Papers of Bernard Sydney Langton C.B.E (1914-1982), Race Relations Board Member, Labour Manchester City Councillor and Lord Mayor of Manchester (1965-1966)
1936-1982
Archives
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Papers relating to the Race Relations Board, Watch Committee, Police, Fire Brigade, Lord Mayor's Office, Rivers Committee, Recreation and Arts Committee, visits of civic delegations to Russia, Port Health Authority, Independent Television Authority, Manchester Council for Community Relations, Manchester Youth and Community Services, Young Volunteer Force Foundation and the Kirov Ballet Company's visit to Manchester in 1973. Also contains Bernard Langton's personal collections of election material, correspondence, newscuttings and other items kept as souvenirs.
Related Material:See also:
Lord Mayor's Diaries 1965-1966 (M480/Box 5)
Lord Mayor's Programmes and Invitations 1964-1965 (M480/Box 8)
Letter from Bernard S. Langton to Rev. Basil Higginson regretting he cannot attend the opening of the Joynson Youth Centre, 17 Sep 1965 (M299/3/35/2)
The records of the Race Relations Board are held at the National Archives (ref: CK).
The Local Studies Library holds the following relating to Bernard Sydney Langton:
- Newspaper Cuttings (Biographical)
- MSC 920/L (Letter on his death)
- Manchester Evening News 2 Sep 1981 p.4; Manchester Evening News, 22 Jan 1982 p.7; Daily Telegraph 26 Jan 1982, p.14
Photograph of Mr. Langton from Jewish Gazette June 1967 at
http://www.mucjs.org/EXHIBITION/9otherformszion.html
Title:
Papers of Bernard Sydney Langton C.B.E (1914-1982), Race Relations Board Member, Labour Manchester City Councillor and Lord Mayor of Manchester (1965-1966)
Date of work:
1936-1982
Reference number:
GB127.M784
Level of description:
Fonds
Includes:
Custodial history:
Bernard S. Langton (also known as Bert) was born 1 August 1914 in Salford. Langton attended the Devonshire Road Primary School, Blackpool, before winning a scholarship to Blackpool Grammar School. He qualified as a pharmacist from Manchester University in 1937 and went on operate a chemists in John Dalton Street. He married his first wife in 1943 and had two children. He was elected to Manchester City Council in 1945 and became an Alderman in 1963. In 1965 he was elected Lord Mayor of Manchester, a post he held for one year. In 1981 he was made an Honorary Alderman of Manchester City Council.
Langton had an interest in justice and policing. He served on the Manchester Watch Committee, becoming its chairman. He became a Manchester City Magistrate in 1961. Between 1956 and 1967 he served on the Police Council for Great Britain, the Board of Governors of the Police College of England and Wales, the Central Committee of the Common Police Services, the Police Central Examinations Board and various Home Office Working Parties on police issues. He was also a member of the Manchester Police Authority and Licensing Committee from 1946, serving as Chairman from 1952-1956. Between 1952 and 1967 he was part of the Police Committee of the Association of Municipal Corporations, and served as Vice Chairman (1961-1967). Langton was awarded the C.B.E. in 1966 for services in Police Administration.
Besides the Watch, Langton held positions on the City Council's Rivers, Public Safety, and Fire Brigade committees and later, on the Greater Manchester Council's Recreation and Arts Committee. Because of the twinning of Manchester with Leningrad, Langton twice visited Russia as a member of civic delegations. However, Langton also worked for organisations other than the Council. He served the Manchester Port Authority from 1950 to 1974, holding the post of chairman from 1956 until 1965. From 1968 to 1972 he was part of the General Advisory Council of the Independent Television Authority. Perhaps his most significant work, however, was with the Race Relations Board. In 1965 Langton was appointed to the first Race Relations Board, alongside John Lyttle and chairman Mark Bonham Carter.
Langton was heavily involved with various voluntary organisations. During his time as mayor, he established two such organisations: Manchester Youth and Community Services (MYCS) and the Manchester Council for Community Relations (MCCR). He became a trustee of the Young Volunteer Force Foundation and Chairman of its Advisory Council in 1967. He was also an associate member of the Variety Club.
Langton was an active member of the Jewish community, founding the Jewish Pharmacists Association. He was one of the original members of the Jewish Defence Committee as well as belonging to Poale Zion and the Menorah Lodge. Alongside his wife, Langton organised summer schools for the Federation of Jewish Youth Societies. He had an interest in amateur dramatics and was a member of the Jewish Dramatic Society of Blackpool in his youth.
Langton retired in 1981, having spent 29 years as a City Councillor and 8 as part of the Greater Manchester Council. He died in 1982 and is buried at Southern Cemetery.
Langton arranged most of his papers in files according to the organisation or subject to which they related. This filing arrangement and the order of items within files have been maintained. Where loose papers were found, these have been added as items or files at the end of the series to which they belong.
Finding aids note:
Old Location2ST4/L4.3-5
Access restrictions:
UnrestrictedThis material is stored off site and we require 2 weeks' notice in order to retrieve it.
Use restrictions:
Unrestricted
Topics:
Record types:
Manchester Archives and Local Studies
Language:
English
Record number:
7199118
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Total copies: 1