Councillor in print

A book by Uckfield town councillor, Dr Margaret Kiloh, was launched at a reception at South Africa House in London last Tuesday.

The book, A Fighting Union, is an oral history of the South African Railway and Harbour Workers' Union. It was introduced at the reception by the South African High Commissioner, who praised the project for recording the contribution of ordinary men and women to the struggle against apartheid.

Dr Kiloh said: 'The book was commended by the High Commissioner. She said it was the most interesting history book she had read and that it read more like a novel than a history book.'

During the apartheid years written records had been seized and destroyed so A Fighting Union will fill a gap in our knowledge about the period and provide information for future generations.

In order to gather material Dr Kiloh, a senior lecturer for the Open University in Social Sciences, and her collaborator, former trade union activist Zola Zembe, travelled throughout South Africa and interviewed over 80 people, including Govan Mbeki, the father of the South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

Dr Kiloh said: 'Govan Mbeki was a wonderful person to talk to; he is a very sharp man and his memories of 1930 trade unionism were very helpful.'

All money from sales of the book will be donated to the Tyume Valley Schools Development Fund, set up by Dr Kiloh and a colleague to support rural schools in a poverty stricken area of the Eastern Cape.