Norman Harding
Encyclopedia
Norman Harding published the book, Staying Red: Why I Remain a Socialist, in 2005, which detailed his political activities from 1954 to 1985. Now retired, he was a trade unionist
, tenants’ leader, and worked for the Workers Revolutionary Party whilst living in London.
. His father was an engineer, but during the 1930s recession, had to take part-time work on the railways. His mother worked in a mill, and Harding remembered that she secured a wage rise for the mill workers by taking the advice of her father, which was to kick the belt off the pulley which powered the looms
. His father played piano, singing in public houses to supplement the family's income, but also sang at Leeds Town Hall
in a production of Handel's Messiah, and with the Huddersfield Choral Society
.
In 1935, the Harding family moved to 4 Accommodation Road, Leeds, with the young Harding attending York Road School. After the outbreak of World War II
, the family were moved to 93 Poole Crescent, Cross Gates, where his mother obtained the position of managing the small Pendas Way train station, at Manston, Leeds
, which was part of the Leeds/Wetherby Railway route. Her duties included loading and unloading heavy parcels, and releasing homing pigeons from baskets. In 1943, at fourteen years of age, Harding left Cross Gates school, and after various jobs started work as a trimmer at John Barran’s clothing factory.
after the war, completing his basic training at RAF Padgate, RAF Honiley
, Castle Bromwich
, and Hereford
. He was then sent to Hamburg to serve in the RAF's 5352 Wing at Hamburg’s Fuhlsbüttel
airport
, which was involved with the Berlin Airlift
. He made friends with German families in the area, even though fraternisation was forbidden.
After being demobbed
, he became a delegate for the Leeds No. 2 branch of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers
, and then a delegate for the Leeds City Labour Party
. (Harding's great-uncle became a member of IWW (Industrial Workers of the World
) when he was working in Canada). In 1957, already being a member of the Cross Gates Ward
Labour Party, Harding joined the Cross gates Tenants’ and Householders’ Association, and edited a community newspaper, the ‘’Miner’’. In the 1970s, he moved to London, and would live there for twenty years, working for the Socialist Labour League (later called the Workers Revolutionary Party). His opposition to corruption in the Party led him to participate in the expulsion of leader Gerry Healy
, in 1985. Initially accused of "non-communist relations", it was later reported that Healy had sexually assaulted over twenty-six female comrades.
, Malta
, he proposed marriage to her on 3 June 1988, and were married on 5 August of the same year, when Harding was 58-years-old. In 1994, Harding was diagnosed with a psychological medical condition, so he and his wife moved from Swarcliffe to Garforth
, before moving to a bungalow in Micklefield
. He published the book, Staying Red: Why I Remain a Socialist, in 2005. It has been called "the only serious, autobiographical-historical, sustained approach to the story of the Socialist Labour League/Workers Revolutionary Party so far".
In 2007, the Leeds Tenants' Federation awarded Harding a glass plaque for "outstanding contributions to the community". In 2008, it was reported that Harding was working on a book about the Leeds-born Doris Storey
; the winner of two Olympic swimming gold medals at the 1938 British Empire Games
in Sydney, Australia. Harding now lives at Woodview Court, Swarcliffe, with his wife.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, tenants’ leader, and worked for the Workers Revolutionary Party whilst living in London.
Early years
Born on 25 June 1929, Harding grew up in Shakespeare Street, Leeds, across from St. James's HospitalSt. James's Hospital
St. James's Hospital , also known as SJH, is the largest university teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Its academic partner is the University of Dublin...
. His father was an engineer, but during the 1930s recession, had to take part-time work on the railways. His mother worked in a mill, and Harding remembered that she secured a wage rise for the mill workers by taking the advice of her father, which was to kick the belt off the pulley which powered the looms
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
. His father played piano, singing in public houses to supplement the family's income, but also sang at Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall
Leeds Town Hall was built between 1853 and 1858 on Park Lane , Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to a design by architect Cuthbert Brodrick.-Background:...
in a production of Handel's Messiah, and with the Huddersfield Choral Society
Huddersfield Choral Society
Huddersfield Choral Society is an internationally famous choir based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs...
.
In 1935, the Harding family moved to 4 Accommodation Road, Leeds, with the young Harding attending York Road School. After the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the family were moved to 93 Poole Crescent, Cross Gates, where his mother obtained the position of managing the small Pendas Way train station, at Manston, Leeds
Manston, Leeds
Manston is a small area of Cross Gates, Leeds, England, that lies to the east of Leeds city centre.Manston is a residential part of Cross Gates. It has its own park, Manston Park, and had a pub named after it, the Manston hotel, which is now known as The Barnbow, next to the park. It has a Parish...
, which was part of the Leeds/Wetherby Railway route. Her duties included loading and unloading heavy parcels, and releasing homing pigeons from baskets. In 1943, at fourteen years of age, Harding left Cross Gates school, and after various jobs started work as a trimmer at John Barran’s clothing factory.
National service and politics
Harding was called up for National ServiceConscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
after the war, completing his basic training at RAF Padgate, RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire seven miles southwest of Coventry, England. The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, is presently subject to planning permission from the Prodrive Formula One team for...
, Castle Bromwich
Castle Bromwich
Castle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale,...
, and Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
. He was then sent to Hamburg to serve in the RAF's 5352 Wing at Hamburg’s Fuhlsbüttel
Fuhlsbüttel
Fuhlsbüttel is an urban quarter in the north of Hamburg, Germany in the district Hamburg-Nord. It is known as the site of Hamburg's international airport, and as the location of a prison which served as a concentration camp in the Nazi system of repression....
airport
Hamburg Airport
Hamburg Airport , also known as Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport , is an international airport serving Hamburg, Germany.It originally covered . Since then, the site has grown more than tenfold to . The main apron covers . The airport is north of the centre of the city of Hamburg in the Fuhlsbüttel...
, which was involved with the Berlin Airlift
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
. He made friends with German families in the area, even though fraternisation was forbidden.
After being demobbed
Demobilization of the British Armed Forces after World War II
thumb|right|upright|A page from the official demobilization handbook, Release and Resettlement, which allowed British servicemen to calculate their 'release group number.'...
, he became a delegate for the Leeds No. 2 branch of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers
National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers
The National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded as the Tailors and Garment Workers' Union in 1920 with the merger of the Scottish Operative Tailors and Tailoresses' Association and the United Garment Workers' Union...
, and then a delegate for the Leeds City Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. (Harding's great-uncle became a member of IWW (Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
) when he was working in Canada). In 1957, already being a member of the Cross Gates Ward
Leeds East (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
Labour Party, Harding joined the Cross gates Tenants’ and Householders’ Association, and edited a community newspaper, the ‘’Miner’’. In the 1970s, he moved to London, and would live there for twenty years, working for the Socialist Labour League (later called the Workers Revolutionary Party). His opposition to corruption in the Party led him to participate in the expulsion of leader Gerry Healy
Gerry Healy
Thomas Gerard Healy, known as Gerry Healy , was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International, and, according to former prominent U.S. supporter David North, the leader of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain between 1950 – 1985...
, in 1985. Initially accused of "non-communist relations", it was later reported that Healy had sexually assaulted over twenty-six female comrades.
Marriage and authorship
After time spent in Australia during 1986, he returned to Leeds, staying at the house of his brother’s ex-wife and her four children, at 40 Eastwood Crescent, Swarcliffe. During a holiday in SliemaSliema
Tas-Sliema is a city located on the northeast coast of Malta. It is a centre for shopping, restaurants and café life. Tas-Sliema is also a major commercial and residential area and houses several of Malta's most modern hotels. Tas-Sliema, which means 'peace, comfort', was once a quiet fishing...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, he proposed marriage to her on 3 June 1988, and were married on 5 August of the same year, when Harding was 58-years-old. In 1994, Harding was diagnosed with a psychological medical condition, so he and his wife moved from Swarcliffe to Garforth
Garforth
Garforth is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. The 2001 Census lists 23,892 residents in the Garforth and Swillington ward - 80.57% of which are homeowners, 20% more than the average for Leeds. Garforth itself has 15,394 of those people...
, before moving to a bungalow in Micklefield
Micklefield
Micklefield is a village and civil parish east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It neighbours Garforth, Aberford and Brotherton and is close to the A1 Motorway. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It has a population of 1,852.-Geography:...
. He published the book, Staying Red: Why I Remain a Socialist, in 2005. It has been called "the only serious, autobiographical-historical, sustained approach to the story of the Socialist Labour League/Workers Revolutionary Party so far".
In 2007, the Leeds Tenants' Federation awarded Harding a glass plaque for "outstanding contributions to the community". In 2008, it was reported that Harding was working on a book about the Leeds-born Doris Storey
Doris Storey
Doris Storey was an English breaststroke swimmer from Leeds who competed for Great Britain in the 1936 Summer Olympics and for England at the 1938 British Empire Games....
; the winner of two Olympic swimming gold medals at the 1938 British Empire Games
1938 British Empire Games
The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games being the modern-day equivalent. Held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from February 5–12, 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary...
in Sydney, Australia. Harding now lives at Woodview Court, Swarcliffe, with his wife.