Sad today to read of the death of Ruth Frow.Her passing marks the end of one of the most intriguing stories in working-class history. Ruth and her husband Eddie, who I had the privilege to meet on several occasions, met. fell in love and founded what is now the Working Class Library.
Today, it's housed in a purpose-built facility in Salford. For years, it was sited in their home and open to students of socialism from all over the globe.
Now run by an independent trust, it comprises tens of thousands of pamphlets, books and artefacts, dating from the days of Tom Paine and William Cobbett to more recent battles in which the Frows themselves played their part. It's recognised as one of the outstanding collections of its kind, in Britain and internationally.
Ruth campaigned for Labour in the 1945 general election, but later joined the Communist party at the same time! She was secretary of Teachers for Peace and the Manchester Peace Committee, and cofounder, and first chair, of Manchester CND.
She met Eddie Frow, a Manchester shop steward, at a Communist party school in Sussex in 1953. And they stayed loyal to the CP, though always working in a comradely fashion with Labour Party activists and trade unionists in the north-west. Both rightly saw in the knowledge of working people's history an argument for socialism . Academics were always welcome to their library, and their friends included many eminent historians. But they took special pride in the union and community activists who visited the library. The library moved to new premises in The Crescent, Salford in the late 1980's and the couple moved there with their books. In 1989, Ruth was there to welcome a group of visitors ( including me) under the auspices of the British Soviet Friendship Society. Eddie died in 1997 and Ruth rang me to thank me for a piece I wrote about him for the Manchester Evening News. Which I was very touched by.
Ruth campaigned for Labour in the 1945 general election, but later joined the Communist party at the same time! She was secretary of Teachers for Peace and the Manchester Peace Committee, and cofounder, and first chair, of Manchester CND.
She met Eddie Frow, a Manchester shop steward, at a Communist party school in Sussex in 1953. And they stayed loyal to the CP, though always working in a comradely fashion with Labour Party activists and trade unionists in the north-west. Both rightly saw in the knowledge of working people's history an argument for socialism . Academics were always welcome to their library, and their friends included many eminent historians. But they took special pride in the union and community activists who visited the library. The library moved to new premises in The Crescent, Salford in the late 1980's and the couple moved there with their books. In 1989, Ruth was there to welcome a group of visitors ( including me) under the auspices of the British Soviet Friendship Society. Eddie died in 1997 and Ruth rang me to thank me for a piece I wrote about him for the Manchester Evening News. Which I was very touched by.
Two days before she died, she was apparently there as usual, attending the library committee. A wonderful woman......
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