Alfred Salter
Encyclopedia
Dr Alfred Salter was a British
medical practitioner and Labour Party
politician
.
Southwark Council has offered £1000 reward for anyone who recovers the statue stolen (right) on 18 November.
in 1873, the son of W H Salter. Following education at Roan School
, Greenwich, he went on to study medicine at Guy's Hospital
, London
. He qualified in 1896 and in the following year was awarded the Golding-Bird gold medal and scholarship in public health, and the Gull research scholarship in pathology
. He was made house physician and resident obstetric physician at Guy's and was appointed as bacteriologist to the British Institute for Preventive Medicine.
In 1898 he was employed as a doctor at the Methodist Bermondsey
Settlement, which had been established by Rev. John Scott Lidgett
. While at the Settlement he extablished mutual health insurance schemes and adult education classes on health matters. In 1900 he married Ada Brown, who shared his political and social views. In the year of his marriage he established his medical practice in Bermondsey and the couple worked together in trying to alleviate the effects of poverty in the largely working class area. He chose to offer services free to those who could not pay. This work was to lead the establishment of a pioneering comprehensive health service in the area. The major source of employment in Bermondsey during the 20th century until the 1970s was the Port of London
. Until the docks were nationalised after World War II, most of the men working in the docks were employed on a casual daily basis. For most of them the casual nature of the work made it difficult to make a decent living.
far more quickly and profoundly than he could outside the political arena. He was elected to Bermondsey Borough Council
in 1903, and was also a member of the local board of guardians
. In March 1906 he was elected to fill a vacancy on the London County Council
, representing the seat of Southwark, Bermondsey
as a member of the Progressive Party
following the election of the sitting councillor, George Cooper
, as the area's member of parliament
. He was re-elected to the LCC in 1907.
In October 1909 George Cooper MP died. Cooper had been elected as a Liberal Party
Member of Parliament
(MP), and although Salter had succeeded him on the county council, he had since become aligned with the Independent Labour Party
(ILP). On 8 October, Alfred Salter was officially announced as the party's candidate at the by-election. The poll was held on 28 October, and Salter received 1,435 votes, finishing third of the three candidates. Crucially, his intervention probably led to the loss of the seat by the Liberals, with the Conservative candidate John Dumphreys
securing a majority of 987 votes.
In March 1910 the triennial election of the London County Council was held. For the first time the ILP nominated candidates in their own name, having previously worked within the Liberal-dominated Progressive Party. Salter was chosen to defend the Bermondsey seat as a Labour candidate against both the Progressives and the Conservative-backed Municipal Reform Party
. He was heavily defeated, coming at the bottom of the poll of five candidates. He contested the same seat for what had by then become the Labour Party
in 1913, but was again unsuccessful.
All elections were postponed for the duration of the First World War. When a general election
was called in December 1918, the parliamentary constituencies were revised under the Representation of the People Act 1918
. Salter was selected as Labour Party candidate for the new Bermondsey West
seat, and was described in the following terms by The Times
:
The new constituency was won by the Liberal candidate Harold Glanville
, who had been the sitting MP for Bermondsey.
In 1919 municipal elections resumed. In March both Alfred and his wife Ada were Labour Party candidates in the London County Council elections, standing in the neighbouring electoral divisions of Bermondsey West and Rotherhithe. Neither were elected. In November Ada was elected to Bermondsey Borough Council, where Labour gained control for the first time. She held the seat in 1922, and in the same year was elected as the first female mayor of the borough.
he was again nominated as Labour candidate for Bermondsey West. Salter secured 7,550 votes, a majority of 2,325. He was helped to victory by there being three opposing candidates, with the Anti-labour vote split between Liberal, National Liberal
and Independent Unionist opponents. His wife, as mayor of the borough, was the returning officer
who declared him elected. A further general election
was held in 1923, and Salter lost the seat in a straight fight to the Rev. Roderick Kedward, the Liberal candidate, in spite of increasing his vote to 8,298. Political instability led to another election in October 1924
. Salter was able to overturn the result of the previous year, increasing his vote to 11,578 and unseating Kedward with a majority of 2,902. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1929, 1931, and 1935, but stood down at the 1945 election
, when he was in very poor health, and died soon afterwards.
. He was one of the founders of the Socialist Medical Association
and a friend of its President Somerville Hastings
with whom he made a trip to the Soviet Union in 1931. In 1936 he advocated the creation of a new League of Nations
to which the possessions of the British Empire
should be transferred. During World War II
, despite his constituency being heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz
, he along with fellow labour MP Richard Stokes
and Bishop George Bell in the House of Lords
were in a small minority in Parliament opposing the strategic bombing
by the Royal Air Force
Bomber Command
on moral grounds. He also was a strong advocate of Guild Socialism
and of associationalism
. Salter was a strong supporter of the Temperance Movement
, and caused controversy when he spoke out against widespread drunkenness in the House of Commons. He was also a supporter of free speech, and resigned from the Bermondsey Borough Labour Party and the local trades council when they organised a counter-demonstration to prevent the British Union of Fascists
from holding a march in the borough. He accused the trades council of being "Communist in sympathy and Fascist in methods".
The Ada Salter Garden is within the Old Surrey Docks area (near Southwark Park
).
The Alfred Salter Bridge is a footbridge leading of Watermans Lane (between Stave Hill
and Redriff Road (near Greenland Dock
) Part of the Russia Dock Woodland.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
medical practitioner and Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Southwark Council has offered £1000 reward for anyone who recovers the statue stolen (right) on 18 November.
Early life
Salter was born in GreenwichGreenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in 1873, the son of W H Salter. Following education at Roan School
John Roan school
The John Roan School is a secondary comprehensive school in Greenwich, South London that was a member of The Beacon Schools program.- Location :...
, Greenwich, he went on to study medicine at Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He qualified in 1896 and in the following year was awarded the Golding-Bird gold medal and scholarship in public health, and the Gull research scholarship in pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
. He was made house physician and resident obstetric physician at Guy's and was appointed as bacteriologist to the British Institute for Preventive Medicine.
In 1898 he was employed as a doctor at the Methodist Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
Settlement, which had been established by Rev. John Scott Lidgett
John Scott Lidgett
The Reverend John Scott Lidgett, CH was a British Wesleyan Methodist minister and educationist. He achieved prominence both as a theologian and reformer within British Methodism, stressing the importance of the church's engagement with the whole of society and human culture, and as an effective...
. While at the Settlement he extablished mutual health insurance schemes and adult education classes on health matters. In 1900 he married Ada Brown, who shared his political and social views. In the year of his marriage he established his medical practice in Bermondsey and the couple worked together in trying to alleviate the effects of poverty in the largely working class area. He chose to offer services free to those who could not pay. This work was to lead the establishment of a pioneering comprehensive health service in the area. The major source of employment in Bermondsey during the 20th century until the 1970s was the Port of London
Port of London
The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
. Until the docks were nationalised after World War II, most of the men working in the docks were employed on a casual daily basis. For most of them the casual nature of the work made it difficult to make a decent living.
Politics
Salter decided that by entering politics he could effect changes to the squalid environment in BermondseyBermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
far more quickly and profoundly than he could outside the political arena. He was elected to Bermondsey Borough Council
Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey
The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London, created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899. It was abolished and its area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in 1965.-History:...
in 1903, and was also a member of the local board of guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
. In March 1906 he was elected to fill a vacancy on the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
, representing the seat of Southwark, Bermondsey
Bermondsey (UK Parliament constituency)
Bermondsey was a borough constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
as a member of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (London)
The Progressive Party was a political party based around the Liberal Party that contested municipal elections in the County of London.It was founded in 1888 by a group of Liberals and leaders of the labour movement. It was also supported by the Fabian Society, and Sidney Webb was one of its...
following the election of the sitting councillor, George Cooper
George Joseph Cooper
George Joseph Cooper was a British Liberal Party politician in London.When the London County Council was created in 1889, Cooper was elected as a councillor for Bermondsey, standing for the Progressive Party, the municipal organisation of the Liberals...
, as the area's member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. He was re-elected to the LCC in 1907.
In October 1909 George Cooper MP died. Cooper had been elected as a Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP), and although Salter had succeeded him on the county council, he had since become aligned with the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
(ILP). On 8 October, Alfred Salter was officially announced as the party's candidate at the by-election. The poll was held on 28 October, and Salter received 1,435 votes, finishing third of the three candidates. Crucially, his intervention probably led to the loss of the seat by the Liberals, with the Conservative candidate John Dumphreys
John Dumphreys
John Molesworth Thomas Dumphreys was a British Conservative politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Bermondsey in a 1909 by-election, but weeks later lost the seat to the Liberals at the January 1910 General Election.Dumphreys was born in Bermondsey in 1844. Of humble origins, he...
securing a majority of 987 votes.
In March 1910 the triennial election of the London County Council was held. For the first time the ILP nominated candidates in their own name, having previously worked within the Liberal-dominated Progressive Party. Salter was chosen to defend the Bermondsey seat as a Labour candidate against both the Progressives and the Conservative-backed Municipal Reform Party
Municipal Reform Party
The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945.-Formation:...
. He was heavily defeated, coming at the bottom of the poll of five candidates. He contested the same seat for what had by then become the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1913, but was again unsuccessful.
All elections were postponed for the duration of the First World War. When a general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
was called in December 1918, the parliamentary constituencies were revised under the Representation of the People Act 1918
Representation of the People Act 1918
The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
. Salter was selected as Labour Party candidate for the new Bermondsey West
Bermondsey West (UK Parliament constituency)
Bermondsey West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
seat, and was described in the following terms by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
:
"Dr Salter, the Labour candidate, is one of the highly educated idealists who are to be found in the ranks of that party. After a brilliant academic career, he decided to devote himself to work among the poor in Bermondsey, and there he has laboured for many years both as a doctor professionally and as a member of local administrative bodies. Personally, nobody has a word to say against him, but his views are of a very extreme kind. His attitude during the war was that of a pacifist, though he would not, it is said, admit the accuracy of this popular term."
The new constituency was won by the Liberal candidate Harold Glanville
Harold Glanville
Harold James Glanville was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:Glanville was born in Bermondsey in south London the son of James Glanville, a Chartered Accountant of 15 Great St Helens, in the City of London. He was educated at Deptford Grammar School...
, who had been the sitting MP for Bermondsey.
In 1919 municipal elections resumed. In March both Alfred and his wife Ada were Labour Party candidates in the London County Council elections, standing in the neighbouring electoral divisions of Bermondsey West and Rotherhithe. Neither were elected. In November Ada was elected to Bermondsey Borough Council, where Labour gained control for the first time. She held the seat in 1922, and in the same year was elected as the first female mayor of the borough.
Member of Parliament
In the 1922 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
he was again nominated as Labour candidate for Bermondsey West. Salter secured 7,550 votes, a majority of 2,325. He was helped to victory by there being three opposing candidates, with the Anti-labour vote split between Liberal, National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)
The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...
and Independent Unionist opponents. His wife, as mayor of the borough, was the returning officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
who declared him elected. A further general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
was held in 1923, and Salter lost the seat in a straight fight to the Rev. Roderick Kedward, the Liberal candidate, in spite of increasing his vote to 8,298. Political instability led to another election in October 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
. Salter was able to overturn the result of the previous year, increasing his vote to 11,578 and unseating Kedward with a majority of 2,902. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1929, 1931, and 1935, but stood down at the 1945 election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, when he was in very poor health, and died soon afterwards.
Personal beliefs
Alfred Salter was a committed Christian and pacifist, being involved with the Quakers for a number of years, and an active member of the Peace Pledge UnionPeace Pledge Union
The Peace Pledge Union is a British pacifist non-governmental organization. It is open to everyone who can sign the PPU pledge: "I renounce war, and am therefore determined not to support any kind of war...
. He was one of the founders of the Socialist Medical Association
Socialist Health Association
The Socialist Medical Association was founded in 1930, in order to campaign for a National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It took in many of those who had been active in the State Medical Service Association...
and a friend of its President Somerville Hastings
Somerville Hastings
Somerville Hastings FRCS MP was a British surgeon and Labour Party politician.The son of the Reverend H G Hastings, he was born in Warminster, Wiltshire. He was educated at Wycliffe College , University College and the Middlesex Hospital, London...
with whom he made a trip to the Soviet Union in 1931. In 1936 he advocated the creation of a new League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
to which the possessions of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
should be transferred. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, despite his constituency being heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, he along with fellow labour MP Richard Stokes
Richard Stokes
Major Sir Richard Rapier Stokes MC was a British Labour politician who served briefly as Lord Privy Seal in 1951....
and Bishop George Bell in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
were in a small minority in Parliament opposing the strategic bombing
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
on moral grounds. He also was a strong advocate of Guild Socialism
Guild socialism
Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds. It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influential in the first quarter of the 20th century. It was strongly associated with G. D. H...
and of associationalism
Associationalism
Associationalism is a political project where "human welfare and liberty are both best served when as many of the affairs of a society as possible are managed by voluntary and democratically self-governing associations." Associationalism "gives priority to freedom in its scale of values, but it...
. Salter was a strong supporter of the Temperance Movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
, and caused controversy when he spoke out against widespread drunkenness in the House of Commons. He was also a supporter of free speech, and resigned from the Bermondsey Borough Labour Party and the local trades council when they organised a counter-demonstration to prevent the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
from holding a march in the borough. He accused the trades council of being "Communist in sympathy and Fascist in methods".
Memorials
The Alfred Salter Primary School was opened in 1995 to meet the growing demand for school places on the Surrey Docks, due to the redevelopment of the old docks.The Ada Salter Garden is within the Old Surrey Docks area (near Southwark Park
Southwark Park
Southwark Park is located in Rotherhithe, in central South East London, and is managed by the London Borough of Southwark. It first opened in 1869 by the Metropolitan Board of Works as one of its first parks...
).
The Alfred Salter Bridge is a footbridge leading of Watermans Lane (between Stave Hill
Stave Hill
Stave Hill is an artificial hill adjacent to the Stave Hill Ecological Park, it is part of Russia Dock Woodland, and is located in Rotherhithe, London...
and Redriff Road (near Greenland Dock
Greenland Dock
Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in...
) Part of the Russia Dock Woodland.
Further reading
- Fenner Brockway Bermondsey Story: the Life of Alfred Salter, ISBN 0-9526203-0-8