Political memories of the 70s in Swansea

 been letting my mind drift back to my political memories if the period 1974 to 1979. I went to Dynevor Comprehensive in September 1974. In those days the sixth form comprised if two political groups. The Upper Sixth comprised of a nest of Tories and of the hard right. Amongst that hard right group was one Nigel Evans MP for Ribble Valley and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.I can honestly say that over the last 44 years that Nigel has not varied his hard right policies over the entire period. However in those dark prejuduced days of 1974 somethings were more securely hidden and denied. And we must ask the questions that must be asked about the hideous Section 28 legislation passed in the 80s. I regularly debated against Nigel and the clique of crypto hard right lackies that surrounded him. I am afraid Nigel was not the sharpest thinker and it was with great pleasure we regularly destroyed his arguments

Those of us in 6 13 and the lower Sixth were a mixture of Libertarian Socialists, Marxists and a significant group of the Militant tendency. I remember putting up a Nazi poster and writing on it issuesd on behalf of Swansea West conservative Association. It was poor taste and it was taken down. However in that Autumn of 1974 I had many perceptions and attitudes that make me flinch when I think back on them. But I dare say on my 85th birthday I will look back on my perceptions I had today and flinch. I hope that my ever becoming self awareness has been constant and will continue through my existence. I am afraid Nigel has been an ever sticking product of the far right.
At some point during the Sixth Form we had a visit by Harold Wilson to the Uplands Book Shop. In those days you could walk up to our leaders. He had what seemed like one guardian with him. I walked up to him and asked him to write in a political work ' To a future Prime Minister' I was far more arrogant in those days and my friends had dated me to do it..Wilson smiled and wrote in my book " to a possible future Prime Minister. I still have the book. After that Sir Keith Joseph some how came to speak to the Sixth Form . It was just after his speech that suggested that the 'lower orders' bteed to quickly" we gave him hell. I remember picketing the Dolphin Hotel when Enoch Powell spoke to a meeting of the Monday Club it was the time I first met Fred Fitton at an anti Apartheid protest outside Barclays Bank in the Kingsway. I remember attending Anti Nazi League meetings in the Old Elysium buildings in the High Street

I met Ian Bone and the Alarm Collective at his flat in Windsor Street in the Uplands. Regularly I distributed Alarm and one of my friends leaked the Olchfa School rule book to Ian..it used to be said that the Headmaster of the school bore a resemblance to Ian Smith of Rhodesia. My girlfriend at the time Alison Cleary told me that they used to say he had a tunnel under his office that led directly to the Rhidesian capital Salisbury. Ian Bone took it further and published a special edition of Alarm that called the Headmaster Fuhrer Grove. It was I who had passed the book to Ian and I will keep silent on the identity of the Olchfa student who gave me the book. The police were called and an aggressive PE teacher began waving his fists at Ian and as the police car arrived and Ian was taken away by police officer Bas Manser . Bas was regularly seen at left wing protests on behalf of the South Wales Police. After some years and some developments Bas "retired" from the police and became a private detective based in an office in the old bookshop that was near the Old exchange building.
I remember the rout if Swansea Labour in the elections of May 1976. At the Sketty Count I chatted to a very youthful Mike Hedges. Years later I got drunk with Gerald Murphy and was a guest speaker at his Pickwick Club. Charlie Thomas his former deputy invited me regularly to speak at the St Thomas History Society in the 1980s and we often reflected on those years of the 70s

For today I will stop there however one last memory springs to mind. In the very late 70s perhaps even 1980 Peter Black CBE ran for election as Student Union Treasurer. He campaigned under the slogan "Bank at the sign of the Black Cat" A few days later we noticed an amendment occurring on Peters posters a strategic change had been made and the B of his posters m had been replaced by a W.
However in those days Peter sat as the English National Anthem was played. Then he did not accept titles from the Saxe Coberg Gothas some of us have remained republicans perhaps that change from B to W was fair.. anyway I am nearly in Penrhos...i will tell you more tomorrow.

last year i wrote this piece on Ian Bone when his paintings were exhibited at Swansea Museuem  " I was very interested to see that Swansea Museum is featuring the art work associated with Ian Bone and the anarcho political movement that originated in Swansea as Alarm and went onto to form the organisation Class war. Class war managed to get Ian Bone the title the most dangerous man in Britain title from the right wing press. Ian and Alarm paper was widely sold in Swansea during the late 70s and I regularly remember going round to Ian's flat to pick up copies that I sold yo people at both school and later at Swansea University.

Ian and Alarm successfully exposed corruption both in the labour Administration of the 70s in Swansea City Council and the corruption in the Ratepayer administration that followed it. He exposed links between prominent councillors and a group of businessmen that became known as the Swansea Mafia. This was the time of punk music and the Alarm Collective had links with both the music and the anarchist politics that early punk promoted.

I remember the band Ian was in . It was called “What to wear”. I still think of the gig at Swansea University where a near riot and moral panic broke out of the use of a jelly baby during the gig. I often ran into Ian at Pandora's at this time . The club is now part of Morgan's Hotel down near the old Evening Post building and was known at the time as Dirty Dora's. In fact it was the same period that the Sex Pistols prier to their fame played in Swansea

In the late 70s I was given a copy of the Olchfa school rule book by a friend who was in the Sixth Form there. I took a copy around to Ian's flat in Windsor street in the Uplands and Ian produced a special Alarm edition using a theme of the Nazi party to describe the administration of the school. In those days the headmaster was a cer6tain Curtis Grove who many said bore a distinct resemblance to Ian Smith the Prime Minister of the racist regime in Rhodesia. Many joked that under his office he had a trap door that led to a tunnel that in turn led to Rhodesia.

When Ian and the Alarm team arrived at Olchfa school and began selling the paper hundreds of copies were sold to both school students and others and soon the police were called to 2Calm the situation. One particular burly sports teacher took a swing at Ian and was restrained. The Olchfa school rule book was an event I remember so well. And it is good that after 40 years a radical group like Alarm is marked historically and remembered.

In 1979 Alarm candidates contested the Council elections of that years and Ian stood in the castle ward of Swansea city council . He polled over 300 votes and Alarm candidates throughout Swansea gained a significant support. In the old Victoria ward that we know today as the Sandfields the Jenkins family that led the led the ratepayer Council administration of 1976 to 1979 were defeated and both the corruption that had dominated Swansea both under labour and rate payers were brought down. Ian Bone was the lynchpin and revolutionary that made this possible.

It is fitting that Swansea Museum should mark his contributions. I suspect Ian is far more modest than that and would claim nothing. But I remember you Ian and thank you for what you did and went oin to do campaigning against the poll tax and laying the foundations for resistance and much more....as inflation rises, as industrial discontent ripples through the public services, as a left wing government is just around the corner....I imagine Ian's smile...