May Day!

Today is May Day, although many of us may need to defer our celebrations until the bank holiday next week. Although traditional May Day festivities have a long and interesting history,  when the May Day Bank Holiday was introduced in 1978 it was not timed to coincide with any pagan festival, but with International Workers’ Day.

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The idea of a day devoted to the celebration of working-class culture has its origins in the 19^th century struggle for an eight-hour day. In Brighton, as in many cities across Europe, history is often recounted through the eyes of the upper classes, those who rubbed shoulders with royalty, perhaps, and occupied the town’s grandest crescents and squares. But as historian Antony Dale pointed out in his introduction to Brighton Town and Brighton People, ‘these people were never the real residents of Brighton’. The real residents were ordinary, working people, many of whom lived in unimaginable squalor.

A local Trades Council was established in Brighton in 1890. The idea was to promote solidarity among workers belonging to different trades, but the council also tried to address some of the issues affecting the workers, such as health, housing and education. In the years leading up to World War One, a wide range of unions were active in the town, and Labour Day demonstrations were an annual affair. Flyers were distributed to promote the events, some of which were translated into French and German, to include foreign hotel and restaurant workers based in the town.

Despite the militant tendencies of some groups, there was often fun to be had at these gatherings. A procession would head from the Aquarium to The Level, where speakers would address the crowds. One of Brighton’s most memorable May Day Fairs took place in 1969; it featured activities for all the family, from live music and football matches to Punch & Judy shows, street theatre and, of course, food and drink. According to a report published in the Brighton and Hove Herald on 9 May 1969, ‘The posters billed this event as a “Levelution”. But it was really a workers’ playtime.’

For more about the history of ordinary Brightonians, Underdog Brighton by local author Rocky Hill is a fascinating account of life in ‘the other Brighton’. A reference copy is available at Brighton History Centre.

Kate Elms, Brighton History Centre

Looking Into Brighton’s Past

As a student at Brighton University, I was very pleased to be able to get a short time of work experience with the Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove. I am in my second year studying Visual Culture, which is essentially History of Art, although the course is quite flexible so I have the opportunity to study photography and film if I want to study more contemporary art practices rather than the more traditional art movements.

Since starting my work experience here I have been working alongside Kevin Bacon, the Digital Development Officer who deals with digitalising fine art and photographs, working on the Museum website, the smartphone app and social networking sites (along with a lot more that I have yet to discover). Kevin has taught me how to use their image store  which I wasn’t even aware of before I started my placement. If you haven’t had a browse yet, I recommend it, even if you don’t have an interest in art, many of the paintings/photographs/postcards/ceramics I came across were fascinating to look at, seeing Brighton during both World Wars and previously is intriguing.

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Monochrome postcard bearing image of 12 Indian Soldiers posing outside the Royal Pavilion, during its use as a Military Hospital

Some of the photographs within the slideshow were taken during the First World War. I’m most fascinated with the ones taken of the Indian Soldiers at the Royal Pavilion. In 1914, it was decided that Britain was in need of more troops in order to be able to cover all areas of fighting, so recruited soldiers from India who arrived in France in September ready for battle. Initially, it was planned that the Soldier’s would be treated in France if they needed to be hospitalised but due to the number of casualties, the next best place to use to treat the Soldiers was the South coast of England.

Along with Bournemouth and Southampton, Brightonwas used to accommodate the injured Indian Soldiers, which would accumulate to 4,000 men treated between 1914 and 1916. The general hospital at the top of Elm Grove and York Place School were transformed into Military hospitals alongside the Royal Pavilion.

Within the Pavilion, temporary places of worship were made for the different religions for the troops. A marquee was erected for Sikh’s in the Pavilion grounds, Muslims were assigned to use the lawn in front of the dome and there were nine kitchens in total to cater for the different religions. Hindus and Muslims had different water supplies and the patients were taken care of by people of the same faith as them. The Pavilion was a picturesque environment for a military hospital, one soldier wrote home, ‘Do not be anxious about me, we are very well looked after. Our hospital is in the place where the King used to have his throne.’

Monochrome photographic print of Gas Warning Vehicle in Brighton during the Second World War

Along with the First World War there are many taken between 1939-1945 during the Second World War. Within the collection there are numerous photographs of air raid shelters and much documented evidence of how Brighton was damaged from air raids. Children had been evacuated to Brighton at the beginning of the war, however after a badly shot-up sea plane had to make an emergency landing on Brighton beach in May 1940 it was no longer classed as a Safe Area.

The 30,000 evacuees in Brighton had to be re-evacuated to other areas along with the local children. During the course of the war, Brighton suffered from 56 raids, 381 bombs were dropped, 198 people were killed, 357 seriously injured, over 200 houses were destroyed and 894 seriously damaged. The last image in this group of photographs is a still from a film of people celebrating the end of the war in Brighton.

Monochrome photographic print of a Boy's Brigade Camp in Glynde, East Sussex.

This rest of the photographs in the slideshow are taken around Brighton Seafront and around Brighton town. I think these photos have captured a range of personalities that Brighton attracted and still does today. I particularly liked some of these as they made me laugh and others I just found intriguing. I think these photographs capture the atmosphere of Brighton well, that was present over 50 years ago and still is today.

B&W photographic print of several bathers emerging from the sea at Brighton.

I have only selected some photographs but there are so many more available to look at. In the History Centre located on the first floor of Brighton Museum, there are books of photographs sorted into different categories, for example, railways, piers and transport from a range of dates in Brighton History. If you want to look from home, the image store is available to search for a variety of images so I recommend taking a look if you’ve enjoyed looking at the images above.

Amanda Perks (Volunteer)

Personality of the Month – Dorothy Stringer (1894-1977)

On 19 December 1968, Dorothy Stringer was granted Freedom of the Borough of Brighton. She was only the second woman to have been honoured in this way but, given her record of service to the town, it must have come as no surprise. Best known for her contribution to education, Stringer was a former Mayor, Alderman and senior council member who was awarded an OBE in 1960. In 1969, when she was in her mid-seventies, she still served on countless committees.

Stringer was born in 1894 into a Brighton family that was active in public life. Her father Joseph was an Alderman, her mother Emma was a member of the Board of Guardians and her cousin, Herbert Galliers, was Mayor of Brighton in 1929. She joined the Council’s Education Committee in 1923 and served on it for an incredible 50 years. During this time, she became the committee’s first female chair and, in 1955, a new secondary school was named after her.

As a young woman, Stringer was a talented singer and pianist, and a member of St Bartholomew’s Church Choir. During the First World War, she is said to have taken part in performances put on to entertain wounded soldiers who were being cared for in Brighton’s military hospitals, including the Royal Pavilion.

She was first elected to Brighton Council in 1933 and was made the town’s Mayor in 1952. Two scrapbooks of newspaper cuttings, invitations and other ephemera documenting her mayoral year are held at Brighton History Centre, and these show just how involved she was in the life of the town. From the opening of local businesses to visits to schools, sporting events, conferences and exhibitions, Dorothy Stringer seems to have been an ever-present figure.

Going to balls, banquets and concerts may have been part of the job but, evidently, Stringer also concerned herself with the welfare of vulnerable people, including children and the elderly. At the Mayoral Banquet, which was held at the Royal Pavilion, she made this clear,  promising to, ‘join in the laughter and joy of children and of youth, give a little happiness to the old folk, have courage when the need arises and try to make the right decisions.’

She also paid tribute to the women of Brighton, those who had served in the war, and those who were at home, ‘doing noble work’. At the end of her year of office, fellow councillor Stanley Deason had this to say:  ‘If you have done nothing else, you have made it plain that a woman of ability and integrity can take her place with men and do what they do, and you have done it magnificently. You have performed a service to women, the council and the town.’

Dorothy Stringer continued her work until 1974. She died in 1977 and is buried in Brighton’s Extra Mural Cemetery.

Kate Elms, Brighton History Centre