Barltrop , Robert , b 1922 , historian and author

Born, 1922, educated at the Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow; grew up in the East End of London, descended from a long line of blacksmiths, although his father was a horse fodder dealer; served with the Royal Air Force, World War Two; for many years a member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain. He has had various careers and has been a professional boxer, a labourer, a strip cartoonist, a schoolteacher and a sign-painter. Barltrop has also published widely and his books include: The Monument: Story of the Socialist Party of Great Britain (1975), Jack London: The Man, the Writer, the Rebel (1977), Muvver Tongue with Jim Wolveridge (1980) and A funny age (Growing up in North East London between the Wars) (1985).