Following our visit to the LMA on 31st January this year, Marta Lomza the very helpful and well-informed archivist (even more so as she is of Polish heritage herself!), generously arranged complimentary tickets to the above event. There was a cross section of about 50 participants, some of whom were clearly there out of fascination for their family geneology, and others with more professional interest.
Marta opened with a useful overview of the history of Poland, providing insight into the context of successive waves of Polish emigration into various parts of the world, not just UK.
Subsequently a number of speakers followed up with:
– guidance about what can be found in the Sikorski Museum and Polish Institute
– an entertaining talk about immigration to the UK from Jews of Poland.
– sessions on community archiving and researching, accessing funding, and what’s in LMA.
……and…our very own Jane Greenstock presented our project, ‘From Poland to Waltham Forest’, providing excellent publicity and generating a good deal of discussion afterwards.
To wind up, video and devised theatre projects were presented; (Agnieszka Chmura, The Londoners Project and Hereins; Polish Artists in London)
We were also given brief access to some pertinent materials in the LMA archives, much of which mirrored what we had encountered in our previous visit (lots of newspaper cuttings, minutes of meetings, adverts and posters for the Annual Polish Ball etc). Two things particularly caught my eye, but as yet have not produced any direct links into our research areas:
-Feliks Topolski, the official WW11 war artist, was born and educated in Warsaw before moving to Italy and France and then settling in Waterloo in 1935, marrying two British wives (separately!) and taking British citizenship. However he was very much an artist and I haven’t been able to find even a tenuous link to craft manufacturing of any sort.
– The Acting President of The Timber Trade Federation, Mr Leonard Arnott, in 1940 started a fund to support impoverished Polish settlers. He argued:
“There is a common fallacy that the Polish Relief Fund is a Jewish Aid movement. Actually it is much more widespread in scope. All classes, all shades of political and religious belief are in agony and the suffering is equal amongst Gentiles and Jews. Much of the lumber industry of Poland was owned and operated by non-Jewish landowners who, six months previously, had been wealthy and prosperous but were now amongst the most injured of all, having had their forests and mills confiscated and their money and estates sequestrated.”
(Family Welfare Association, Polish Relief Fund, Press Cuttings Volume 3, 1940, page 30)
On April 13th 1940, this fund stood at £934/18/6, with many of the contributions coming from London timber organisations of one sort or another. Could there be a supply link into the Lebus factory of these timber suppliers, or a connection between some of these dispossessed landowners and the Lebus family?
The broader furniture trade moved into Shoreditch in the early 19th century, with Lebus later moving further out in order to expand. The west bank of the River Lea was lined with timber yards providing wood for this burgeoning industry.
Paul Collier, an Edmonton resident, has researched the Lebus company’s history, and has identified this barge tie-up as one probably used in transporting lumber up to the factory via the River Lea.
The following is a minute from the FLAG meeting of 21st May 2013
(Present: FLAG members and FL residents:
Vicky Ladizhinskaya, (Chair), Quentin Given (Treasurer),Sylvia Morgan, June Wright, Tammy Barber, Maria Mediavilla, Jeanette Sitton (Nature rep) Cheryl Cohen.
Other:
Jenni Sami (HFH), Malcolm Spinks (HFH) Cllr. Lorna Reith, Malcolm Spinks (HFH), + Di Holbaand Marina Blackman from The Environment Agency)
UPDATE from Paul Collier on the Lebus History Book
(former factory on the estate)
Paul Collier gave an update in the last meeting to this (apologies for not including it) on the Lebus history book: Paul first started on this back in 2008, when much of the research was completed through a £500 grant from Lea Valley Estates to FLAG. After a long break, he has made a resolution to write the book with a view to getting it published this year. Nearly half of the book- estimated at 25,000 – 30,000 words is now written. Bruce Castle Museum found an editor to help Paul – experienced local history author Christine Protz. The Lebus family are very supportive of the book and have offered Paul access to family archives. When published, proceeds from the book will help fund a community centre run by Hale Community Trust. We need around £4,000 to print about 500 copies -Paul is asking Lea Valley Estates, the Lebus family, Lebus upholstery (who bought the name) and Clifford Tee and Gayle (the original architects firm). Quentin suggested trying Tottenham Grammer School fund. Paul is hoping to link the book with the Harris Lebus website set up by local resident Mustafa Suleman
Patricia Cutler 31.03.2014
