Bob Holman (8 November 1936 – 15 June 2016) was an English Christian socialist academic, author, and community campaigner in Scotland. Born as Robert Bones in

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

, he was educated at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Holman was professor of social administration at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

. He left the university and moved with his family to the Southdown council estate in Bath in 1976. Holman was a co-founder of Family Action in Rogerfield and

Easterhouse Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the Glasgow city centre, city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the Ri ...

Project in Glasgow in 1989, and a member of Easterhouse Baptist Church. He moved to the estate in 1987. Holman was a member of the Labour Party since 1961, and a supporter of Labour leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

. He advocated a 'yes' vote in the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

. Holman was married to Annette who was a medical social worker from Glasgow. They have a daughter, Ruth, who is a gynaecologist and a son David who is a lecturer in occupational psychology. He declined the award of an MBE in 2012 as an opponent of the monarchy, arguing the honours system was designed to promote differences of status to which he was opposed. Holman and his wife were awarded the title of Outstanding Contribution to Social Work by Community Care in November 2015. Having recovered from

Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

in 2010, Holman was diagnosed with

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

in summer 2015. He died in June 2016, aged 79.

Publications

*''Crime and the Responsible Community'' (The 1979 London Lectures in Contemporary Christianity), with Charles Colson; Norman Anderson; David McNee; and Michael Jenkins Wm.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. *''Kids at the Door: A Preventative Project on a Council Estate'', with Wiles, Dave, and Lewis, Sandie, Blackwell Publishers, 1981, *''Putting Families First: Prevention and Child Care'', Palgrave Macmillan 1988 *''Good Old George: The Life of

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1 ...

'', Lion Books 1990, *''A New Deal for Social Welfare: A Powerful Analysis of the Contract Culture and Practical Proposals for a Way Forward'', Lion Books, 1993 *''Not Like Any Other Home'; Herbert White and the Children's Home and Mission'', Campaign Literature, Saltcoats 1994 *''The Evacuation: A Very British Revolution'', Lion Books, 1995 *''The Corporate Parent: Manchester Children's Department, 1948-71'', National Institute For Social Work, 1996 *''Towards Equality: A Christian Manifesto'' (Gospel and Cultures)SPCK Publishing, 1997 *''Children and Crime'', Lion Books, 1997 *''Fare Dealing: Neighbourhood Involvement in a Housing Scheme'', Community Development Foundation, *''Faith in the Poor'', Lion Books, 1998 *''Reshaping Child Care Practice'', National Institute For Social Work, 1999 *Kids at the Door Revisited, Russell House Publishing Ltd., 2000 *''Champions for Children: The Lives of Modern Child Care Pioneers'', Policy Press 2001, *''The Unknown Fostering'', Russell House Publishing Ltd 2002, *''Ordinary Christians, Good News Fellowship'', 2005 *''F.B. Meyer: If I had a Hundred Lives'', Christian Focus 2007 *''

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

Labour's Greatest Hero'', Oxford, Lion Books, 2010. *''Woodbine Willie: An Unsung Hero of World War One'', Lion Books 2013

References

External links

Bob Holman's contributor page at ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Bob 1936 births 2016 deaths Academics of Cardiff University Academics of the University of Bath Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of University College London British community activists Deaths from motor neuron disease English Christian socialists English social workers Labour Party (UK) people People from Ilford Social work scholars