Colin Ward (14 August 1924 – 11 February 2010)
[Ken Worpole, "Colin Ward", ''The Guardian'', 22 February 2010](_blank)
Retrieved 20 February 2022 was a British
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
writer and editor. He has been called "one of the greatest anarchist thinkers of the past half century, and a pioneering
social historian
Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...
."
Life
Ward was born in
Wanstead
Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...
,
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 ...
, to Arnold and Ruby Ward (). Arnold was a teacher and Ruby a clerical worker.
His parents were active
Labour Party supporters. Ward attended
Ilford County High School
Ilford County High School (often abbreviated to ICHS) is a selective secondary grammar school for boys located in the town of Barkingside of the London Borough of Redbridge. The school was formerly called ''Park High Grade School'' and as a res ...
, leaving school aged 15. After leaving school he worked as an assistant to a builder, then for West Ham Council, before working as a
draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to:
* An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century
* An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...
at
Sidney Caulfield's architectural practice.
In 1942, aged 18, Ward was conscripted into the army as a
sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
, going on to work as a draughtsman in the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
.
Based in Glasgow during the war, Ward began attending Glasgow Anarchist Group events. As a soldier he subscribed to the
anti-militarist
Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (esp ...
anarchist newspaper ''
War Commentary'', and in 1945 Ward was called as a witness for the prosecution in the trial of the paper's editors,
John Hewetson
John Christopher Hewetson (10 January 1913 – 20 December 1990) was a British anarchist doctor, writer and newspaper editor. During the Second World War he was an editor of the anarchist newspaper '' War Commentary'', which saw him imprisoned ...
,
Vernon Richards
Vernon Richards (born Vero Benvenuto Costantino Recchioni, 19 July 1915 – 10 December 2001) was an Anglo-Italian anarchist, editor, author, engineer, photographer, and companion of Marie-Louise Berneri.
Richards' founding of the paper ''Spai ...
and
Philip Sansom
Philip Richard Sansom (19 September 1916 – 24 October 1999) was a British anarchist writer and activist.
Sansom began working life as a commercial artist. During the Second World War he was a conscientious objector, and worked in farming for ...
.
Shortly after the trial he was transferred to Orkney.
After being demobbed in 1946 he returned to working for Sidney Caulfield and began contributing to
Freedom Press
Freedom Press is an anarchist publishing house and bookseller in Whitechapel, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1886, it is the largest anarchist publishing house in the country and the oldest of its kind in the English speaking world. It is bas ...
.
In 1947 he began editing the anarchist newspaper ''
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
–'' successor to ''War Commentary''. He remained an editor of ''Freedom'' until 1960. He was the founder and editor of the monthly
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
journal ''
Anarchy
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...
'' from 1961 to 1970.
Until 1961, Ward worked as an architect's assistant. In 1964 undertook teacher training at
Garnett College
Garnett College was a higher education college in London which trained lecturers in further and higher education colleges. Its main focus was on teaching towards post-graduate qualifications awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (C ...
where he met his future wife, Harriet Unwin, and he subsequently began teaching at
Wandsworth Technical College.
In 1971, he became the Education Officer for the
Town and Country Planning Association
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...
. He published widely on education, architecture and town planning. His most influential book was ''The Child in the City'' (1978), about
children's street culture
Children's street culture refers to the cumulative culture created by young children. Collectively, this body of knowledge is passed down from one generation of urban children to the next, and can also be passed between different groups of chi ...
. From 1995 to 1996, Ward was Centennial Professor of Housing and Social Policy at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
.
In 2001, Ward was made an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy at
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
.
Thought
Anarchism
Ward's philosophy aimed at removing
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
forms of
social organisation and replacing them with
self-managed, non-hierarchical forms. This is based upon the principle that, as Ward put it, "in small face-to-face groups, the
bureaucratising and
hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
tendencies inherent in organisations have least opportunity to develop".
Anarchism for Ward is "a description of a mode of human organization, rooted in the experience of everyday life, which operates side by side with, and in spite of, the dominant authoritarian trends of our society". In contrast to many anarchist philosophers and practitioners, Ward holds that "anarchism in all its guises is an assertion of human dignity and responsibility. It is not a programme for political change but an act of social self-determination".
[Colin Ward, ''Anarchism as a Theory of Organization'', Freedom Press, London, 1988, p. 143]
Education
Colin Ward in his main theoretical publication ''
Anarchy in Action
''Anarchy in Action'' is a book exploring anarchist thought and practice, written by Colin Ward and first published in 1973.
The book is a seminal introduction to anarchism but differs considerably to others by concentrating on the possibility ...
'' (1973) in a chapter called "Schools No Longer" "discusses the genealogy of education and schooling, in particular examining the writings of
and
Ivan Illich
Ivan Dominic Illich ( , ; 4 September 1926 – 2 December 2002) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher, and social critic. His 1971 book '' Deschooling Society'' criticises modern society's institutional approach to edu ...
, and the beliefs of anarchist educator
Paul Goodman
Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the arts, civil rights, decen ...
. Many of Colin’s writings in the 1970s, in particular ''Streetwork: The Exploding School'' (1973, with Anthony Fyson), focused on learning practices and spaces outside of the school building. In introducing ''Streetwork'', Ward writes, "
his
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, in ...
is a book about ideas: ideas of the environment as the educational resource, ideas of the enquiring school, the school without walls...”. In the same year, Ward contributed to ''Education Without Schools'' (edited by Peter Buckman) discussing 'the role of the state'. He argued that "one significant role of the state in the national education systems of the world is to perpetuate social and economic injustice"".
[Mills, S. (2010) 'Colin Ward: The ‘Gentle’ Anarchist and Informal Education’ at ''the encyclopaedia of informal education.''](_blank)
/ref>
In ''The Child in the City'' (1978), and later ''The Child in the Country'' (1988), Ward "examined the everyday spaces of young people’s lives and how they can negotiate and re-articulate the various environments they inhabit. In his earlier text, the more famous of the two, Colin Ward explores the creativity and uniqueness of children and how they cultivate 'the art of making the city work'. He argued that through play, appropriation and imagination, children can counter adult-based intentions and interpretations of the built environment. His later text, The Child in the Country, inspired a number of social scientists, notably geographer Chris Philo (1992), to call for more attention to be paid to young people as a 'hidden' and marginalised group in society."
Bibliography
* ''Violence
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
'' (1970)
* ''Work'' (1972)
* ''Anarchy in Action
''Anarchy in Action'' is a book exploring anarchist thought and practice, written by Colin Ward and first published in 1973.
The book is a seminal introduction to anarchism but differs considerably to others by concentrating on the possibility ...
'' (1973)
* '' Streetwork: The Exploding School'' (with Anthony Fyson) (1973)
* ''Vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
'' (ed.) (1973)
* ''Utopia'' (1974)
* ''Tenants Take Over'' (1974)
* ''British School Buildings: Designs and Appraisals 1964–74'' (1976)
* '' Housing: An Anarchist Approach'' (1976)
* '' The Child in the City'' (1978)
* ''Art and the Built Environment'' (with Eileen Adams) (1982)
* '' Arcadia for All: The Legacy of a Makeshift Landscape ''(with Dennis Hardy) (1984)
* ''The Plotlanders'' (with Dennis Hardy) (1985)
* ''When We Build Again: Let's Have Housing that Works!'' (1985)
* '' Goodnight Campers! The History of the British Holiday Camp'' (with Dennis Hardy
Emeritus professor Dennis Hardy (born June 1941) is former vice-chancellor of the University of Seychelles (UniSey).
Early life
Dennis Hardy was born in June 1941. He received his advanced education at the University of Exeter from where he grad ...
) (1986)
* ''Chartres: the Making of a Miracle'' (1986)
* ''A Decade of Anarchy (1961–1970'') (ed.) (1987)
* ''The Child in the Country'' (1988)
* ''The Allotment: Its Landscape and Culture'' (with David Crouch) (1988)
* '' Welcome, Thinner City: Urban Survival in the 1990s'' (1989)
* ''Undermining the Central Line'' (with Ruth Rendell
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
) (1989)
* ''Talking Houses: 10 Lectures'' (1990)
* '' Images of Childhood In Old Postcards'' (with Tim Ward) (1991)
* '' Influences: Voices of Creative Dissent ''(1991)
* '' Freedom to Go: After the Motor Age'' (1991)
* ''New Town, Home Town'' (1993)
*
Talking Schools
' (1995)
* ''Social Policy: An Anarchist Response'' (1996)
*
Talking to Architects
' (1996)
* ''Stamps: Designs For Anarchist Postage Stamps'' (illustrated by Clifford Harper) (1997)
* ''Havens and Springboards: The Foyer Movement in Context'' (1997)
* ''Reflected in Water: A Crisis of Social Responsibility'' (1997)
* ''Sociable Cities: The Legacy of Ebenezer Howard'' (with Peter Hall) (1998)
Cotters and Squatters: Housing's Hidden History
(2002)
* '' Talking Anarchy'' (with David Goodway
David Goodway (born 1942) is a British historian and a respected international authority on Chartism and on anarchism and libertarian socialism.
Life
Goodway was born in the English Midlands town of Rugby in 1942. He studied Philosophy, Poli ...
) (2003)
* ''Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction'' (2004)
*
Autonomy, Solidarity, Possibility: The Colin Ward Reader
' (edited by Damian F. White and Chris Wilbert) (2011)
* ''Talking Green'' (2012)
See also
* Anarchism in England
References
Further reading
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External links
Colin Ward archive at RevoltLib
(1966)
(1973)
''Guardian'' obituary, 22 February 2010
* ttp://www.nextleft.org/2010/02/colin-ward-pioneer-of-mutualism.html ''Colin Ward, Pioneer of Mutualism''br> Obituary at Outrospection.org
Autonomy, Solidarity, Possibility: The Colin Ward Reader
Center for a Stateless Society on Ward
Ward and the Essex plotlanders, ''The Guardian'', 7 March 2010
* ttps://libcom.org/blog/colin-ward-13022010 Colin Ward interview by David Goodwaybr>A friendly market-anarchist view of Colin Ward, by an editor of ''Reason'', 'the magazine of free minds and free markets'
* ttps://vimeo.com/496810535 Personally Speaking: Colin Ward in Conversation with Roger Deakin (video interview)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Colin
1924 births
2010 deaths
People from Wanstead
British Army personnel of World War II
English anarchists
English newspaper editors
English male journalists
Anarchist theorists
Anarcho-communists
DIY culture
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English male writers
21st-century English male writers
English political writers