British History

On this day in history….16th June 1930

On this day in history : 16th June 1930 – Mixed bathing is permitted for the first time in the Hyde Park Lido – to the delight of some and the outrage of others….

Hyde Park Lido pre-WW2 – Leonard Bentley via Flickr

The idea of the Hyde Park Lido had been championed by Labour politician George Lansbury, First Commissioner of Works…. It was he who was responsible for historic buildings and monuments in the royal parks…. He actively did much to improve recreational facilities – and was particularly keen to do so during the Depression years…. As well as being a social reformer he was also a supporter of women’s suffrage….

In 1929 Dr Saleeby, of The Sunlight League, which had been founded in 1924, visited Lansbury to request the establishment of a lido…. The stretch of water in Hyde Park – known as the Serpentine because of its long snake like appearance and created in 1730 – became a magnet in warm weather and so was chosen as the designated site…. An appeal for funds was put out – one benefactor alone, a Mr D’Arcy-Cooper, donated £5,000 in memory of his son…. A rectangular area was built on the Serpentine for bathing and a pavilion added…. It soon became known as ‘Lansbury’s Lido’….

The Lido opened in 1930 and rapidly became the talk of the town…. ‘Men and women swimming together in nothing but skimpy swimsuits! Good Heavens! Whatever next’….

We’ve all seen pictures of the Victorian bathing machines that used to be found at our seasides…. It was thought bathing in the sea water was beneficial to the health – but to be able to swim in male company, even family members was not an option for women…. ‘Exposure of any part of the female body works more erotically than exposure of the corresponding part of the male….There is no activity where the body is so overtly exposed than when bathing in public’….

Growth of swimming as a competitive sport for men and boys increased as public baths began to appear across the country…. For serious female swimmers access to facilities came slowly, with restricted allocated time slots….

Another contributing factor to women’s non-participation was the potentiality of exposure to the sun…. Before the 1920s tanned skin was seen as a sign of being working-class…. Ladies were expected to be pale and interesting! But during the 1920s sun-kissed skin became associated with affluence – as to give the impression that the summer had been spent on the fashionable Riviera….

Kathleen Murphy was the first woman to legally swim in the Serpentine waters…. The Lido became an instant success…. During the heatwave of August 1930 over 30,000 used the paid for facilities which included changing and bathing…. A further 60,000 – men only – used the free section, which provided no changing area…. Both men and women had to wear one piece bathing suits – the men’s generally buttoning at the shoulder…. However, it became the trend for men to roll the top half down to the waist in order to go bare chested…. This would upset the authorities who would patrol around ordering bathers to wear their costumes correctly….

As much as the public loved the Lido, readily adapting to the idea of mixed bathing – it appears the authorities had a monumental issue with it…. Metropolitan Police files uncovered in the archives at Kew paint a picture that the activity was nothing short of providing sexual licence…. ‘Women of doubtful character, who display themselves in flimsy bathing dresses – attracting vulgar men and teenage boys’….’Some upstanding female bathers had complained of their costumes being ripped off on diving boards and in the water by the over-excited male populace’…. On one particularly riotous Sunday afternoon in 1932 eleven officers had to be despatched to restore public order….

In all honestly perhaps the police should have been concentrating on a much bigger problem at the time – an outbreak of bicycle thefts at the Lido….

Lansbury’s Lido – Iridescenti – own work CC BY-SA 3.0

On this day in history….15th June 1971

On this day in history : 15th June 1971 – Opposition grows to Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher’s plans to end free school milk for the over sevens…. Some councils threaten to defy the ban….

Ministry of Information Photo Division – Public domain

School children began to receive a third of a pint of milk per day in 1946 with the advent of the welfare state…. However, the Labour Government had already stopped milk for secondary schools by 1968…. When the Conservatives came to power it was to a bleak economic situation – but election promises on tax had to be met….

Margaret Thatcher knew how controversial stopping the free milk would be – and she was absolutely horrified when Health Secretary Ken Clarke suggested it also be stopped for nursery school children…. She had considered other measures, such as charging admission to museums, or charging to borrow library books….but in the end it was with reluctance that she put forward the proposal…. The Bill received a second reading on the 14th of June and was passed by 281 votes to 248….

Local authorities were urged not to break the law by deliberately going against government policy…. Some Labour councils had threatened to put up rates in order to fund school milk…. It was argued that withdrawing milk could potentially harm children’s diets and health…. Thatcher reasoned that the money saved could be spent in other ways, such as on school buildings…. Indeed the milk bill was coming in at £14m a year – double the amount being spent on books….

Needless to say the political storm raged on – and the public also showed their anger…. The playground taunt ‘Thatcher, Thatcher milk snatcher!’ was heard far and wide…. In fact the cuts did not stop there – with various measures put into place with regards to education funding…. A £200m package was approved in September 1971, which also saw the cost of school dinners raised….

British History

On this day in history….14th June 1991

On this day in history : 14th June 1991 – The death of legendary Academy award winning actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft, who appeared in both classic and modern stage plays – as well as in films….

Peggy was born in Croydon on the 22nd of December 1907 – she was still a child when her father was killed during World War One…. At school she was encouraged in her love of Shakespeare however, was not encouraged, either by her teachers or her mother, in her desire to become an actress…. Nevertheless, at the age of 16, showing strong will and determination she joined the Central School of Speech and Drama…. A fellow pupil was Laurence Olivier….

She graduated from the Central School in 1927 with a Diploma of Dramatic Art from London University – having already made her stage debut at Birmingham’s Repertory Theatre opposite Ralph Richardson in J.M.Barrie’s ‘Dear Brutus’…. Her first main West End role was as Naemi in the play ‘Jew Suss’ in 1929….

It was also in 1929 that she married Rupert Hart-Davis….it was to be a short-lived marriage and ended in 1933…. They were to always remain close friends – he was later to blame the failure of their marriage on their young age – although it was he who filed for divorce on the grounds of her adultery with theatrical director Theodore Komisarjevsky…. She had also had other brief affairs with J.B.Priestly and American actor Paul Robeson….

In 1930 Peggy was cast as Desdemona in ‘Othello’ at the Savoy Theatre…. It was a production that was not generally well received but she gained excellent reviews…. She came to the attention of John Gielgud, who at the time was a newly established star in the West End…. On being invited by the Oxford University Dramatic Society to direct a production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ he cast Peggy as Juliet – a performance that won her golden notices…. She went on to join the Old Vic Company for its 1932-33 season – a company known for its productions of the classics, especially Shakespeare….

In 1933 Peggy made her first film – ‘The Wandering Jew’…. However, she was not keen on this form of acting and so over the next 25 years she only made four more films, perhaps the most notable being Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The 39 Steps’ in 1935…. She married Komisarjevsky in 1934 – but again it was to be short-lived, they parted in 1936….

She went on to marry lawyer Jeremy Hutchinson in 1940 and gave birth to a daughter in 1941…. Her acting career took a back seat for a while, resuming briefly before her second child, a son, was born in 1946…. She returned to the stage in 1947 and had a run of successes, in classical, Shakespeare and modern productions…. By the mid 1960s her marriage was failing and Peggy threw herself more and more into her work….

Peggy Ashcroft, 1962 – Dutch National Archives – CC BY-SA 3.0nl

During the 1980s she appeared on television in a few productions…. She won a BAFTA in 1984 as Best Actress in ‘The Jewel in the Crown’ – and another for ‘A Passage to India’ – for which she also received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress….

Peggy died of a stroke in London, at the age of 83….

British History

On this day in history….13th June 1910

On this day in history : 13th June 1910 – The birth of Mary Whitehouse, the educator, conservative activist and co-founder of the ‘Clean-Up TV’ campaign….

Whitehouse was born Constance Mary Hutchison in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and after finishing school she trained to become a teacher…. At the same time she became involved with evangelical Christian groups, such as the Student Christian Movement…. She qualified as a teacher in 1932….

It was at a meeting of the Oxford Group – a Christian organisation later to become known as Moral Re-Armament – that she met Ernest Raymond Whitehouse…. They married in 1940 and were to have five sons (two of whom died in infancy)….

In 1960 Whitehouse was working as a teacher in a school in Madely, Shropshire and was given the responsibility of sex education…. She was to be totally shocked by the lack of morals amongst many of her students…. It was at a time when sex scandals seemed to dominate the news headlines – particularly the exploits of Christine Keebler and Mandy Rice-Davies…. Whitehouse blamed the media, especially the BBC for exposing the nation to ‘such filth’….

In 1963 she wrote to the BBC asking for a meeting with the then Director-General, Hugh Greene…. But she had to make do with his deputy, Harman Grisewood – who she felt was sympathetic because he had good Catholic values…. However, she was to remain dissatisfied with the content she saw on television, so in 1964 she teamed up with vicar’s wife Norah Buckland and they launched the ‘Clean-Up TV’ campaign…. Appealing to the women of Britain they held their first public meeting on the 5th of May at Birmingham Town Hall…. Around 2,000 turned up, including several coach loads….

Whitehouse was to become a thorn in the side of Sir Hugh Greene…. According to her, he was ‘the devil incarnate’ and responsible for the moral collapse of the country – with its promiscuity, infidelity, indecency, violence, blasphemy, bad language and drinking…. She made some 300 speeches across the country each year – and the BBC, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace all received a bombardment of correspondence from her….

She became General Secretary of the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association in 1965, an association with over 400,000 supporters including many professionals such as senior police officers and bishops….

Just about every programme shown on British television came under her scrutiny…. One of her absolute pet hates was sitcom ‘Til Death Us Do Part’ – and particularly Alf Garnett’s love of the word “bloody”…. Another one she had it in for was Benny Hill…. Comedian Dave Allen fared little better, who she described as ‘offensive, indecent and embarrassing’…. However, comedy writers began to turn the tables, seeing her as potential material for their humour…. The Goodies devoted a whole episode – ‘Gender Education’ – in 1971, purely with the intention of irritating her….

She even turned her attention to popular music…. She unsuccessfully tried to get the BBC to ban Chuck Berry’s ‘My Ding-a-Ling’ – but had a better result when she managed to stop Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’ from being aired…. He responded by sending her flowers – as he was convinced it was this that helped his record reach the No.1 spot in the British charts….

Even family favourite ‘Dr Who’ attracted her wrath – which she referred to as ‘teatime brutality for tots’…. She objected to its violence! And within a week of Channel 4 launching in November 1982 she was having a go at the soap ‘Brookside’ for the amount of swear words in it….

Whitehouse retired in 1994….but even from her nursing home she still had plenty to say…. In her book, ‘Whatever Happened To Sex’, she explained, that as a happy family woman, she had nothing against sex itself – but was against its exploitation in the media…. To some Mary Whitehouse was a champion of Christian family values – indeed in 1980 she was awarded a CBE…. To others she was just an interfering busy body…. She died on the 23rd of November 2001 at the age of 91….

British History

On this day in history….12th June 1819

On this day in history : 12th June 1819 – The birth of English clergyman, university lecturer, historian, social reformer, novelist and poet Charles Kingsley – author of the classic ‘The Water Babies’….

Charles Kingsley – photograph by Charles Watkins – Credit : Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0

Kingsley was born in Holne, Devon, the eldest son of the Reverend Charles Kingsley and Mary Lucas Kingsley…. His younger brother, Henry and sister, Charlotte were also to become writers…. His childhood was spent in Clovelly and then Barnack, Northamptonshire…. He was to develop a keen interest in geology and nature…. He attended grammar school before King’s College, London and then entering Cambridge University in 1838…. Upon graduating in 1842 he decided on a life in the Church and became Rector of Eversley, Hampshire in 1844….

St Mary’s, Eversley – Photo credit : Elisa Rolle, own work CC BY-SA 4.0

Influenced by the work of theologian Frederick Denison Maurice it was in 1848 that Kingsley became the founding member of the Christian Socialist Movement…. It was the Movement’s aim to seek ways of combatting the evils of industrialisation through Christian ethics….

In 1851 Kingsley’s first novel ‘Yeast’ was published – although it had been serialised in Fraser’s Magazine three years before…. It dealt with the social issues between the poor and the gentry…. The previous year his second novel ‘Alton Locke’ had been published – the story of a tailor, who was also a poet and who becomes a leader of the Chartist Movement in the fight against enforced long working hours and poor working conditions….

Kingsley was a great advocate of adult education…. He believed in the growth of the co-operative movement and he fought for improved sanitation and living conditions….

Charles Kingsley – photo by Cundall & Downes – Credit : Wellcome Collection CC BY 4.0

By the mid 1850s he had begun to write popular novels with ‘Hypatia’ being published in 1853 with a setting in early Christian Europe and ‘Westward Ho’ in 1854 and set in the Elizabethan period….

In 1859 Kingsley became Chaplain to Queen Victoria and was made Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University the following year…. In 1861 he became private tutor to the Prince of Wales…. Then in 1870 he was made Canon of Chester Cathedral where he served until 1873 – before being made Canon of Westminster Abbey….

He continued to pursue his other interests; he formed the Chester Society for National Science in 1872 – he had been one of the first to champion Charles Darwin’s ‘On Origin of Species’…. He remained highly critical of Roman Catholicism, which had controversially led to a public spat in print with theologian and poet Cardinal John Henry Newman…. Kingsley was a family man, he and wife Frances Eliza Grenfell had four children….

He continued to write throughout his life…. ‘Hereward the Wake’ was published in 1866 and was set in Anglo Saxon England at the time of the Norman Conquest…. But his most famous book, the children’s fantasy tale about a boy chimney sweep, ‘The Water Babies, A Fairy Tale For A Land Baby’ was published in 1863…. It is a story that combined so many elements of Kingsley’s life…. His interest in nature and his own theory on evolution, to his concerns on welfare reforms and the need for better sanitation….

1885 cover of The Water-Babies – Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library CC BY 2.0

Kingsley died in Eversley on the 23rd of January 1875….