Hayes and a Pioneer of Council Housing

I have been meaning to cross post this charming story of early London municipal socialism from "Hayes People History" for a while.

Councillor Robert William Gunton was a Civil Servant who came to Hayes which is now in Hillingdon, West London in 1913.  He became Chair of the Council in 1917.

Hayes was one of the first Labour Councils in Britain who as early as 1914 appointed "a sanitary inspector to "compel landlords to put their houses in a proper state of repairs".

In April 1919 Gunton was involved in ensuring "May Day" became an official Council holiday, seconding the resolution he referred to Oliver Cromwell having done away with it because of heavy drinking. "They had reached a stage he thought when working class did behave themselves better". Hayes became one of the first councils in Britain to allow their employees to enjoy International Workers Day, May 1st as a public holiday.

It was Councillor Gunton who moved the resolution at the Special Hayes Urban District Council held on 12th July 1919 not to participate in the national "Peace Celebrations" on July 1919, on the grounds of cost and glorification of war, an all most unprecedented move.

Gunton with other local councillors pioneered the Building of Council Housing in Hayes. He was Chair of Housing when in 1920 Dr Addison, Minister of Health laid the first brick of a planned 2000 home estate.

The first building contractor was a certain Robert McAlpine!

"Each Council house was estimated to cost £675 and it was expected that two houses a day would be built, however due to the shortage of bricklayers they initially completed just three quarters of a house.

The situation with the bricklayers took a disastrous turn in April 1920 when the bricklayers went on strike. Councillor Gunton once again came to the rescue and secured agreement from both sides to end the dispute winning the praise of Sir Robert McAlpine.

Councillor Gunton was keen that the new Council estate would enjoy facilities such as shops as well as a Council run Cinema and a Public House (Pub) run on the Carlisle lines (Carlisle had successfully and profitably put its pubs under state control during the war to regulate alcohol especially spirits consumption as a safety measure as Carlisle was a Munitions town).

But not everyone supported the Council Housing scheme the local Conservatives argued that the workers houses should be built by factory owners and not paid for by the ratepayers.

Such was the support for the Council housing scheme locally that by April 1920 the local newspaper could announce that every member of Hayes Council was now a Labour Party member - 100% Labour.

In January 1921 Councillor Gunton could claim with some justification that

"Hayes was one of the few and probably only councils in the country that could say there were no slums existing in their district"

The Council house scheme was so popular, that delegations flooded in to see the developments, delegations from councils across the United Kingdom and as far away as America Austria and Japan.

Despite the cost, Councillor Gunton could boast in 1924 "The Labour Party was generally associated by the reactionary press with high rates, well the rates in Hayes did not happen to be high rates".

Finally R.W. Gunton was elected as a Labour Middlesex County Councillor Alderman during the first Labour controlled Middlesex County Council in 1946.

Given Councillor Gunton's role in pioneering and securing large scale affordable and good quality housing for many generations of Hayes residents, it is a shame his work and deeds are not better known.

Michael Walker

National Union Railworkers: West Ham Branch 1919

This is a great picture of the National Union of Railwaymen West Ham Branch strike committee

from 1919.

I wonder where it was taken and what the strike was over?  They appear to be wearing some sort of a
rosette.

Poppies?

Hat tip Hayes Peoples History.

Update: Mike from HPH has emailed me to say that the picture is originally from The Newham Story.

He thinks that the rosettes had union badges in the centre, points out the man with the union sash and the marvellous motto on the banner "Comrades, Courage and Forward"

" Strike Committee

National Railway Strike, 1919. This is the Stratford District Central Strike Committe Executive of the National Union of Railwaymen.

Back Row: G. Blazeby, West Ham, Banner Captain; H. Bambridge, West Ham; W.G. Jupp, Stratford No.2; J. Miller, Forest Gate; C. Webster Stratford No. 2; J. Little, Stratford No.2; C.G. Collins, West Ham; J.L. Burchell, Forest Gate; G.A. Carter, Stratford No.2, Picket Captain.

Middle Row: C.J. Mann, Forest Gate; W.J. Roberts, Stratford No.2; Syd. Williams, West Ham, Secretary; A. Kelly, Stratford No.2, Chairman; Councillor Tom Kirk, West Ham, Organiser; F.C. Westfield, Stratford No. 2; R. Moore, Stratford No.2.

Front Row: P.A. Woods, Forest Gate, F.E. Mansfield, Stratford No.2; A Wright, West Ham; G. Bramley, Forest Gate."

The Titanic: Real life and death class politics

Last weekend was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Which obviously was a great tragedy at the time. However, Michael Walker at Hayes People History posts here about the many myths and some ugly truths about the disaster.

The worse being that your chances of survival that night and that of your children depended upon your "class".

Horrifyingly "While five out of six children from first class survived, less than a third of the children of third class passengers survived.

Compare these statistics to the plight of the nine pampered dogs on board, two of whom were saved, statistically proving you had more chance of survival as a dog on the Titanic than a working class passenger".

Hat tip here picture (double click to bring up detail) of an unknown child victim from the Titanic.

Occupy St Pauls (1887 style)

Hat tip to Hayes People History post on an early anti-capitalist protest and "occupation" at St Pauls Cathedral by the Social Democratic Federation on 27 February 1887.

"In 1886 and 1887 the Social Democratic Federation conducted a broad campaign of agitation among London's unemployed. The church parades were a form of this agitation, practised in early 1887. It was an attempt to address the unemployed from the pulpit. One parade, on 27 February 1887, took place in front of St Paul's Cathedral. During the sermon, parade participants proclaimed socialist slogans. After the service the Social Democratic Federation held three meetings in the streets, the speakers including John Burns, George Bateman and Fielding".

However, just like today's "Occupy Movement" there was some controversy and dare I say "splitting". A certain Friedrich Engels attacked the protest in a letter on 10 March 1887 "Over here the unemployed agitation by the Social Democratic Federation has also proved to be a complete flop; the church parade in St Paul's was a silly attempt to ape the Chartists and was likewise a flop, in short nothing has happened yet. Next autumn things may get better; It would be desirable if, in the meanwhile, the rascals at the head of the Social Democratic Federation were to fade away and disappear".

"If you desire a coloured for your neighbour Vote Labour": Lambeth Tory leaflet 1964

Hat tip to Hayes People History. It is hard to imagine that such leaflets were handed out by a "mainstream" political party to the public within my life time (just).

There was of course even worse literature handed out during the same election in Birmingham 1964. This Tory, Peter Griffiths, won but was later defeated in 1966. However, he later went on to become a MP elsewhere for 20 years!

After he won in 1966 according to Kester Brewin "Griffiths was told to be expect to serve his time in Westminster as a ‘political leper,’ – something that enraged Labour MPs to sign a motion that this was “a cruel and unmerited slight on lepers.”

A Peoples' History of the Blitz: "We shall not forget them"

 This is another history of September 7 1940 and the London Blitz.

Check out the excellent "Hayes Peoples History" here.

"The working class communities of Inner London had suffered badly during the depression of the 1920’s and 30s with its high unemployment and slum housing. Now they suffered the heaviest levels of devastation – large parts of Stepney, Bethnal Green, Poplar, West Ham, Bermondsey, Deptford, Lambeth, St Pancras & Westminster were destroyed...

...According to Phil Piratin (future Communist Member of Parliament for Stepney)

"That night the East End burned, the dockside was ablaze...........

it lit up a great part of East and South East London....... It was a night when London was ringed and stabbed with fire."

Daily Worker journalist Fred Pateman writing in the 9th September 1940 edition of the Daily Worker stated

“Yesterday, I walked through the valley of the shadow of death –the little streets of London’s East End.....Along the main roads is a steady stream of refugees – men with suitcases, women, with bundles, children with their pillows and their own cot covers – homeless in the heart of London.

Maya Angelou - History despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived but if faced with courage need not be lived again"