Historians to celebrate town’s link to influential writer and campaigner

HISTORIANS will meet in a Yorkshire town to remember one of the 20th century’s most influential British social historians.

Edward Palmer “E.P.” Thompson, a left wing writer and peace campaigner, is to be honoured with a plaque at the Halifax house where he lived between 1948 and 1965, during which time he wrote his seminal work, The Making of the English Working Class.

The plaque will be unveiled on Saturday, November 16, at Holly Bank, Whitegates, in Siddal,
Halifax, and will mark the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication.

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A walk to Thompson’s former home will be led by local historian Dr John Hargreaves, who is chairman of Halifax Civic Trust.

Dr Hargreaves said: “We are very proud that Halifax has this association with one of the most influential works of social history of the 20th century. It has continuously been in print for the last 50 years.

“I will lead a guided walk from Halifax Square Chapel to the house, arriving at around 3pm.”

The day will begin with a lecture and discussion on the life and works of E.P. Thompson, who died in 1993. The lecture will be given by Professor Bryan D Palmer, of Trent University, Ontario.

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Following the lecture, there will be a round table discussion involving several historians and members of the Society for the Study of Labour History.

The event is free and open to all.

Contact Dr Charlotte Alston by emailing: [email protected]

Oxford-born Thompson’s most influential work remains The Making of the English Working Class.

It was published while he was working at Leeds University and tells the forgotten story of the first working class radical movement in the world.

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He wrote the book while living in Siddal, Halifax and based some of his work on research he carried out in the town and its social history.

During the Second World War Thompson served in Africa and Italy as a tank commander. After the war he studied at Cambridge University. He later taught evening classes at Leeds University.

Thompson’s older brother Major William Frank Thompson was a British officer who parachuted into Macedonia in January 1944.

He linked up with anti-fascist partisans but was captured and executed by firing squad in Bulgaria. E.P. Thompson later wrote a memoir of him.

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