Christopher Charles "Chris" Pond is a historian, librarian, and politician, was born in 1949 in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

, Essex (now part of the

London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to th ...

), and grew up in

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow to the ...

, moving to

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in 1981.

Early life

He attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. His

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

(faculty of geography and geology) was obtained in 1981 under Sir Clifford Darby. Latterly an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, he was Head of Reference Services at the

House of Commons Library The House of Commons Library is the library and information resource of the lower house of the British Parliament. It was established in 1818, although its original 1828 construction was destroyed during the burning of Parliament in 1834. Th ...

, secretary and then chairman of the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

House of Commons branch, and then for 15 years President of the Trade Union Side, House of Commons. He was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 2002. Officers of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

serve with complete political impartiality, and are generally debarred from seeking elected office, but Pond, as an independent, was permitted to stand whilst an officer of the House. Pond is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of

and the

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

area, and on railways and architectural history; and has served in various capacities in the

Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...

, Loughton & District Historical Society and president of the Walthamstow Historical Society. He was instrumental in securing refusal of an application to demolish most of the cordite factory at the

Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills The Royal Gunpowder Mills are a former industrial site in Waltham Abbey, England. It was one of three Royal Gunpowder Mills in the United Kingdom (the others being at Ballincollig and Faversham). Waltham Abbey is the only site to have survive ...

in 2016, and moved the motion and outlined the reasons, for rejecting an application to build a large depot for

Next plc Next plc (styled as NEXT) is a British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer, which has its headquarters in Enderby, England. It has around 700 stores, of which circa 500 are in the United Kingdom, and circa 200 across Eu ...

in June 2021, a decision that was subsequently upheld by the Planning Inspectorate. This was widely reported as a victory for the countryside over big business (see, e.g. https://cpressex.org.uk/inspector-dismisses-appeal-by-next-in-its-bid-to-build-distribution-centre/

Political career

A member of the

Loughton Residents Association Loughton Residents Association is a residents association and local political party formed (as the Central Loughton Residents' Association) in 1981, and based in Loughton, Essex, United Kingdom. LRA has always sought to influence events by putt ...

, he has been an elected

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

, as town councillor on Loughton Town Council since 1996, district councillor on

Epping Forest District Council Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

since

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, and county councillor on

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

since

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, where he is (2017) leader of the Non-aligned Group and (2021),

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. He was a member, and latterly Chairman, of the Lopping Hall Trust charity from 2000 to 2014. During the years 1997 to 2005, he was often confused with

Chris Pond Christopher Richard Pond (born 25 September 1952) is a former Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Gravesham in Kent, from 1997 to 2005. Early life He went to the Minchenden School (became compre ...

, then MP for

Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. Its administrative centre and largest town is Gravesend, which was known as ''Gravesham'' in ancient times. Gravesham was formed on 1 April 1974 by ...

, because of the unusual coincidence of the shared name and age.

Personal life

He married Caroline Copeman in 1973."University Wedding"; Waltham Forest Guardian (Chingford Edition) 14 September 1973 p9

Elections contested

Essex County Council elections Epping Forest District Council elections

Selected bibliography

* The Railway to Walthamstow and Chingford (1970, with others as part of the ''Line 112 Group'') * Walks in Loughton's Forest: Short Epping Forest Walks in and Around Loughton by Chris Pond and Caroline Pond (Paperback - 3 Mar 2007) * The Loughton Railway 150 Years on: The Leyton-Woodford-Loughton Railway from Eastern Counties to Central Line by Chris Pond, Ian Strugnell, and Ted Martin (Paperback - 10 Jun 2006) * The Early History of the House of Commons Library: Reports from Standing Committees on the Library of the House 1840-1856 (House of Commons Library Document) * The Buildings of Loughton (2nd ed., 2009) * Larkswood : a history of Larkswood school, formerly South Chingford Primary, New Road, Chingford 1906-2006; by John Conen with Chris Pond. Loughton: The authors, 2006. 60 p., p. of plates. .

References

External links

ASLIB Training: Public Courses
* http://www.cilip.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/18D406E6-CCBE-4CF7-A8F6-3AE3A91813F9/0/SCOOPParltOnline2007AprilProgramme.pdf
Councillors by District - Epping Forest
* http://www.loughton-tc.gov.uk/7anrep3.pdf

Order of the British Empire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pond, Chris 1949 births Living people English librarians Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge People from Loughton People from Walthamstow Independent politicians in England Members of Essex County Council