Thornton Heath Chitter Chatter Thread
- Thread starter boohoo
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Fozzie Bear
Well-Known Member
ska invita
back on the other side
Did he chat really fast during the interview?
Fozzie Bear
Well-Known Member
He was very charming and relaxed!
GarveyLives
Well-Known Member
I thought this was interesting on racism and anti-racism in Thornton Health in the 80s:
Activist Streets
How did Black activist organisations fight racism in the London suburbs? Daniel Frost finds that they did so – in districts like Croydon and Thornton Heath – through association and alliance with the struggles of inner-city locales.www.historyworkshop.org.uk
The Terry May Murder Case, the 40th anniversary of which falls later this year, is referenced here, albeit with some inaccuracies concerning the actual facts of the case.
From recollection, a central figure in the conflict emanating from the then Wilton Arms pub in Thornton Heath High Street was a youth called (Bobby?) Kennett. I was curious whether that Kennett was connected in any way to John Kennett who was murdered on 23 December 2019 by another local man, Kenneth Pitcher, in a row over a lost mobility scooter. Maybe someone can clarify.
In any event, 'local legend' has it that the person who actually inflicted the fatal wounds(s) to May (notwithstanding that he suffered multiple injuries) never actually appeared before the courts. I seem to recall that Pilgrim's conviction (for Manslaughter) was attributed by some to the inadequacy of his legal representation as much as the actual evidence against him.
The case did however attract national media attention, coming as it did during the urban unrest of 1981.
The murder of Ruhullah Aramesh attracted a lot of local publicity, but not, as I recall, the level of national media interest that it might have done had it not occurred 9 months before the lynching of Stephen Lawrence. It was, however, one of a series of similar racially motivated murders in London in the early 1990s.
Many of those who were caught up in the Terry May Murder Case may well still live in and around the area, but I think it unlikely that we will hear their stories this year.
I do not know what became of Ruhullah Aramesh's family. Those convicted of his murder - including one person whose conviction was overturned on appeal - and manslaughter will by now be free.
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