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Tom White

@tom--white.bsky.social
107 followers 115 following 75 posts

Further education worker; writer; UCU member & caseworker He/Him BAD DUST: A HISTORY OF THE ASBESTOS DISASTER -- 9/9/25 bit.ly/4drpSPO

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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Recording of my UKATA webinar now available online. Want to watch me sit awkwardly and talk about #asbestos, #occupationalhealth and #unions? You're in luck! www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Pj...
youtube.com
Bad Dust: Writing the history of the asbestos disaster & thinking about what happens next
YouTube video by UKATA Official
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It's #YorkshireDay. To mark the occasion, here's something on the origins of the event & its relationship to the foundation of the ill-fated county of Humberside. This material is from my current book project, a social history of the Humber Bridge medium.com/@tomjwhite9/...
medium.com
“Well, how does it feel to no longer be a Tyke?”:
Note: this is an extract from my current book project, From Nowhere to Nowhere: A Social History of the Humber Bridge. To read more from…
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It's #YorkshireDay. To mark the occasion, here's something on the origins of the event & its relationship to the foundation of the ill-fated county of Humberside. This material is from my current book project, a social history of the Humber Bridge medium.com/@tomjwhite9/...
medium.com
“Well, how does it feel to no longer be a Tyke?”:
Note: this is an extract from my current book project, From Nowhere to Nowhere: A Social History of the Humber Bridge. To read more from…
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Tomorrow! More info and registration link here: ukata.org.uk/news/webinar... #asbestos
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I'll be talking about Bad Dust next week for the UK Asbestos Training Association webinar series! More info and registration link here: www.ukata.org.uk/news/webinar...
ukata.org.uk
Bad Dust: Writing the History of the Asbestos Disaster & Thinking About What Happens Next
UKATA is hosting an insightful webinar on 30 July at 10.30am with writer and educator Tom White, author of Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Drawing on the research behind his book, Tom wi...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Sheffield ppl: I'll be talking about Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster at Walkley Library on Thurs 16 July, 7PM. Entry is free but donations to the community-run Library appreciated! More info here: www.walkleylibrary.org.uk/whats-on/mee... #asbestos
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Sheffield ppl: I'll be talking about Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster at Walkley Library on Thurs 16 July, 7PM. Entry is free but donations to the community-run Library appreciated! More info here: www.walkleylibrary.org.uk/whats-on/mee... #asbestos
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Do you notice how the entire press had to lock together and *scream* at the public for years, to make the left as despised as the Sensible Moderates have made themselves organically, just by being themselves.
I don't think senior people in Labour have any idea what's about to hit them in London.
Just anecdotally, I know so many people who held their noses and voted Lab in 2024.
Since then, they've gone out of their ways to toxity themselves.
They're going to be obliterated and it'll be their own fault.
& Kevin Schofield @kevinschofie... • 2h
Exclusive: Labour MPs Urged To Campaign In London Amid Fears Of Green Surge
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Neither codes' governing bodies have ever acknowledged -- nevermind addressed -- that the #HIA procedure is built on the foundations of work by Paul McCrory, a #concussion "specialist" who turned out to be a serial plaigariser who hadn't done any research on concussion 🧵
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I'll be talking about researching & writing Bad Dust at Strathclyde on March 3rd! The Andersonian's asbestos archives are an incredible resource -- I couldn't have written about the #asbestos disaster without them (and there is still plenty more work to be done).
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I'll be talking about researching & writing Bad Dust at Strathclyde on March 3rd! The Andersonian's asbestos archives are an incredible resource -- I couldn't have written about the #asbestos disaster without them (and there is still plenty more work to be done).
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
The South Korean city of Daegu has spent the last ten years removing #abestos from virtually every school in the metropolitan area. It cost 185.6 billion won (roughly £96m) -- money v well spent! yeongnam.com/web/view.php...
yeongnam.com
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
"the Government’s Schools Rebuilding Programme & Education Estates Strategy make no substantive reference to asbestos, relying instead on the Condition Data Collection...which explicitly states that it “does not report on hazardous materials (principally asbestos)”." pressat.co.uk/releases/asb...
pressat.co.uk
Asbestos still present in 83% of state schools in England, experts warn
Occupational...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I spoke to Tom Quinn from @confrontpower.bsky.social about my book Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Tom has been doing some brilliant investigative work, so I was very happy to contribute! confrontpower.org/uk-asbestos-...
confrontpower.org
Understanding the UK’s asbestos disaster | Confront Power
Profit-hungry industry, complicit governments, and overly bureaucratic unions. Tom White, author of Bad Dust, provides his insights into the UK’s asbestos disaster and why the issues with asbestos ref...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I spoke to Tom Quinn from @confrontpower.bsky.social about my book Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Tom has been doing some brilliant investigative work, so I was very happy to contribute! confrontpower.org/uk-asbestos-...
confrontpower.org
Understanding the UK’s asbestos disaster | Confront Power
Profit-hungry industry, complicit governments, and overly bureaucratic unions. Tom White, author of Bad Dust, provides his insights into the UK’s asbestos disaster and why the issues with asbestos ref...
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Confront @confrontpower.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
How did it take more than 100 years of workers dying for an #asbestos ban to be considered in the UK? And why do exposures continue? We speak to Tom White his new book Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Read the interview: confrontpower.org/uk-asbestos-...

 @tom--white.bsky.social
confrontpower.org
Understanding the UK’s asbestos disaster | Confront Power
Profit-hungry industry, complicit governments, and overly bureaucratic unions. Tom White, author of Bad Dust, provides his insights into the UK’s asbestos disaster and why the issues with asbestos ref...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
The prevalence of #asbestos building materials in Gaza shows the disregard for the lives of Palestinians under apartheid rule. Now that many of those bldgs have been destroyed, the deadly fibres will keep killing for decades more www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EnF...
youtube.com
Palestinians in Gaza face deadly asbestos risk from toxic war rubble
YouTube video by Al Jazeera English
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
The Town That Asbestos Built. The Cancer It Left Behind via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
thetyee.ca
The Town That Asbestos Built. The Cancer It Left Behind | The Tyee
Former residents of Cassiar say they weren’t warned about the risks. Now, they struggle to find support.
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
A 2025 round-up -- thanks to everyone who has read/listened this year! 1. Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Described by @municipaldreams.bsky.social as a "must read"! hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-Wh
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
I can't claim it will be a particularly cheerful read, but pls consider buying a copy of Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster this Xmas. The book is a history of a once indomitable industry, and of the movement that rose up to oppose it. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
I can't claim it will be a particularly cheerful read, but pls consider buying a copy of Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster this Xmas. The book is a history of a once indomitable industry, and of the movement that rose up to oppose it. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 10/12/2025
‘For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant. It connected the declining city of Hull with the empty expanses of North Lincolnshire: nowhere with nowhere.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 07/12/2025
‘Rather than an important component in a long-term regional plan, it was now clear that the bridge was the only component in that plan. For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 05/12/2025
‘If the bridge was an electoral bribe, it was one that the people of Humberside would end up paying themselves, in the form of toll charges that increased every year for decades.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 03/12/2025
‘Rather than an important component in a long-term regional plan, it was now clear that the Humber Bridge was the only component in that plan. For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 02/12/2025
‘For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant. It connected the declining city of Hull with the empty expanses of North Lincolnshire: nowhere with nowhere.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 29/11/2025
‘If the bridge was an electoral bribe, it was one that the people of Humberside would end up paying themselves, in the form of toll charges that increased every year for decades.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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Brian Robson @brianrobson.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
This is terrific - by-election politics (the worst form of electoral politics), regional development, big political personalities ⤵️
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 27/11/2025
‘Rather than an important component in a long-term regional plan, it was now clear that the Humber Bridge was the only component in that plan. For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant.’ Tom White on how the Humber Bridge was built: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Central to the 2010s Legitimate Concerns discourse that paved the way for our current pre-fascist moment was the refusal to acknowledge that these "concerns" were based on demonstrable fictions, filtered through socially constructed prejudices. I.e. they were not, in fact, "legitimate".
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Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 27/11/2025
To think some seriously believe this will appease the far right rather than embolden them to demand more Even if it did, it would have been at the cost of implementing its politics, mainstreaming its discourse and emboldening racists Congratulations to everyone who fuelled the immigration panic
Headline 

Net migration to UK drops 69% year on year, ONS figures show

Figure of 204,000 in 12 months to June 2025 is lowest since 2021, statistics body says
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Why did the "red-bearded radical" Richard Gott contest the 1966 Hull North byelection? And what does it have to do with the Humber Bridge? Find out in the new @lrb.co.uk! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Why did the "red-bearded radical" Richard Gott contest the 1966 Hull North byelection? And what does it have to do with the Humber Bridge? Find out in the new @lrb.co.uk! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Last week I spoke with Miranda Melcher from the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. You can listen via Apple Podcasts or the NBN website: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... #asbestos
podcasts.apple.com
Tom White,
Podcast Episode · New Books Network · 23/11/2025 · 40m
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Thanks to the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social & Miranda Melcher for the chance to talk about Bad Dust! #asbestos newbooksnetwork.com/bad-dust
newbooksnetwork.com
Tom White, "Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster" (Repeater, 2025) - New Books Network
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20/10/2025
It’s still killing people, and the government has yet to act: Britain’s hidden asbestos epidemic | Tom White
theguardian.com
It’s still killing people, and the government has yet to act: Britain’s hidden asbestos epidemic | Tom White
Asbestos was banned in 1999, but as materials left in our buildings deteriorate, thousands of lives are being lost every year, says writer and education worker Tom White
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
I wrote something for today's @theguardian.com on Britain's hidden epidemic: #asbestos www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
It’s still killing people, and the government has yet to act: Britain’s hidden asbestos epidemic | Tom White
Asbestos was banned in 1999, but as materials left in our buildings deteriorate, thousands of lives are being lost every year, says writer and education worker Tom White
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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
In respect of PA at least, I'm convinced that a big factor is an urge to reclaim some kind of moral high ground. These are people who are convinced they are The Good Guys, and the experience of being widely seen to be complicit in genocide will be profoundly disorientating for many of them.
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
From last week, my piece for @tribunemagazine.bsky.social on asbestos, the overlooked disaster at the heart of the British state: tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/asbe...
tribunemag.co.uk
Asbestos: The Neoliberal Poison
Asbestos exposure remains the leading cause of occupational deaths in Britain today. Why did successive neoliberal governments fail to address the problem — and how can we challenge their toxic legacy...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
I really think there's an argument to be made that over the last 25 yrs, the development of both rugby codes has outstripped the capabilities of the human body: bones, joints, muscles, but brains most of all
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Confront @confrontpower.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Documents obtained by Confront reveal serious issues with how the University of Oxford has managed the thousands of asbestos-containing materials in its buildings. Full story: confrontpower.org/university-o... @ucu.org.uk
confrontpower.org
Serious asbestos management failings at Oxford University, documents reveal | Confront Power
The University of Oxford was ordered to release documents on its asbestos management, which showed the university was in breach of regulations designed to protect people from potentially fatal asbesto...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
From last week, my piece for @tribunemagazine.bsky.social on asbestos, the overlooked disaster at the heart of the British state: tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/asbe...
tribunemag.co.uk
Asbestos: The Neoliberal Poison
Asbestos exposure remains the leading cause of occupational deaths in Britain today. Why did successive neoliberal governments fail to address the problem — and how can we challenge their toxic legacy...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
I wrote something for @tribunemagazine on the asbestos disaster and the best place to start a coordinated removal programme: schools #asbestos #education
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Tribune @tribunemagazine.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
A 2019 Department for Education survey found that 81 percent of schools still have asbestos ‘present on their estate’. Read Tom White on the neoliberal poison.
tribunemag.co.uk
Asbestos: The Neoliberal Poison
Asbestos exposure remains the leading cause of occupational deaths in Britain today. Why did successive neoliberal governments fail to address the problem — and how can we challenge their toxic…
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
I wrote something for @tribunemagazine on the asbestos disaster and the best place to start a coordinated removal programme: schools #asbestos #education
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Roaring denunciation for anyone stating publicly that the Palestinians are human beings with rights who shouldn’t be slaughtered with total impunity; polite applause for swearing friendship to the fascist government that’s been handing out machine guns to civilians, for use on its subject population
lee harpin @Imharpin
X.com
Chancellor Rachel Reeves addresses @_LFI conference reception. "I will always be a friend of Israel. I will be here for you this year, the next year, and the one after that."
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Gregk Foley @gregk.co.uk · 29/09/2025
A party that continues to address its bleeding of support to the left with calls to 'attack' them while maintaining its failed strategy of appealing to the right is not a party that is engaging with reality. It is one that has been taken over by ideological fanatics and should be treated as such.
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
The ban on asbestos in 1999 was never accompanied by a coordinated removal programme. We're all living through the consequences. Order Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster via @hivestores.bsky.social: hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-... #asbestos
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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Cooper understands very well that it's not a question of "whatever words", as if words are arbitrary. Acknowledging the fact of the genocide would mean acknowledging her legal obligation to act meaningfully to prevent it. Her performance of concern for Palestinian children in this context is ugly.
The UK Foreign Office makes regular internal assessments of whether there is a serious risk of genocide by Israel in Gaza, but earlier this month said it had not concluded that was currently the case.

“Every time we talk about whether it’s humanitarian crisis or whatever words that we use actually feel hollow, because what it’s really about is the screams and pain of a toddler, and that’s what’s really at the heart of this, and that’s what has to end. The war has to be brought to an end,” Cooper said.

“I think the reason that there is just such a sense of distress is because everybody can see the horror of what has happened and the fact that it feels like nothing’s being done. It feels like nothing is changing. It feels like everything is just getting worse …
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Excellent article on the 1966 merchant seamen strike. The Hull University academic who helped John Prescott write Not Wanted On Voyage was Tony Topham. His papers are held at @Hullhistorynews & are full of amazing stuff catalogue.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/catalogue/U-...
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