Neil and I are so pleased to have been invited to speak, on behalf of a great many heritage organisations right across Essex, about Stan’s tremendous contribution to our county’s history – so thank you, Sandra and all of Stan’s family.

Stan had a longstanding personal interest in history; he studied history at London University, became a history teacher, an avid reader and collector of Essex history books and a talented historian. In 1985 Stan published his History of North Weald Bassett and its People, the village in north-west Essex to which his family had moved in 1939. It was a model local history that successfully achieved something not often attempted at that time: in Stan’s own words ‘to incorporate into it the lives of the people involved right across the social spectrum’. Indeed, Stan said his favourite historical quote came from John Ball, a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381: ‘when Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?'.

After his retirement from public life in 1999, Stan had more time to devote to local history and heritage.  He was deeply committed to protecting what he called the “riches and variety of historic Essex”, stating that it was “one of the objectives of all local historical societies to defend the local heritage from vandalism, neglect and over development” - issues to which he brought all his political skills in campaigning and advocacy. Stan’s networking stretched right across Essex, and very significantly often bridged the divide between ‘London Essex’ and the rest of the historic county.

One early and important connection was with Waltham Abbey Historical Society, whose Chris Sumner has helped to provide this overview. In 1966, when Stan was MP for Epping, he took a successful stand with the Society and others against the demolition of the historic core of Waltham Abbey town centre. Stan subsequently remained an active Society member, becoming a Vice-President in 1987, and then President in 1998, a position he held until his death. Each year Stan would present a Presidential address to an enthusiastic audience on a historical subject that had taken his interest and would be thoroughly researched. Chris also highlighted that Stan was a joint organiser of the Essex Labour History Conference held each autumn. He would arrange top-level speakers on a variety of subjects and attract an audience from across the county and beyond.

Stan was also an enthusiastic supporter of the Victoria County History of Essex, an internationally respected local history project, published by the University of London. Before my own time working for the project, the VCH had published accounts of many places that Stan knew well – North Weald Bassett, Waltham Abbey, and Harlow. After his retirement, he was a natural choice to join the VCH Essex Trust, becoming a trustee in 2001. He was a very effective advocate for the VCH, a constant source of inspiration in promoting the project and securing the funds needed for its continuation. Moreover, Stan was always supportive and interested in the staff and their research, even going so far as to read my colleague Herbert Eiden’s thesis on the Peasants’ Revolt - in its original German - true dedication! Overall, Stan made a major contribution to the VCH’s continuing success, enabling volumes to be issued on the north Essex coast and seaside resorts and another now underway on Harwich.

Stan’s passionate support also extended to The Essex Society for Archaeology and History. The Society, founded in 1852, has a large membership of archaeologists and historians, both professional and independent, and its journal, newsletter and other publications are key resources for the heritage community.  Stan was, successively, a council member, President and a holding trustee. Michael Leach, the Society’s hon. secretary during Stan’s term as President from 2005-2008, reminded me that it occurred at a difficult time because of reductions in local government expenditure. But Stan was always very alert to the dangers inherent in the discretionary nature of much expenditure on the heritage sector which made it particularly vulnerable. His political skills came to the fore in campaigning against threatened cuts and closures to heritage and cultural services, museums, archives and libraries, and the associated loss of staff with specialist knowledge. Another feature of his presidency was the cross-fertilisation of information and ideas with so many other heritage organisations that Stan was linked to – thus broadening the Society’s outlook and making it less inward looking.

Before handing over to Neil, I also wanted to highlight Stan’s important contribution to preservation of the county’s historic manuscripts. Locally, he achieved that with an important 17th-century estate map of Harlow, and the court books of the manor of North Weald. He was also an active member and supporter of the Friends of Historic Essex, the charity that supports the county archive at the Essex Record Office (ERO) in Chelmsford. The support of Stan, Sandra and Tom at the Friends’ annual AGMs each year has been much appreciated.