Dead Librarians of South East London

Join Lewisham Heritage for an evening discovering the fascinating lives and deaths of the first generation of public librarians in Lewisham and Greenwich from the 1890s to the 1920s. Social historian Dr Michelle Johanson will lead us through lives of several former librarians, including the first Lewisham Librarian Charles Goss who had a habit of falling out with powerful figures. We'll discover an unusually adventurous Woolwich librarian, who spent his spare time caving and potholing and we’ll ask why Frank Peplow of Deptford library never married. We'll find out why an Erith library helped change the recruitment landscape for female librarians, and we’ll reflect on the sad life of John Harrison, a baby-faced man from South Shields who worked at a number of London libraries (including Lewisham and Bromley) before an addiction to alcohol destroyed his career. Through these librarians Dr Michelle Johansen will explore life in Lewisham and Greenwich at the turn of the twentieth century, especially for the working and lower-middle classes. Refreshments will be provided. If you would like to attend the talk and have any accessibility issues, please let us know so we can prepare and allow you to enjoy the talk as much as possible.