Chris Best

For many years I was Lewisham's Heritage Champion and proud to promote our maroon plaque scheme. We now have over 20 in the borough and they are quicker to agree than the English Heritage Blue Plaques. London’s famous blue plaques link the people of the past with the buildings of the present. Started in 1866 it is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the world. We have 13 in the borough and the three in Sydenham honour Eleanor Marx, Sir Ernest Shakleton and Sir Geoge Grove.



I have also promoted the use of mosaics and other creative images such as the railway signs around the borough.

It was an honour to be part of the Sydenham Mosiac Committee to help with the fundraising and design. The drive was from Valerie Kelly and Robert Side. The project was to change the front of the Naborhood Centre to showcase scenes from Sydenham life past and present. The building also has a change of name and is known as The Sydenham Centre. The official opening of the Sydenham Mosaic was on the 13th July 2013.

The idea of the roundells was to support the fundraising and one shows many aspects of Sydenham’s past and present. The Queen’s Hall Electric Theatre was on the site of the present building. This includes logos of the International Music Festival and the Arts Festival; Boris Karloff in his role of The Mummy acts as commissionaire. Leslie Howard, from Gone With the Wind, and Norman Long, an early popular radio entertainer are also mentioned.

I was delighted to meet Rachel Holmes when she came to speak in Sydenham about the book Eleanor Marx: A Life and her favourite motto: 'Go ahead!'. Her life contained a deep sadness: she loved a faithless and dishonest man, the academic, actor and would-be playwright Edward Aveling. In June 1897 Edward Aveling, using an alias and a false address, married a woman named Eva Frye at Chelsea Register Office. In August he and Eleanor quarrelled and parted, but he returned quite soon afterwards, and, despite his recent marriage, stayed with Eleanor at Jew’s Walk to be nursed by her after a serious kidney operation. Apart from this strain, Eleanor also had to cope with financial difficulties and an increasing feeling that her work was unsuccessful. On 31 March 1898, Eleanor sent her maid to buy prussic acid, allegedly to put down a dog, from George Dale, a chemist of 92, Kirkdale, Sydenham. She immediately used the acid to commit suicide, and her death was certified by Dr Henry Shackleton, the explorer’s father, who lived nearby in Westwood Hill. The verdict at the inquest was “Suicide” while “labourinq under mental derangement” - although this has been questioned. Eleanor’s funeral was very well attended, unlike that of Aveling, who died later in the year.
Eleanor was an important figure who played a significant role in social reform, particularly for the working class and women’s emancipation. She campaigned for the rights of female and Jewish workers from 1889 onwards after growing up in a very political setting in London. She campaigned for the eight-hour work day and helped women organise their own branches during the dockers’ strikes of 1889 and was a co-founder of the GMB Union.
An English Heritage Blue Plaque was erected in 2008 to our socialist campaigner.

Ernest Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874, in Kilkea, County Kildare, Ireland, the second in a family of ten. In 1880, when Ernest was six, Henry Shackleton gave up his life as a landowner to study medicine at Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), moving his family to the city. Four years later, and a qualified doctor, the family moved again, from Ireland to Sydenham where practiced for 30 years. Ernest He was schooled by a governess until the age of eleven, when he began at Fir Lodge Preparatory School in West Hill, Dulwich. At the age of thirteen, he entered Dulwich College but he was allowed to leave at 16 and go to sea. His father was able to secure him a berth with the North Western Shipping Company. After 10 years Ernest gave that up and joined a British Expedition led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott to try and be the first to reach the South Pole.
The Blue Plaque was erected in 1928 by London County Council.

Sir George Grove increased the popularity and understanding of classical music among the general public. His greatest achievement was the Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1878–89), but he is also remembered for organising regular concerts at the Crystal Palace. His blue plaque was erected on 5th July 2016 by English Heritage at his former home at 14 Westwood Hill in Sydenham.

I was delighted to join the unveiling by Kris Hibbert with Jane Gover and the Rev Michael Kingston.

It was a real pleasure to talk to Ian Wright about his inspirational teacher Mr Pidgen. Sydenham-born Sydney lived in Lewisham for most of his life. At the age of 18, he joined the RAF and flew spitfires and hurricanes. After leaving the RAF, Mr Pigden spent years teaching at Turnham Primary School (now Turnham Academy) where he was also a football referee and coach who ran the school football teams. Ian described his first impression of the teacher who “changed my life - all he ever wanted to do was teach." He added “I’ll never forget that time when I was seven and I needed that guidance he gave me.”


The plaque reads “In memory of Sydney Charles Pigden for his dedicated service to the Lewisham community: WWII spitfire pilot, teacher at Turnham School, Secretary Lewisham Primary Schools Football Association and sports coach and mentor.”

It was moving to unveil the maroon plaque on 28 July 2011 with Heidi Alexander, MP for Lewisham East and Councillor Alan Smith, Deputy Mayor of Lewisham. Lewisham and the store manager of Marks & Spencer - the 67th anniversary of the war time attach. The Doodlebug bomb exploded beside the clock tower on 28 July 1944 during market trading, wiping out shops along the street and severely injuring 216 people. Originally a plaque remembering the wartime tragedy, which resulted in 51 local residents losing their lives was set in the pavement outside Marks & Spencer in Lewisham High Street. Sadly over the years with people walking over it the wording has faded and, following requests from local residents, a new one was erected on the wall outside the store. The original remains in the floor but the words now are hard to read.

On 13 August 1977, under the pretext of demonstrating against street crime, the far-right National Front (NF) organized a march from New Cross to Catford, passing through multicultural Lewisham.

Attempts to have the march banned in the High Court by the All Lewisham Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (ALCARAF) had failed. So on the morning of the 13 August 1977, hundreds of NF members began to assemble in Achilles Street in New Cross. At the same time, thousands of local people and community leaders, including the Mayor of Lewisham and the Bishop of Southwark, came together at Ladywell Fields to hold a peaceful counter-march under the ALCARAF banner. By midday in New Cross, huge crowds of local people and members of political organisations had gathered on Clifton Rise to block the NF’s intended route. Police faced forceful opposition when they attempted to clear Clifton Rise and there were violent confrontations when they tried to reroute the NF through Pagnell Street. Later that afternoon, violent clashes continued in Lewisham town centre as counter-demonstrators clashed with police after the NF had abandoned their march and been escorted out of the area. At that point, and for the first time on the British mainland, the police deployed the large rigid-plastic riot shields that would become such a hallmark of law and order in the 1980s.

To mark the 40th anniversary Lewisham Council funded a plaque to commemorate Lewisham’s response to the racism and fascism. Working with Cllr Joan Millbank we are proud that Lewisham continues to celebrate diversity, promote equality and challenge inequality.

Mrs. Alice Mary Quinn, of 13, Bell Green, Lower Sydenham had five sons Arthur, Charles, John, Edward and George who signed up for the 'Great War', they all went off to fight for their country. Arthur, Charles, John and Edward who were all killed in World War One and only George returned.

Cllr Jacq Paschoud opened the ceremony, which took place on the anniversary of the death of the fourth brother. Cllr Kevin Bonavia, joined us as the council’s armed forces champion and we all recognised the loss and suffering of Mrs Quinn in losing four sons. Arthur is remembered on the memorial at St Michael and All Angels, Sydenham.

Herbert Morrison was born on the 3 January 1888 and died on the 6 March 1965. He was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minister of Transport during the Second MacDonald ministry, then after losing his parliamentary seat in the 1931 general election, he became Leader of the London County Council in the 1930s. After returning to the Commons, he was defeated by Clement Attlee in the 1935 Labour Party leadership election but later acted as Home Secretary in the wartime coalition. Morrison organised Labour's victorious 1945 election campaign and was elected as MP for Lewisham East. He was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and acted as Attlee's deputy in the Attlee ministry of 1945–51. Attlee, Morrison, Ernest Bevin, Stafford Cripps, and initially Hugh Dalton formed the "Big Five" who dominated those governments. Morrison oversaw Labour's nationalisation programme and developed his social views from his work in local politics and always emphasised the importance of public works to deal with unemployment. In the final year of Attlee's premiership, Morrison had an unhappy term as Foreign Secretary. He was hailed as "Lord Festival" for his successful leadership of the Festival of Britain, a critical and popular success in 1951 that attracted millions of visitors to fun-filled educational exhibits and events in London and across the country. Morrison was elected as MP for Lewisham South, a new constituency from 1950 - 59 when he stood down at the general election and was made a life peer.

Henry Cooper grew up in a council house at 120 Farmstead Road on the Bellingham Estate from 1942 – 1960. A heavyweight boxer who in 1959 took the British and Commonwealth titles from Brian London in 15 rounds.



In 1963 Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay and a contender for the world heavyweight title) created a great deal of ticket-selling publicity before his London bout with Cooper, who many British fans hoped would be able to humble the brash young American. In the boxing world, however, Ali was considered a future world champion and Cooper the underdog. The contest took place at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park. Ali's size, mobility, fast reflexes, and unorthodox defensive tactic of pulling back from punches made him a frustratingly elusive opponent. A stiff connection by Ali split open the face of Cooper in the middle of round three, beginning a gush of blood into his left eye. Ali, sensing the fight would be stopped because of the cut, began abandoning attempts of offense and instead began teasing and taunting Cooper, lowering his guard and leaving his jaw exposed to the Brit. Despite Ali's taunts and his bloody left eye, Cooper connected with a solitary left hook to the body; in the fourth's final seconds, Cooper felled Ali with an upward angled version of his trademark left hook to the jaw, "Enry's 'Ammer". Ali partly landed on the ropes, preventing his head hitting the canvas covered boards, but though up at the count of 3 he seemed hurt. Ali started the 5th round aggressively, attempting to make good his prediction of a 5th-round knockout and opened a severe cut under Cooper's eye. Ali hit Cooper with a succession of hard rights knocking out his gumshield and Cooper's corner threw in the towel. Referee Tommy Little stopped the fight, and thus Ali defeated Cooper by technical knockout. In 1966 Cooper fought Ali for the heavyweight championship, for a second time at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. However, Ali was now alert to the danger posed by Cooper's left and more cautious than he had been in the previous contest; he held Cooper in a vice-like grip during clinches, and when told to break leapt backward several feet. Accumulated scar tissue around Cooper's eyes made him more vulnerable than in the previous meeting and a serious cut was opened by Ali, which led to the fight being stopped, Cooper again losing to Ali via technical knockout.

Dr William Gilbert Grace, the greatest cricketer of all time, was the first sports superstar. It was at the age of 51, when his distinguished cricket career was over, that he was invited by the Crystal Palace Company to set up and manage London County Cricket Club on a salary of £600pa, at the prestigious Crystal Palace. He moved from Gloucestershire to St Andrew’s, a house at 7 Lawrie Park Road, Sydenham, close to the cricket ground, with his wife, Agnes and two of their four children; Bessie and Charles. The house was demolished in the 1960s, now a maroon plaque marks the site - 7-16 Cricketers Walk, Lawrie Park Road.