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   ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)  The Salford Mayor's Diary - 1936-37
by Tony Flynn
With the Mayoral debate going on at the moment, we thought it would be interesting to look 75 years into the past to find out what Salford's mayor got up to, and thanks to one SalfordOnline reader's generous donation, we can. SalfordOnline have been kindly loaned a scrapbook about a year in the life of Peter Ashcroft: Mayor of Salford from 1936 - 37. The mayormaking from the time notes that: "Once Mr Peter Ashcroft, of Salford, who started life in a mill, took bucket and mop to clean out a shop he had rented. Invested savings in a temperance bar. Soft drinks proved so popular he established a chain of bars." The scrapbook is stuffed full of newspaper clippings from Ashcroft's year at the helm and his grandaughter Pauline Holt kindly passed it on to us. It makes for very interesting reading, giving an insight into life in Salford at that time. Peter Ashcroft, who was originally from Bolton and was the Conservative councillor for Seedley, was appointed Mayor of Salford in November 1936. One of his first functions was an art sale at The South Bank School for Partially Blind Children at Sandy Lane, Pendleton in December 1936. Here he watched the children who acted out the play "The Enchanted Wood" for him, he was accompanied by his daughter, Mildred Ashcroft as his wife was unwell. On sale were wickerwork, leatherwork, leatherwork and raffiawork chairs and stools, multi coloured rugs, artifical flowers and toys. Christmas was a busy time for the Mayor, as he attended Salford Greyhound Track and distributed winter comforts to the poor people of the area. His Christmas Day rota was extremely busy and before he sat down for his own festive feed he attended the following locations in Salford: The Windsor Institute where there were 500 children waiting to be fed and given a small present; The Cattle Market Hotel on Cross Lane where 200 children waited; Salford Dock Mission which had 450 children awaiting him and hopefully a present; John Street Hall, to meet 400 children, Queen Street Public Hall where there was an incredible 1,300 waiting to be fed and feted, from here to Broughton House, the home for disabled servicemen where he met 58 servicemen and their families, and then to the Bethseda Home for Crippled Children and finally to The Homestead, the home for aged people on Stott Lane where he met 400 pensioners, before returning home for his well-deserved meal. May 1937 saw the coronation of King George V1 and Salford celebrated in style with many streets and main roads being colourfully decorated. There was a great demonstration in Buile Hill Park on the morning of the Coronation with over 1,000 schoolchildren, many of them Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, who gave gymnastic displays and marching exercises. In the evening the Mayor lit a ceremonial beacon at Kersal Moor to celebrate the event with music provided by the The Pendleton Prize Brass Band. The Salford Fire Brigade kept a keen eye on the blaze, finally extinguishing the fire at 6:30 am the next morning. Later that month he hosted a civic reception at Salford Town Hall for the triumphant Salford Reds rugby league team with captain Gus Risman displaying trophies that the team had won that season. Salford Poor Children's Holiday Camp at Prestatyn was then officially opened by Mr J.F. Emery, the MP for Salford West, accompanied by the Mayor. Huge fundraising events were held throughout Salford during the year so that the poor children of Salford could have a chance at an almost unheard-of holiday by the seaside. Strangely enough at this time, a puritannical act was passed by the Watch Committee which forbade cinemas opening on Sunday but also forbid Sunday Concerts which featured jazz music, comedy or variety performances which seems to offer little scope for frivolity. George Formby the well known comediam and musician performed at the Scala Cinema, Ford Lane, Pendleton to raise funds for the Childrens Camp. He asked the audience for requests in case he offended anybody! He played, "When I'm Cleaning Windows", "Chinese Laundry Blues" and the risque "With My Little Ukelele in my Hand". In July the Mayor officially opened Light Oaks Park, Salford which cost the council £12,000. In August 1937 along with the Mayor of Eccles and other dignitaries he made the surprise decision to visit Nazi Germany, where he told the press that the purpose of the visit was to try and help relations with Germany and keep his eyes open for ideas in municipal goverment from which Salford could draw benefits. Upon his return he spoke glowingly of the German people. He visited Cologne, Dusseldorf and Berlin, whilst there he visited schools, hospitals, slum clearance areas and rather ominously Labour Camps where he found sons of univesity professors, doctors, scientists and ordinary working-class people all together. Ashcroft's words from the time are a little dubious but show the popular feeling of the people. He said that "Germany is ahead of Salford in so many ways," and then the the amazing quote: "The people all looked so healthy but I gained an impression that if they do not work, they had no right to eat." The Mayor didn't meet Hitler. Presumably the Fuhrer had other things on his mind, like the overthrow of Europe and mass genocide. Back in England he attended the re-opening of the Regent Road Library which had been extended and modernised. He then won the Seedley local election by gaining 1,456 votes against the Labour candidiate Mr C.S. Robinson who polled 860 votes. Mr Ashcroft retired from his year of civic duties in November 1937. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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