Harold Arundel MoodyDavid A. Vaughan

London: Independent Press, 1950. (8 October 1882 – 24 April 1947) was a Jamaican-born physician who emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he campaigned against racial prejudice and established the

League of Coloured Peoples The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP) was a British civil-rights organization that was founded in 1931 in London by Jamaican-born physician and campaigner Harold Moody with the goal of racial equality around the world, a primary focus being on bl ...

in 1931 with the support of the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

Biography

Harold Moody was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1882, the son of pharmacist Charles Ernest Moody and his wife Christina Emmeline Ellis. He completed his secondary education at

Wolmer's Schools Wolmer's Schools in Kingston, Jamaica, consist of Wolmer's Pre-School, Wolmer's Preparatory School and two high schools: Wolmer's Trust High School For Girls and Wolmer's Trust High School for Boys. While acknowledged as separate institutions, ea ...

In 1904, he sailed to the United Kingdom to study medicine at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, finishing top of his class when he qualified in 1910, aged 28."Dr Harold Moody, the Peckham physician who ought to be thought of as Britain's Martin Luther King'"
''

Southwark News ''Southwark News'' is a weekly local newspaper based in Southwark, south London, England. It is the only independent, paid-for newspaper in London. The newspaper is owned and run by Southwark Newspaper Limited, based in Bermondsey. ''Southwark N ...

'', 26 October 2017. Having been refused work because of his colour, he started his own medical practice in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, south-east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in February 1913. In March 1931, Moody formed and became president of the

(LCP), which was concerned with racial equality and civil rights in Britain and elsewhere in the world. Its first members included

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, ''The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are in ...

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

Una Marson Una Maud Victoria Marson (6 February 1905 – 6 May 1965) was a Jamaican feminist, activist and writer, producing poems, plays and radio programmes. She travelled to London in 1932 and became the first black woman to be employed by the BBC d ...

, and

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

. He also campaigned against racial prejudice in the armed forces, and is credited with overturning the Special Restriction Order (or Coloured Seamen's Act) of 1925, a discriminatory measure that sought to provide subsidies to merchant shipping employing only British nationals and required alien seamen (many of whom had served the United Kingdom during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

) to register with their local police. Many black and Asian British nationals had no proof of identity and were made redundant. In 1933, he became involved in the Coloured Men's Institute, founded by Kamal Chunchie as a religious, social and welfare centre for sailors. A devout Christian, Moody was active in the

Congregational Union Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

, the

Colonial Missionary Society The Colonial Missionary Society was formed in May 1836 as a "distinct society for the Colonies" following the report of a deputation to Canada by representatives of Congregational churches from Britain. Its principal mission effort was directed towa ...

(of which he became chair of the board of directors in 1921) and later was appointed president of the Christian Endeavour Union (1936). Having become a respected and influential doctor in Peckham, Moody was very involved in organising the local community during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Dominic Casciani

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 5 October 2002. Historian Stephen Bourne has noted: "In 1944 there was a terrible bombing in south London and he was the first doctor on the scene. He played an important role in these events, saving many lives. Yet this wartime history is not known." In the last months of his life, he undertook a speaking tour of North America. He died at his home at 164 Queen's Road, Peckham, in 1947, aged 64, after contracting influenza. He married Olive Mable Tranter, with whom he worked at the

Royal Eye Hospital The Royal Eye Hospital was established in 1857 by John Zachariah Laurence and Carsten Holthouse as the South London Ophthalmic Hospital. The hospital originally consisted of two beds in a house in St George's Circus. An adjoining house was ac ...

in London, and they had six children."Harold Moody"
Making Britain, The Open University's. Charles Arundel Moody, Harold's son, became the second black commissioned officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1940, rising to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Another son

Harold Moody Harold Arundel MoodyDavid A. Vaughan London: Independent Press, 1950. (8 October 1882 – 24 April 1947) was a Jamaican-born physician who emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he campaigned against racial prejudice and established the League o ...

was a British shot putter. His brother,

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

, also studied medicine at King's College London and won the Huxley Prize for physiology. Ludlow married Vera Manley and they moved to the Caribbean. Another brother was the sculptor

Ronald Moody Ronald Moody (12 August 1900 – 6 February 1984) was a Jamaican-born sculptor, specialising in wood carvings. His work features in collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain in London, as well as the National Gallery ...

Legacy

DR HAROLD MOODY 1882-1947 Campaigner for Racial Equality lived and worked here

The book ''Negro Victory: The life story of Dr Harold Moody'', by David A. Vaughan, was published in 1950. The house where Moody lived at 164 Queen's Road, Peckham, now has a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

dedicated to him that was erected in 1995 by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The National Portrait Gallery, London, has a bronze bust of Moody, cast in 1946 by his brother

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

(1900–1984). In 2008 Stephen Bourne's short biography Dr Harold Moody was published by Southwark Council and distributed free of charge to schools and public libraries in the London Borough of Southwark. A short silent animation (by Jason Young) about his married life was produced in 1998, entitled ''The Story of Dr. Harold Moody''. Dr Harold Moody Park in

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC ...

was officially opened in 1999. Moody is named on the list of "

100 Great Black Britons ''100 Great Black Britons'' is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. It was created in a campaign initiated by Patrick Vernon in response to a BBC search for '' 100 Greatest Brit ...

". On 13 March 2019, a

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, ...

commemorative blue plaque was unveiled outside the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Club at

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...

, where the League of Coloured Peoples was founded at a meeting 88 years earlier. On 1 September 2020, a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

celebrating his life was shown. In 2020 Dr Harold Moody was featured in Stephen Bourne's book ''Under Fire - Black Britain in Wartime 1939–45'' (The History Press). In 2021 Stephen Bourne's eBook ''The Life of Dr Harold Moody'' was published by Pearson Education for use in primary schools (Key Stage 2, 9–11 years).

References

External links

"Harold Moody"
Making Britain, The Open University.
"Black History Month 2018: Harold Moody"
SOAS Archives and Special Collections, 26 October 2018.

Spartacus Educational. * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Harold 1882 births 1947 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors Alumni of King's College London Black British people in health professions Black British activists British civil rights activists Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom People from Kingston, Jamaica People from Peckham