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Anchorman
Bert Lowe, Anchorman, published privately, 1996, 180pp, £5.00
Nina Fishman in the above review rightly emphasises the important to historians of the life-histories written by political activists themselves. Bert Lowe's Anchorman is another such account of great value to anybody interested in the industrial activities of the Communist Party of more generally in post-war building trade unionism. It also provides another personal view of the new working-class communities north and north-east of London to which Nina also refers. Describing himself as a 'socialist, trade unionist, bricklayer and Stevenage pioneer', Bert Lowe gives a vivid insight into union organisation and political campaigning in the first of Britain's post-war new towns. As well as the many effective campaigns he describes, he also acknowledges the tensions that existed both within the building unions and between party activists themselves, whose different union bases and priorities were not always spirited away by the uneven operation of democratic centralism. On the other hand, he writes positively of the role of the party's industrial advisory committees and without regrets for his lifetime's commitment to the Communist Party. An interesting sidelight on post-war industrial relations, at least within the building industry, was Lowe's appointment as a labour relations officer for Mowlems despite his continuing CP activities. While the book is a mine of information (if only we had more such accounts for earlier generations of activists), possibly the most readable chapters are those describing Bert's London childhood and war service. I particularly liked the description of children queuing for the flea pit on a Saturday morning. 'Once the cinema door was opened they all disappeared into the darkness leaving behind them a long line of peanut shells, orange peel, apple cores and sweet papers, just like some giant reptile has shed its skin and slithered into its lair.'
