6:25pm Saturday 6th March 2010
By George Appleby
Alderman of York Jack Archer, twice Lord Mayor and tireless worker for the aged among many other causes, the Labour Party and most of all for those around his home in the Poppleton Road area, for which he never sought publicity or reward.
Sylvia and I returned to York in 1980 to a house across the road from the Poppleton Road Memorial Hall in Poplar Street. It consisted of two world war wooden huts, one had been a Salvation Army canteen for service people on St Georges Field and the other a service billet for airmen on Elvington RAF camp. They were erected in an L shape in 1946 as a memorial for Poppleton Road residents who were killed in the great York air raid. Roy Hudson, a Freeman of the City, was very much involved in its erection in 1946 and was now, as Chairman and Jack Archer was President, the driving forces in its running when we arrived in 1980, with other keen local volunteers including Paul and Jan Hepworth.
Soon after moving in I went straight there from work, without my dinner, to a committee meeting to see if people could be asked not to park their cars on the footpaths. They were solid York Stone and were being cracked and broken in places. Apart from the damage, there were elderly residents who may fall on them. An hour later, I returned to Sylvia a fully fledged committee member and we took part in many of the hall activities during the 6 years we were there.
Roy and his near neighbour Syd Gunnel worked hard on the maintenance and Syd’s wife Mavis was caretaker. In all the years of events and activity which were well supported and many, the funds from these only managed to pay for its upkeep and there was a bank balance of about £1,200 which Syd guarded jealously. The small outcrop of land it was on belonged to British Rail on an annual rent. There had been previous requests to buy it, all met with refusals. Damp was affecting the building increasingly and the huts needed replacing.
Jack got our Conservative MP, Conal Gregory, to make a visit with his wife and he got involved. He sat on the same transport committee with Bob Read, British Rail Chairman. They discussed the situation and the fact that there were many railway families lost in the raid which the hall was memorial to. The land was bought for an affordable price and it was decided that fund raising would start to replace it. Activities of all kinds were stepped up and the people of all ages joined in. Pantos, shows and plays to full capacity audiences by the drama group. Bingo, jumbles, fish and chip suppers, musical evenings with pies and peas, dance classes by Jean Bilton and over 60s group all contributed. With my print connections I was able to produce and edit a bimonthly A5 x 24 page magazine, delivered through 3,000 letter boxes by an army of old age paper boys. 12 pages were filled with advertising at £200 per page. Private donations came in from all over the area, much from Acomb. Visits were made by City Leaders and grants were made by the City, the North Yorkshire Councils among other funds set up for these purposes. A local architect was used, plans were passed and work began. Jack Archer was involved throughout and it was opened soon after The new hall was opened in 1990 to the sound of a brass band and the Lord Mayor and his lady Ena arrived in the official car to open it.
The hall is fully paid for and well used.
Thanks very much to Jack’s constant encouragement and support.
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