
6. Unfortunately the Principle of the Data
Protection Act (in 1. above) is being used by many organisations as an excuse
to prune manual/electronic corporate records that in many cases have survived
and can be used for amazing research.
7. The lack of knowledge and not seeking
advice about the above points has led to this unfortunate destruction.
Extracting student details as part of a database is not a replacement for the
original records that would have included so much more information that would
have become available to researchers after a restricted access period.
8. Such electronic records will incur
future digital preservation strategy requirements. Procedures will need to be
put in place to cover these requirements.
9. The Ruskin situation highlights the
problems that can occur of limited awareness of information management and
Freedom of Information responsibilities by public authorities, which include
further and higher education bodies.
10. In many cases, researchers who have
access to records including personal/sensitive personal information may be
asked to sign a disclaimer document in the archive agreeing that they will not
mention names of individuals but will make such entries anonymous to protect
individuals, so best practice guidelines are available to cover such eventualities,
including the DP guidance mentioned above.
11. There is no such thing as a 100 year rule.
Many archives implement a ‘restricted access period’ of 100 years or even these
days 110 years, so that individuals are no longer living when access is granted
to researchers. Access to information contained in records can be challenged by
individuals under Freedom of Information legislation (and the ICO has
guidelines on such things) and it is important for any public authority to have
an overview of how the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information and other
information legislation interact when deciding whether to provide access to
information held in records.
These are clearly matters that need to
be considered by all institutions considering pruning and destroying records in
the future.
Prof.
Mullender’s Response
Prof
Mullender has replied to the above saying that she has referred the whole
matter to the College Data Protection Officer.’ Interestingly, and in the light
of the very sensible questions in your blog’, she has also asked one of her correspondents
from the University of Oxford what Oxford does with its student files.
The Future of
Archives
The
reaction to the initial information is understandable given the wider context
relating to Universities and archive organisations. Both are under increasing
financial pressure.
·
London
Metropolitan University (LMU) played funding brinkmanship over the future of
the TUC Library. Although the TUC and the University have reached agreement how
long will this last.
·
LMU’s
threat to close the Women’s Library has
resulted in LSE agreeing to take it over, although there are continuing
concerns about its relocation to the LSE campus from its more accessible
community area setting, and question marks over the future of its staff.
·
The
lack of money for archives and specialist collections to expand their storage
space means they cannot accept additions to their collections. In my experience
this has been a particular problem with specialist
record collections of 78 and LPs, whose preservation is needed because of the
differences in listening experience to
CDs, and the as yet unknown life of CD and digital recordings. There is also
going to develop into a crisis as hundreds of community and voluntary organisations
going into liquidation due to funding problems whose archives will need to be
preserved.
·
The
increasing commercial deals meaning that non-academic researchers have to pay
for access to digitised archives.
·
The
ring-fenced nature of an increasing number of digested archives and collections
mainly to academics, even though large sums of public money have been spent to
create them.
·
As
I have previously argued we need to strongly advise organisations to have
archive preservation policies, and in the event of emergency crises of
collections needing to be provided with temporary homes while their longer term
futures are decided.
·
The
threat to local archives and study centres as part of the crisis facing funding
of local authority libraries.
The Future of
Policies on Student Records. Should there be a discussion across the
University world as to whether student records are archives or registry
documents? If they are registry documents should they be classified also as
archives? Should Data Protection Policies on student records:
·
provide
for the keeping of student records
closed for up to 100 years subject to their own files being accessible by
former students?
·
provide
for the destruction of records after a set number of years subject to the
individual former student being offered the options of (a) having the file sent
to them, (b) to have it destroyed, or (c) to be retained and opened after 100
years?
·
include
provision for the creation of accessible databases of key information about
former students, where year books are not published?
·
be
discussed with Convocations of graduates?
Grand Opening and Gala Evening
Ruskin Hall • Dunstan Road • Old Headington •
Oxford OX3 9BZ
For information on venue: www.ruskin.ac.uk
Saturday 27 October 2012
10.00 a.m. – 8.30 p.m.
All-day
events include opportunities to tour the new building and visits to the walled
garden together with displays, activities, a new café and much more. All
welcome, free, just come along!
Programme of
Events (Subject
to change)
10.00 The new Academic Building and the renovated
Rookery open to visitors. Visits to the walled garden commence.
10.30 Ribbon cutting in the walled garden by Peter
Thoday, TV presenter of The Victorian Kitchen Garden and former Horticultural
Director of the Eden Project. Speeches and poems.
11.30 Ribbon cutting on the main entrance by Gordon
Marsden MP, Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth.
11.45 Ribbon cutting on the Callaghan Library
(upper ground floor, through reception) by Baroness Jay of Paddington, daughter
of the late Lord Callaghan and former Leader of the House of Lords/Lord Privy
Seal Minister for Women.
12.00 Speeches in the Conference Room (rooms
2.09/2.10) to celebrate the grand opening of the redeveloped Ruskin College.
13.00 Ribbon cutting on the mosaic in the atrium by
the artist, creative team and their WEA tutor, with brief explanatory talk.
14.00 Book launch and seminar on: Gendering and
Diversifying Trade Union Leadership, edited by Sue Ledwith and Lise Lotte.
Hansen, Conference Room (rooms 2.09/2.10).
14.30 Design and construction workshop on the
redevelopment project, Board Room (room G.01, just inside the main entrance).
16.30 World première of the play: Our Lady of the
Trees, the story of Wangari Maathai, the first Black woman to win a Nobel
prize. Conference Room (rooms 2.09/2.10).
19.00– Gala evening, Conference Room (rooms
2.09/2.10), with top of the bill: Peggy Seeger.
All Day:
·
Opportunities
to tour the new building
·
Visits
to the walled garden
·
Academic
subject displays
·
Mosaic
project display
·
Corporate
displays by the design and construction teams
·
Preview
of exhibition, ‘Lake of the Whispering Spirits’, for Native American Heritage
Month in November
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