Robert Barltrop (6 November 1922 – 26 April 2009) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

activist, essayist, and biographer, as well as being an artist and illustrator. Barltrop grew up in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

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 ...

, descended from a long line of blacksmiths, although his great-grandfather had become highly successful as a brickmaker and builder, and was responsible for the building of large numbers of houses in Walthamstow. Robert's father Edwin was a horse fodder dealer; Robert won a scholarship to the

Sir George Monoux Grammar School ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

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 ...

, now

Sir George Monoux College Sir George Monoux College is a sixth form college located in Walthamstow, London. It is a medium-sized college with around 1,620 full-time students as of 2018. Brief history Sir George Monoux, the founder of the Grammar School (later College ...

. During

World War II 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 ...

, he served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, but was invalided out with tuberculosis before seeing active service. He was for many years a member of the

Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppos ...

, and edited their magazine '' The Socialist Standard''. His written contributions were prolific, and he also contributed illustrations of his own making. He had various careers, and at different times was a professional boxer, a labourer, a strip cartoonist, a schoolteacher and a sign-painter. Barltrop also published widely and his books include: ''The Monument: Story of the Socialist Party of Great Britain'' (1975), ''

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

: The Man, the Writer, the Rebel'' (1977), ''Muvver Tongue'' with Jim Wolveridge (1980), ''A Funny Age (Growing up in North East London between the Wars)'' (1985). He was also writing ''Yes Mush: A

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

Dictionary: The Cockney Language and Its World'', intended to be published in 2004, but remaining unfinished at the end of his life. In the late 1950s, he produced a series of illustrated panels on aspects of the history of Walthamstow, north-east London; these were published weekly in the ''

Walthamstow Guardian Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South W ...

''. Later, he was a regular contributor to the ''

Newham Recorder The ''Newham Recorder'' is a local weekly newspaper distributed in the London Borough of Newham. It is published weekly, on a Wednesday, in the tabloid format by Archant, the UK's largest independently owned regional media business, with a digit ...

'' newspaper, producing some 1200 illustrated weekly articles for them during a 24-year period up to his death, and contributing also to other Recorder titles. Robert Barltrop was President of the Waltham Forest Local History Society, and was a proud and respected member of the Old Monovians Association, the 'old boys' organisation of the Monoux School. He was admitted to

Newham General Hospital Newham University Hospital is an acute general hospital situated in Plaistow, Newham, Plaistow in the London Borough of Newham. It is managed by Barts Health NHS Trust. History The hospital was built to replace Queen Mary's Hospital for the East ...

but died after a short illness on 26 April 2009.

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Further reading