A head of his time

Peter de Loriol on London’s first black mayor, John Archer of Battersea

Above: John Archer

Industrial Battersea created one of the most politically active areas of London in the 19th century. In the creation of the inaptly termed ‘Clapham’ Junction station, service industries such as laundries, transport and light engineering works sprang up. The area had a high Irish intake as well as chancers from England’s shires. The unions were strong, as was the proletarian community spirit. Two of the most strident political voices of the masses were baptised into national politics here at this time; John Burns (1858-1943) and Shapurji Saklatvala (1874-1936).

John Burns was a man of the people, largely self-educated and a Trades Union firebrand, whilst Shapurji Saklatvala was Indian and from a very wealthy background. Both these shakers of the emerging Labour Party were backed by one of the most remarkably honest men of British politics, John Archer, a Liverpudlian and London’s first black mayor.

John Archer (1863-1932) is largely forgotten in the collective consciousness. He was a Roman Catholic, because of his Irish mother, and a Liberal. His early years were spent as a merchant seaman. He was a professional singer and was also studying medicine. He and his Canadian wife moved to 55 Brynmaer Road, Battersea in 1890.

It was a largely Irish neighbourhood and its most prominent local politician was John Burns.

John Burns was elected to Parliament in 1892 whilst the fiery and committed John Archer joined in local politics and rose rapidly in the Battersea Labour League, an alliance of Liberal, Labour and Radical movements. Archer also attended the first Pan-African Conference in 1900 along with Samuel Coleridge Taylor, the composer, Dadabhai Naoroji, the Asian politician and Sylvester Williams of Marylebone.

In 1906 John Archer was elected as the Progressive (Liberal) councillor for the Latchmere Ward. On his election he was appointed to the Baths, Health and Works Committee, and took an active interest in the Nine Elms Baths, the largest covered pool in Britain. He also established a photographic studio at 214 Battersea Park Road. He was to live above the shop from 1915 onwards.

The Affair of the Little Brown Dog, a typical example of the raw politics of the age, was one cause that Archer espoused. Anti Vivisectionists had donated a statue of a dog ‘done to death’ in medical laboratories. The statue was erected in Battersea Park, fiercely protected by the locals. A large group of medical students and their supporters attempted to have it dismantled. It was a battle between the proletariat and the middle classes and was as fiercely contested in council chambers as on the streets. The statue was eventually dismantled when Labour lost control of the council in 1911 and Archer lost his seat.

The internal squabbling between the various Labour factions had lost them several seats on the council. The shock made them re-organise and in 1912 their efforts paid dividends. John Archer was re-elected and became the first black Mayor of London in 1913. This was food for the media. The papers were to publish his photo, lightening his not particularly dark skin, and write that: “His features and colouring are eloquent of his origins, but his conversation shows no trace of an accent, and he is a man of good education.”

John Archer remained in politics to the end of his life, acting as agent to two successful candidates, Shapurji Saklatvala, the Communist MP being one.

With thanks to The Wandsworth Museum.
An exhibition of the life of John Archer is currently at the museum