All Our Yesterdays – a monthly look at Harlow in years gone by.
By Ian Beckett

FOR this month’s delve into the Harlow Museum’s newspaper archive, we head back to Friday 1st May 1953 and the launch of Harlow’s first weekly newspaper – the “Harlow Citizen” – twopence where sold, and I don’t know whether, when it was launched, it was freely delivered to all households. I’m sure that the knowledge is out there and that Your Harlow readers will be quick to tell me.

Another Harlow Citizen In The Making

A clever piece of editing, prominent on the front page, has a picture of a bonny boy, with the subheading “Master Stephen Robert Cliff the first child born in the Harlow New Town is already growing up”
The story reveals that Stephen, son of Mr and Mrs E.K. Cliff of 4 Chippingfield had really benefited from the country air found in Harlow having been subject to illness as baby.

Yes, the country air of Harlow New Town was one of its many unique selling points back in the day, and it really did make a difference to the Cliff family, who had moved to Harlow in 1949, into a new family house, rather than the three rooms that they had shared with another eight people in Leyton.
The article concludes on a prophetic and insightful note when it says “There are still arduous years ahead before the devoted staff of the Development Corporation, associated public bodies and voluntary organisations see the fulfilment of their plans. But in the vigorous growth of the youngest generation, like 

Editorial – “About Ourselves”

The first editorial, in the middle of the paper, lay out “the main objects of the Harlow Citizen” and a clear mission for the weeks, months and years ahead. The weekly local newspaper set out “to play a large part of binding the old and new together and make Harlow not only an exciting new town but a united whole.”
It is a mission, which has been echoed through seven decades and more, until rather than allow the town to burst at its seams, it was decided it would need to redraw its boundaries in partnership with its neighbours.

The Citizen, edited and printed in Harlow, aimed to be a real part of the life of the growing community, independent of sect or party, political, religious, or otherwise, offering “an unrivalled news service presented in the best traditions of journalism.”

The paper pledged to provide an essential service to a developing community, participating fully in “the great social experiment of our time represented by the New Towns”

Harlow’s pioneers, building our town

There was time when the word “offensive” could still invoke positive connotations, perhaps because it resonated still, in the post-war period, with the sacrifices made by our fathers and grandfathers to defeat fascism in the 1940’s.

The Citizen devotes a full page to eleven photographs of the real pioneers of Harlow New Town, the ones who laid the foundation stones and then added the bricks and mortar, the window frames, and the glass. Under the heading of “Offensive For Peace: HEALTHY HAPPY FACES OF THE BUILDERS OF HOMES ARE AN INVIGORATING SIGHT AT HARLOW NEW TOWN” is a quote from the new President of the USA, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who said, “The cost of one heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than thirty cities…it is two electric power plants…it is two fine fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete highway…we pay for a single destroyer with new home that could have housed more than eight thousand people.”

Alongside these pictures of our pioneers, are six paid for adverts, the life blood of local news, and these provide a glimpse of the commercial and social history emerging in Harlow’s new town, alongside the remnants of the old.

The first ad is for “The Sun and Whalebone pub” in Potter Street “A Barclay’s House noted for its atmosphere and cleanliness – luncheons, snacks, outdoor and indoor parties catered for.”
Note: yes, it is that same Barclay family from which the Bank derives its name. The Barclay Perkins Brewery once stood in Southwark, South London and two hundred years ago it was the largest brewery in the world!

Despite its popularity, indeed I can remember the occasional shandy or half a cider in there in the late seventies/early eighties, The Sun and Whalebone ceased trading, the historic building fell into decline, I vaguely remember it became a squat for a while, before finally succumbing to an arson attack.
Many readers will know the site previously occupied by The Sun and Whalebone, on London Road, is now home to the Miller and Carter Steakhouse.

Beneath the pub advert, Wilfred Norman, the Market Street Butcher, asks “Have you tried Harlow Mill Sausages made at my Market Street shop?”, before A.W. Bennett from Sawbridgeworth tells readers that his diverse business offers not only the delivery of Coal and Coke but also a specialist furniture removal service.

Self-employed businessmen were also keen to advertise in this new local paper, even from as far as Bishops Stortford, with L. J. Brinkworth offering services as a Builder and High-Class Decorator (wallpaper and paints supplied, speciality: woodturning).

Next up, Savage and King Ltd, of The Broadway, Harlow, offer “Suits” made to measure from seven guineas! (one guineas was equal to 21 shillings, or £1.05 in decimal currency, which of course wasn’t even a thing).

Finally, S.V.L. Locke, Fairview Supplies of Barrows, Harlow (but with a Roydon telephone number) were able to supply the good people of the new town with Rustic Arches, Poles, Stakes, Rockery Stone, and Crazy Paving.

Epping Division Faithful Rally At Harlow

Despite its self-acclaimed political neutrality, even back then in its first edition the Harlow Citizen did not shy away from corresponding and commentating on important local political matter or events. It reports that “Epping Division Labourites Take A Look At Social Planning” although having said that the article simply doesn’t deliver. The report talks about how Labour Party members of the Epping Division, of which Harlow was at that point still a part, had arrived by the coachload, to attend a rally fronted by their prospective parliamentary candidate, Mrs Leah Manning.

The article explains in detail Mrs Manning’s passionate commitment to world peace, a sentiment that was echoed by many in the dying days of the Korean War. “That is why I say we must take the Russian peace offensive at its face value,” said Mrs Manning, adding “We must exploit it and enlarge it by every means in our power.” Mrs Manning.

Mrs Manning also expressed her indignation at shameful exhibitions of racial prejudice in the commonwealth as witnessed in Africa. The apartheid, land grab, starvation wages and collective punishment of the peoples of Kenya, Nyasaland, and Rhodesia. Mrs Manning said, “It is a simple and unchallengeable truth that we cannot make peace and freedom secure in the world as long as hundreds of men, women and children in Asia and Africa live in deep and humiliating poverty.”
The only tenuous link I can find with “Social Planning” is the report of a spat, a war of words, between Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate and the controlling Tories of the Epping Division constituency.

Mrs Manning said, she did not often agree with her political opponents, but thought Colonel John Todhunter was right when he described Harlow as a grave menace to the Tory Party. Mrs Manning continued “Not only is the population growing rapidly, but the vast majority who come to live here come from areas with a sound Labour tradition and bring with them a sensitive and intelligent political consciousness. Neither do they forget that Harlow is part of their inheritance from the Labour Government, and it was only established here after a bitter contest between the local Tories on one hand, and the Minister, myself and the tiny but valiant Harlow Labour Party on the other.”

Chiron, Mythological Greek Centaur Now Harlow Tenant

1953 was not just a great time for new people to take up residency in Harlow New Town but sculpture was beginning to establish itself as another one of the town’s USPs.

That unique selling point didn’t happen by accident but absolutely by design. “In 1953 Harlow Art Trust set out with a mission to beautify the post-war New Town of Harlow by commissioning, purchasing, and siting sculpture across its public spaces. The founding members of the Trust were uncompromising in the belief that access to high quality art should be more than mere decoration: it should be part of the social fabric of everyday life and owned by the people who live and work around it. The project attracted some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Elisabeth Frink.” Harlow Sculpture Town https://sculpturetown.uk/

In April 1953, a roughly carved two-ton block of Portland stone, was lowered onto the forecourt of Moot House, the home of Mark Hall and Netteswell Community Association, at The Stow. Accompanying the piece of work-in-progress creativity was sculptress Miss Mary Spencer-Watson, who having done five weeks preparatory work at her studio in Dorset, would now set about transforming it into a subject from Greek mythology: Chiron, the centaur, Master of Achilles, teaching a small boy to play the lyre.

Harlow’s Great Cup Win

Finally, to conclude this month’s look at Harlow in days gone by, a football story from the last Saturday in April 1953. An enthusiastic reporter tells readers “Few cup final can have had the sensational start than the Spartans League Final had at Stonecross Road, Hatfield, on Saturday. My watch had registered 40 seconds and already the score was 1-1.” Bletchley missed a penalty in the first half but despite that, both teams showed that they were worthy finalists, and the score was level at 2-2 at half time.

Two minutes into the second half, Ken Fish who had opened the scoring for Harlow took his team into the lead with the third goal and when Bletchley was awarded a dubious penalty for a foul it was down to Goalie Gladwin to save the ball and save the day. “Harlow gained just enough superiority to keep their nose in front and finished the game deserving winners. Bletchley Town 2 Harlow Town 3

A weekly tradition was established on the sports page of the Harlow Citizen, that the lead story would be accompanied by a humorous summary of the highlights in cartoon form. The Editor of Your Harlow drew attention to this in January 2024 when reporting on Harlow Cricket Club’s 250th anniversary. In that report he said, “in support of the sports stories during the 1950’s was a fascinating somewhat unique feature of a series of cartoon characters (by Jimmy Brown, who was he?) being a delight and added to the accompanying match report.”

Who was Jimmy Brown?
The Editor asked, “who was Jimmy Brown?” To the best of my knowledge that question remains unanswered.

Next Month
Next week, I will once again, be visiting the news archives of Harlow Museum, for my own interest and enjoyment, and to gather material for the next few months of “All Our Yesterdays.”