1929
Bristol's first lady solicitor, Angela Tuckett, was admitted in January.
The Education Committee meeting at the end of January was faced with a request from the Finance Committee to reduce their estimated spending by £5,000. They considered but rejected a proposal to purchase another van to be used to convey crippled children to school. They heard that some pupils had to leave home at 7.45 am and did not return until 5.30 pm; another van would have cost £400. They also considered class sizes in view of a circular from the Department of Education which hoped that classes containing more than 50 children would be eliminated before March 1930.
The Franchise Act 1928 that came into force at the beginning of 1929 introduced universal adult suffrage and thus granted equal franchise to women. This added 55,098 to Bristol's voters' lists and they were then in the majority. The list included 32,954 unmarried women.
The revised valuation list was published in February; it contained 94,335 hereditaments and the city's rateable value had increased by £558,697 to £2,843,713. The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 came into force in April at which time the collection of general rate and poor rate were merged.
William Wines, the Bristol Guardians' head gardener at Stapleton, appeared before the magistrates on 14 February charged with shooting eight seagulls in contravention of the Wild Birds Protection Act. He told the court that he did not know that it was illegal and that his gardens had been troubled by birds. Inspector Hart told the court that seagulls were edible if an onion was placed inside the bird for twenty-four hours and that, although the dead birds had been buried, he had caused one to be disinterred so that it could be produced in court. The justices dismissed the case on payment of costs and the court had to be disinfected before the next case could be heard.
In March a large meeting of women addressed by Lady Astor MP and Sir Thomas Inskip, the Attorney General, took place in the Colston Hall. Amidst heckling Lady Astor told the audience that it was useless to talk of equality when every woman knew that her children were not equal and that, if parents could not give equality to their children, they could not expect the State to do so.
The Housing Committee agreed on 15 April to purchase 4'/2 acres at Whiteway Road, St. George for municipal housing. They were told that the direct labour scheme at Shirehampton was drawing to a close and agreed to build 170 houses at Ridgeway Road, Fishponds also by direct labour.
The Health Committee, meeting on the following day, heard there had been 549 deaths from influenza during the previous 10 weeks but that the epidemic was subsiding. They also learnt of the problem of rat infestation at the Coldharbour Road tip and agreed to engage two rat catchers at £2:19s per week.
Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister, addressed a large meeting at the Colston Hall on 25 April; his speech was also relayed to Durdham Down and a number of towns in Somerset. He told the audience that whilst unemployment was a big problem that should not overlook the fact that 90of the population was enjoying a higher standard of living and that the government's fiscal policy had reduced the cost of living and thus added to purchasing power. On the following day he visited the University and the Royal Infirmary.
The Bristol Guardians reported in April that they were currently relieving 4,490 people (including dependants) at a cost of £ 1,111:19s:5d per week.
On 9 May Prince Arthur of Connaught, after inspecting a detachment of ex-servicemen at Temple Meads, visited Ham Green Hospital where he officially opened a hostel to train boys for work in farms in the Dominions.
On 13 May the Council accepted a report recommending the establishment of an airport at Whitchurch at a cost of £23,000. The report noted that the number of passengers carried by airlines was 10,000 in 1921 and 28,000 in 1927. The Director of Civil Aviation later wrote to the Corporation to congratulate Bristol on its foresight.
On 23 May the statutory meeting of Barton Warehouses Ltd. appointed a receiver for the debenture holders. The meeting was told that the company's voluntary liquidation would continue.
On 27 June Winston Churchill was elected as Chancellor of Bristol University. He came to the city on 13 December and was welcomed by students at Temple Meads; the car in which he travelled from the station was accompanied by several students on grotesquely decorated motorcycles. In his speech after his installation he appeared to advocate regional government; he expressed the view that the country was at a disadvantage when compared with the United States and Germany in that 'we have no large units of state government between the counties and the central power of the realm'.
On the following day he opened Wills Hall as a hall of residence. The house had previously been the home of W.E. George and the cost of its acquisition and conversion had been the gift of H.H. Wills, brother of Sir George Wills.
The 'Resignation' Honours List at the beginning of July awarded a peerage to Sir Gilbert Albert Hamilton Wills who became Lord Dulverton of Batsford. He was the second son of Sir Frederick Wills and was Chairman of Imperial Tobacco Co. Ltd. from 1924 to 1947 and the company's president from 1947 to 1956.
Alderman George Bryant Britton died on 11 July. He was born in 1857, founded the boot manufacturing business which bore his name and played an active part in the initiation of an electric tram service to Kingswood. He became a councillor in 1897, an alderman in 1921 and served as Lord Mayor in 1920. He was Liberal MP for Bristol East from 1918 to 1922.
In July Holman Gregory KC, the Recorder of Bristol, was appointed Judge of the Mayor's and City of London Court and Recorder and Common Serjeant. He was a Bristolian and was educated at Bristol Grammar School; he originally qualified as a solicitor and practised for 11 years before being called to the bar. The new Recorder, Herbert Du Parcq KC was sworn in on 15 July.
In the same month the Medical Officer of Health reported to the Health Committee that there were then five whole-time school medical officers employed by the Education Committee. It was agreed that they could be styled Assistant Medical Officers of Health.
In answer to a councillor's question at the July Council meeting the Chairman of the Watch Committee gave the following information concerning accidents caused by vehicles:
Number of accidents Persons killed Persons injured
1924 1939 19 588
1925 2048 30 529
1926 2462 26 700
1927 2680 35 672
1928 3124 27 894
In July the Watch Committee decided to establish a police band and engaged Captain Frederick Moore, MVO, who had just retired as Director of Music to the Scots Guards, as the band's conductor at an annual salary of £350. He could not find any proficient musicians from amongst the existing force and recruited 32 military musicians who were appointed constables. It is difficult to reconcile this arrangement with the information provided in the following March when the committee was told that the band then comprised 28 members who practised each morning and that the creation of the band had not resulted in an increase in the authorised force.
Fred E. Weatherley died at his home in Bath on 7 September. He was born in 1848 and practised as a barrister but was better known as a song writer, writing such gems as Stonecracker John and Up From Somerset.
Bristol's Broadcast Week took place in September. It had been hoped to arrange a transmission featuring such notable local musicians as Dame Clara Butt, contralto, Eva Turner, soprano, Dennis Noble, baritone and Marie Hall, violinist. Unfortunately Clara Butt was unwell and Eva Turner was out of the country.
The September Council meeting received a report from the Watch Committee recommending the purchase of 'Elmside', Stoke Bishop as a residence for the Chief Constable, John Henderson Watson. The proposed purchase price was £1,550 and an expenditure of £800 was needed for alterations and decoration.
An amendment to the proposal referring the question back to the committee was carried by 31 votes to 29. It then appears that Watson and Sir John Swaish, the chairman of the committee, arranged with the owner of the house to rent it to the committee and to pay £800 to Watson to enable him to have the necessary works carried out. Sir John agreed that members of the fire brigade could carry out much of the work. When the full committee learned of the arrangement they stopped the work and strongly condemned this error of judgement.
The Chief Constable resigned on 5 March and retired to Eastbourne. At the end of May Sir John resigned as chairman on the ground of ill-health.
In October concern was expressed when Watson went missing from his home and the search for him extended to Beachy Head. No body was found but the Town Clerk later reported to the Watch Committee that a coroner's jury had presumed death to have taken place on 7 October. Some 15 months later his body, with a self-inflicted wound, was found in an Eastbourne park.
The Methodist Conference which took place at the Central Hall in October discussed world evangelism and Christian reunion. The meeting welcomed the Bishop of Bristol who referred to differences in the Church of England and said that Christian reunion would be one of the most vital problems to be discussed at the next Lambeth Conference.
At the October Council meeting the Tramways Option Committee recommended that the option to purchase the undertaking should not be exercised as to do so would be too expensive; the advice was accepted.
The first shots in the forthcoming 'newspaper war' took place in October when, on the first of the month, Northcliffe Newspaper's Evening World published its first edition. The proprietors of the Bristol Times & Mirror made an unsuccessful application in the Chancery Division for an injunction preventing Northcliffes from attempting to induce some of their employees to leave their service.
At the November meeting the Council discussed a report from the War Memorial Committee who said they had no recommendation to make as the cost would be too high. An amendment instructing the committee to investigate sites within the Council's ownership was carried by 39 votes to 33. In the following June the committee suggested a site in Colston Avenue and observed that funds for the memorial had already been subscribed privately.
At the municipal elections taking place at the beginning of November 22 seats were contested and there were four Labour gains.
A report of The Museum and Art Gallery Committee in December announced that the Hon. Mrs. Smyth had donated the whole collection of the Ashton Court museum; it included nearly 600 mounted birds of exceptional rarity and beauty together with the heads of three bisons that had been shot by Sir Greville Smyth upon the North American prairies in the sixties.
During the course of the Christmas period the Lord Mayor visited Southmead Hospital that was shortly due to be transferred from the Guardians to the Corporation. During his visit the medical superintendent, Dr. Philips, said, There is an impression in the public mind that radium is a cure for cancer. I do not think that at present we can regard it as a cure [but nevertheless] we should be glad if this hospital is made the radium centre for the West'. The Lord Mayor responded that he was glad that hospitals were no longer having to compete with each other for supplies of radium. He added that one result of the transfer to the Corporation would be that the stigma of pauperism would be removed from the hospital.
1930
At the beginning of January the Duchess of Beaufort, with her pilot Captain C.D. Barnard, arrived at Filton after their record flight from India, having travelled there and back in a week.
Also at the start of the year Mr. F. Pickles retired as headmaster of St. George Secondary School.
In January the Education Committee reported on the effects of the legislation that would raise the leaving age to 15 from 1 April 1931. They noted that primary education would cease at the age of 11 and that class sizes would have to be reduced to 40 for seniors and 50 for juniors. An extra 6930 additional school places would have to be provided.
In January the Council agreed to adopt a superannuation scheme for all their employees.
On 15 January 1928 St. Mary's Church, Shirehampton had caught fire and was completely gutted. The rebuilding commenced in June when Mrs.Yda Richardson laid the foundation stone and two years after the fire, to the day, the rebuilt church was consecrated by the Bishop of Malmesbury.
In January the members of Kingswood Urban District Council discussed the failure of their surveyor, Glynne Warner, to send plans for proposed road schemes to the appropriate government department. They heard that this would result in there being no government subsidy and thus no work for the unemployed during that winter. The surveyor resigned.
The first appearance in the provinces of Herr Siegfried Wagner took place at the Colston Hall on 8 February when he conducted the Bristol Choral Society and an orchestra totalling 450 performers. The programme included music from Tannhauser and Die Meister-singer.
At the end of the month James Ross, the deputy city librarian gave a series of broadcast talks from Cardiff about some of the treasures in the library.
In February in the House of Commons the Bristol Tramway Company was criticised by J.H. Alpass. He pointed out that the Corporation had built a number of homes at some distance from the centre thus requiring many tenants to travel to work but that the company had no workmans' return fares and that the cheapest fare was 2d. He also pointed out that the company did not encourage unions and alleged that they had dismissed some employees known to be members.
On 13 February John Wesley's Chapel in Broadmead was re-opened after extensive restoration. The work cost £6,000.
Paul Robeson appeared in a concert at the Colston Hall on 25 February.
In March the Evening News ceased publication and the two remaining evening papers. Evening World and Evening Times and Echo, were left to fight a circulation war.
At the end of March ten men were convicted at Weston-super-Mare Magistrates' Court; they had trespassed in search of game on Steep Holm. PC Hanham managed to overhaul both of their boats and found rabbits on board. He also saw that one of the men was in possession of a volume of Encyclopaedia Britannica that he had taken from Mr. Sleeman's house on the island. The magistrates were lenient because the men were unemployed and fined them modest amounts.
In March Miss Elsa R.H. Nunn was appointed Principal of the Diocesan Training College at Fishponds. A graduate of Girton College, Cambridge, she had gained a good second class degree in both parts of the history tripos and an MA in education at London University.
In the same month Captain Guest, who had formerly been MP for Bristol North as a Liberal, joined the Conservatives.
Horace Walker died in April. He had been Chairman of H.J. Packer & Co. Ltd. He was a councillor from 1921 to 1927 and served as Sheriff in 1922/23.
The Kingswood Urban District Council had been criticised for exploiting 'test' workers (men in receipt of assistance from the Warmley Poor Law Authorities). They considered the matter on 30 April and did not feel that the criticism was justified. After discussion they decided not to accept any more 'test' workers on the ground that they had a tendency to encourage council workmen to malinger.
At their May meeting the Watch Committee heard representations from E.H. Parker of the Bristol Unemployed Association who claimed to speak for the 21,000 unemployed in the city. One councillor strongly deprecated the way in which policemen who retired on pension took employment thus keeping some jobs from the unemployed.
In May the Lord Mayor opened a new block of flats opposite Broadweir Baths provided by the Bristol Churches' Tenements Association. The project had cost £7,000.
A 'French Week' was held at the end of May. H.M.S. Selkirk, a minesweeper, and a French despatch boat La Somme visited the city docks. The Suspension Bridge was illuminated, an aerial 'derby' was held at Bristol Airport and there was a service at the Cathedral attended by the French ambassador, the Mayor of Rouen and other distinguished visitors. The celebrations also included a demonstration by 6,000 children who formed themselves into a representation of the Union Jack, a regatta at Hotwells, a dancing demonstration at the Colston Hall by pupils of Miss Maddocks, and an exhibition of modern French art at the Royal West of England Academy. The licensing justices refused to grant an extension of hours for the occasion. At about the same time Sir Ernest and Lady Cook visited Bethune and were enthusiastically received.
On 27 May the Art Gallery extension was opened by Sir William Llewellyn, the President of the Royal Academy. The project had been made possible by a donation of £80,000 from Sir George Wills.
On 31 May Prince George (who later became the Duke of Kent) flew to Filton and went to Winford to open the orthopaedic hospital known as the Bristol Crippled Children's Open Air Hospital; at the time there were about 50 children in residence. After lunch with the Merchant Venturers he carried out the official opening of Whitchurch Airport and witnessed a display by aeroplanes from many countries including a squadron from the Royal Air force who gave a demonstration of 'converging bombing'. The Council incurred expenditure amounting to £4,000 for the occasion including £1,000 to improve the narrow lanes leading to the airport as they expected considerable motor traffic for the event.
At their June meeting the Council gave approval for a new mental hospital at Barrow Gurney and the construction of a war memorial in Colston Avenue.
During 'Navy Week' at the end of June two Destroyers - Velox and Warwick visited the city docks, and two more - Versailles and Vimy were at the Royal Edward Dock in Avonmouth.
There were 70 applications for the post of Chief Constable including six from serving chief constables. The Watch Committee recommended the appointment of Superintendent Charles George Maby of the Bristol force; he had been educated at Barton Hill and St. George Secondary School and had joined the force as a junior clerk at the age of 16.
The first meeting of the creditors of Sir Beddoe Rees, the former Liberal MP for Bristol South, took place in London in July. He did not attend the meeting on medical grounds and the meeting was told that doctors had advised him to go abroad for health reasons.
On 15 July the first stage of the new electrical generating station at Portishead was opened by Sir Andrew R. Duncan, the Chairman of the Electricity Commission. The station, constructed by the Bristol Corporation Electricity Department, had cost £1,000,000 and on the opening day was visited by 700 to 800 people.
On 22 July Dame Janet Stancombe Wills opened a home for nurses at the Bristol Maternity Hospital in Southwell Street, Kingsdown. The home was the gift of Mrs. Yda Richardson and was built by William Cowlin & Son Ltd; the plans were prepared by Oatley & Lawrence.
At their July meeting the licensing justices received a petition 27 yards long containing some 2,000 names objecting to the Sunday opening of cinemas. It had been prepared by young people at Kensington Baptist Chapel, Stapleton Road with the aid of some neighbouring churches.
In July the Imperial Tobacco Company agreed to give the sum of £10,000 to Bristol Churches Tenements Association to enable them to construct 26 houses at Bedminster. There was an arrangement for the Corporation to own and let the houses and to make annual payments to the association over a period of 75 years.
The match between Gloucestershire and the touring Australian cricket team at Fry's athletic ground (which later became the County Ground) ended on 26 August with a thrilling finish. Gloucestershire batted first and scored 72 runs and the visitors responded with a score of 187. The county in their second innings made 202 leaving the tourists to score 118 to win. They only managed 117 and so the match ended in a tie.
The British Association met in Bristol from 3 to 10 September. The delegates visited the Bristol Aeroplane Works and witnessed an autogyro demonstration. Amongst the visitors were Sir Oliver Lodge and George Bernard Shaw. Professor P.O. Bower gave his presidential address in the Colston Hall and later received an honorary LL.D from the University.
The city's first traffic lights had been installed at the junction of Whiteladies Road and Tyndall's Park Road. They worked satisfactorily and in September the Watch Committee decided to install a dozen more.
Responsibility for the administration of the poor law had been transferred from the Guardians to the Corporation. A meeting of the newly appointed Public Assistance Committee took place on 26 September and, in his absence, the chairman Alderman H.J. Maggs was criticised for a speech in which he had expressed his view that there was some duplication of functions and a waste of money in the work of the committee.
In October a meeting of boot and shoe workers at the British Schoolroom in Kingswood protested at the proposed reduction of pay from 56s. to 52s. per week.
Mrs.Yda Richardson opened the Infirmary's Medical Officers' Hostel in October and was presented with the golden key with which she had performed the ceremony. A week or so later she laid the foundation stone at the new central YMCA.
At Staple Hill Magistrates' Court on 23 October a 15 year old St. George boy was charged with breaking into the powder magazine at Frenchay Quarry and stealing 171b of gelignite. When interviewed by a police inspector he admitted the offence, adding 'I done it for mischief. With some friends he had broken the explosive into small pieces and thrown them at passing trains; they had also exploded some of it in the street. The bench remanded him for a medical examination and told him that they were considering sending him to a training ship.
At the October meeting of the Housing Committee a member questioned why imported doors were being used when it should have been possible to make them by directly employed carpenters. They were told that the doors were mass-produced and made of Columbian pine; it appears that locally made doors were more expensive and that the panels tended to shrink.
During Bristol's 'Radio Week' the broadcasts included a programme called 'A Naval Affair' that recorded the activities at the Flying Fox and a programme by the Bristol Harmonic Choir.
At the municipal elections at the beginning of November 19 wards were contested and there was no change in representation.
The Lord Mayor opened the new police and fire stations on 5 November in the presence of Sir John Anderson, the Permanent Secretary of State for Home Affairs.
The Advisory Committee for Juvenile Employment met in November and it was reported that there were currently 1,000 boys and girls unemployed and that 80 to 100 were being placed in employment each week by the Juvenile Exchange. The Merchant Venturers' Technical College was holding classes in salesmanship for assistants and apprentices in the drapery, outfitting and boot and shoe trades but that they were not being supported by employers.
A session of talks on 'Homecrafts' and 'Opportunities for Girls in the Printing and Allied Trades' was held at Wills Hall. Miss King, the Headmistress of the Bath School of Housecraft told the audience that there was no nobler trade for any woman than that of being a good mother and homemaker.
Walter Baker, the Labour M.P. for Bristol East died on 2 December. Before being elected as an MP he was a civil service telegraphist. Mr. Baker was a Fabian and a member of the ILP; he was very active on behalf of the Union of Post Office Workers.
1931
The New Year's Honours List contained a baronetcy for Richard Gregory, the noted scientist and editor of Nature. He was the son of the poet John Gregory and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital.
Sir John Swaish died on 19 January. He had founded a local pawnbroking business with several branches in the city. Sir John became a councillor in 1890, an alderman in 1906 and served as Lord Mayor in 1913/14. He received a knighthood in 1920. Two weeks later, on 5 February, Walter Henry Eyles died. He was a wholesale fruit merchant, became a councillor in 1919 and Lord Mayor in 1928/9.
On 24 January the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra conducted by Sir Dan Godfrey gave a concert in the Colston Hall. The programme was in conjunction with the Bristol Choral Society and included Tchaikovsky's violin concerto, Parry's Blest Pair of Sirens and Elgar's Six Songs from the Bavarian Highlands. Other notable appearances during the year were Maurice Chevalier on 3 January and Paderewski on 19 October.
In the same month a mobile detachment was added to the police force. There was subsequent criticism of the fact that the Watch Committee had purchased Sunbeam motor cycles instead of machines produced locally by Douglas. The fact that the Kingswood manufacturer was able to make suitable machines was illustrated in March when they supplied two 750cc bikes to the Newport police.
On 27 January Sir William Morris opened Bristol Motor Company's new Morris service station at Ashton Gate.
The Bishop of Clifton, Dr. Burton, died on 8 February.
A new offence of taking and driving away a motor vehicle without the owner's consent had been created; this was because it was necessary to prove that an accused had intended had to deprive the owner permanently of the vehicle in order convict him of stealing it. The first prosecution in Bristol for this new offence took place in February when Edward Carr (aged 27) of Brislington was fined 10/-.
The results of the Royal Empire Society's essay competition were announced in February. All classes of schools in the United Kingdom and the Dominions were eligible and Bristol had four prizewinners; this was more than any other town or city. The local winners were pupils of Gotham Secondary School, Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, Newfoundland Road Girls' School and Parson Street Senior Mixed School.
Miners at Speedwell and Parkfield were on strike from the end of February. They were in dispute with the East Bristol Colliery Co. about a wage settlement and refused to accept an arbitrator's award. Mediation attempts were made by the Lord Mayor and officials from the Ministry of Mines and the men suffered a setback at the end of March when the Court of Referees ruled that the strikers were not entitled to unemployment benefit. They returned to work on 18 April and accepted the terms offered under protest.
At the beginning of March the Bristol Employment Committee were given the numbers of persons out of work in the previous month. They were: Men 19532 Women 5645 Boys 747 Girls 894 Total 26818. The total for the preceding month was 23707.
The opening gala at the newly built Bristol South Baths took place on 16 April. The architect was C.F.W. Dennis and the builder Frank Wilkins. The baths cost £60,000.
In April there was a vacancy for an alderman following the death of Sir John Swaish. In accordance with their usual practice the Citizen party voted for Councillor F.G. Mullins, the most senior councillor and a member of their party. The Labour members walked out in protest as they continued to press for the number of aldermen to reflect the number of councillors.
At the April Council meeting the members received a report from the Housing Committee dealing with the question of new licensed premises on their estates. The committee's policy was that no application to build a public house would be granted unless a majority of residents gave their approval on a canvas. A number of members of the committee had been in favour of an outright ban.
Alderman J.S.G.W. Stroud died on 28 April. He became a councillor in 1895 and an alderman in 1924. He served as Sheriff in 1914.
At the end of April it was announced that Sir James O'Grady was retiring as Governor of Tasmania and had been appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands. He was the son of a Bristol docker and during the interval between the two appointments he visited the city for a reunion with his old school friends from St. Mary's on the Quay.
On 1 May the BBC opened its first studio in the city over a branch of the Midland Bank in Queens Road. Mr. W.S.A. Brown gave the first talk.
At the beginning of May the Lord Mayor visited the City of Bristol bombing squadron at Whitchurch Airport.
Sir Beddoe Rees, the former Liberal MP for Bristol South, died on 18 May.
There was an unusual incident in the magistrates' court in the middle of May. After hearing 15 motoring cases and whilst in the middle of a case Alderman Dyer announced 'There has been a dispute between the magistrates and I am going to leave the court'. The other justice, Mr. F. Leonard, said 'You may as well add that the alderman wants to rule the roost but he is not going to do it with me'. Both then left the court but eventually returned after a discussion with one of their colleagues. They then concluded the case and the business of the court.
In June Bristol County Court, Judge Parsons heard a claim between two motorists arising out of a collision on the Portway. He gave judgement for Arthur George Bridge of Stoke Bishop who said he had 33 years of claim-free driving to his credit. The other party was Miss Rosa Campo aged 23 of Henleaze, the daughter of the Colombian consul for Bristol and Cardiff. Of Miss Campo the judge said 'It is these young women who make the roads almost impossible to drive upon. Thank God they are held up a little by the new road laws and the compulsory insurance'.
Sir George Newsom the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health opened the Frenchay Park Sanatorium and Orthopaedic Hospital on 17 June. The estate had been purchased ten years previously for £20,000. The erection of wards cost £46,000 but the Ministry had provided £18,000 and would add a further £24,000. The local authority thus had to find only the balance of £24,000.
George Robey, the 'Prime Minister of Mirth' appeared at the Hippodrome on 6 July.
There was a peace demonstration on Durdham Down on 12 July witnessed by 50,000 children.
The July Council meeting approved the report of the War Memorial Committee recommending the erection of a memorial in Colston Avenue.
The same meeting discussed a report from the Education Committee concerning the threat to withhold a grant by the Board of Education. The Board criticised the committee's failure to proceed swiftly enough with the provision of elementary schools for the new housing estates, the implementation of a reorganisation of the city's schools or the reduction of class sizes. There was a move to appoint a committee to investigate the matter during which Councillor W.S. Cox claimed that correspondence had not been disclosed to the Council, that the committee was dominated by its chairman Sir Ernest Cook and that the elementary education of some of the city's children had been put at risk. In reply Alderman A.L.H. Smith claimed that Bristol's children got as good an education as any children in the country and that the loss of the grant had only been a temporary inconvenience. The motion was lost by 45 votes to 33. Sir Ernest resigned as a member and chairman of the committee on the ground of ill health in the following October.
At the beginning of August a new motor ferry between Beachley and Aust was inaugurated.
In September Mrs. Hoddinott, aged 70, of Fishponds returned her pension book to the Chancellor of the Exchequer telling him that at such a time of national need she hoped he would accept it in the spirit in which it was offered. His reply is not recorded.
During the second week of September the Trades Union Congress met at the Victoria Rooms. The President, Arthur Handay MP, attacked dole cutting and wage cutting schemes. The delegates voted in favour of a 40-hour week with no reduction of wages and protested at the meagreness of the unemployment benefit. The police had to prevent attempts by unemployed hunger marchers to enter the conference.
A Council meeting at the end of September discussed cost cutting proposals suggested by the Finance Committee. Feelings ran high; Councillor Habgood's criticisms of the committee and the Citizen party prompted Alderman J.E. James to comment that his speech convinced him that money used for the construction of a mental hospital would be well spent. Alderman Hennessey complained that Colonel Woodcock turned up his nose at the unemployed and called him a dirty dog. He refused to withdraw the comment and the Lord Mayor threatened Co call the police to have him removed. Eventually his colleagues persuaded the alderman to leave the chamber.
In October a meeting of the Council received a deputation of unemployed men. After they had withdrawn a number of members wanted to discuss their complaints but the Lord Mayor tried to proceed with the agenda. Members refused to give way to him and eventually he yielded. The Public Assistance Committee was asked to consider demands that all relief should be paid in cash, that rent exceeding 61- per week should be paid by the committee, that the coal allowance should be increased from I/- to 21- per week during winter and that the committee should loan blankets to the unemployed. The chairman of the committee commented that the scale of relief in Bristol was the sixth highest in the country.
Lord Wraxall of Tyntesfield (formerly Colonel Gibbs, MP for Bristol West) died in October.
The October meeting of the Housing Committee were told that houses built on the Southmead estate by direct labour had cost £60 each in excess of the estimated figure. A sub-committee was appointed to investigate this discrepancy.
The municipal elections at the beginning of October saw 16 contests in the 23 wards. Labour (who needed to gain three seats to get overall control of the council) lost five seats.
In November a GPO detector van arrived in the city and began to track down people using a wireless set without a licence.
At midnight on 28/29 November the Bristol telephone system became automatic and subscribers had to become accustomed to using a dial and no longer needed to use the services of an operator to call a local number. The Lord Mayor was welcomed by trumpeters when he made a civic visit to the telephone exchange on 7 December; he learned that 52,000 calls per day were being handled by the automatic system.
On 10 December Sir Ernest Cook formally opened the new secondary school at Gotham; its cost was £48,000. In his speech Sir Ernest said that it was the most important step in education in Bristol since King George V opened the University.
On 18 December Dr. Knox Shaw, the President of the Royal Astronomical Society, unveiled a tablet in memory of W.F. Denning, the famous astronomer, at his house in Egerton Road, Bishopston. Mr. Denning, who died on 9 June, discovered no fewer than five comets and compiled a unique catalogue of meteors.
Jack Linton, the spokesman for the Bristol Unemployed Association addressed the December Council meeting. He said that some councils, like Liverpool, were refusing to operate the means test and that others should follow their example. He added that the test recalled the operation of the poor law and that disabled ex-servicemen were penalised. He instanced one such case where the man was receiving 16/- per week disablement pension and the means test reduced his unemployment benefit by 15/3.
James Ross was appointed City Librarian on 22 December following the resignation of Acland Taylor after 47 years of service.
The census returns for 1931 showed that Bristol's population comprised 185,173 men and 211,745 women, an increase of nearly 20,000 in ten years.
