A Communist in Space: Yuri Gagarin

 I was actually delivering Labour Party letters to the Old Barrowfield estate in West Ham early yesterday morning, while listening to the coverage on Radio 4 "Today" on the 50th anniversary of manned flight to space.

This was surely a great moment in our history. It must have been a terrifying experience for all the early space pioneers. I'm also sure that the Daily Worker headline (right) of the time didn't go down all that well in many quarters.

I wonder what happened to the well deserved Gold Medal that the Manchester Foundry Union workers awarded to Soviet cosmonaut and hero Yuri Gagarin?

Old Barrowfield is a lovely and well looked estate but comprises of a number of low rise non-lifted blocks.  Could have done with just a little bit of a rocket boost up and down those stairs.

hat-tip Col. Roi

Happy Birthday Labour Party: 111 Not Out.

One of the many possible birthdays of the Labour Party took place last weekend.  The founding conference was arguably on 26-27 February 1900 in the Farringdon Memorial Hall in London hoisted by the TUC.

Hat tip to Progress who seem to be the only ones to feature this important anniversary?

Check out this and that on what would Keir Hardie make of Labour 111 years on and Remembering Memorial Hall

Picture of the first ever Labour MP, Keir Hardie ,(West Ham South) addressing crowd. 

UPDATE: and posts by Denis MacShane MP and Gregg McClymont MP

West Ham WSPU banner

Hat tip to Col Roi for this picture of the banner of West Ham "Women's Social and Political Union" WSPU.

Does anyone have any further information about this branch?

I have found this link to a West Ham Branch of the East London Federation of the Suffragettes (ELFS).  Which split from the WSPU in 1914.

I found this fascinating quote here about East London in the First World War. "The worst outbursts of anti German feeling came after the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. West Ham alone suffered £100,000 of damage after rioting. Suspected Germans were beaten up and their premises looted. The ELFS centres were used as refuges by those caught in the violence".

First day of London Blitz 70th anniversary and a local tragedy

 70 years ago today nearly 1000 Nazi Germany bombers and fighter aircraft attacked London.  More than 400 Londoners were killed on this first day alone.  There followed 57 consecutive days of bombardment.

During this year's Mayor's Newham show I came across a local history exhibition.  By co-incidence there were two display board recounting a local tragedy that occurred on the 7 September 1940 in the Newham Ward that I represent as a Councillor.  A German bf 109 fighter plane was shot down probably by a British "Hurricane" fighter and crash landed in Ranelagh Road, West Ham, E15 killing 5 people including at least one small child.

The board's explained via diary extracts from neighbour Freddie Burgess (top centre) of the horror of the crash and the dangerous attempt to rescue anyone amongst the burning aviation fuel and exploding ammunition.  There was also a report on the investigation into the crash site by a TV history series in 1996.

32,000 Londoner's were killed during the blitz but it is probably local tragedies such as the deaths in Ranelagh Road that make me stop, think and reflect on the terrible price paid by so many ordinary people to defeat fascism during World War 2.

Update: Check out a special Newham Council exhibition on "Black Saturday" here

“The war revolutionised the industrial position of women – it found them serfs and left them free”

This quotation by feminist and suffragette, Millicent Fawcett, was in the latest issue of “the Newham mag” (a free fortnightly Newham Council magazine). There was a great article (page 16) about “World War 1 comes to East and West Ham”.

Two other things I learnt from this article was that the (top) Edward VII pub in Stratford High Street used to be called the “King of Prussia” but due to anti-German sentiment it was renamed.

Also that the “Royal Welch Fusiliers” which was my “home” regiment in North Wales for some reason recruited in West Ham during the First World War!