‘A great social worker’ – tributes pour in following death of Bob Holman, 79
By News Scotland, ,

Pioneering community worker, activist, author, academic and social worker, Bob Holman, has died aged 79 after suffering from motor neurone disease.

Bob spent his life tackling inequalities, resigning his professorship at the University of Bath in social administration to pursue a life of anti-poverty activism in line with his Christian socialist principles.

Born Robert Bones in Ilford, Essex, his early years involved stays in Surrey and Herefordshire due to the war. Following national service in the RAF, he was educated at University College London and the London School of Economics before joining the University of Bath.

In 1987, alongside his wife Annette, he moved to Glasgow’s east-end where, frustrated by the lack of local amenities, the couple founded Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse (FARE) in 1989.

Bob worked with families encouraging neighbours to work with one another; keep young people out of the care and criminal justice systems; and to lift people’s aspirations, while trying to tackle anti-social behaviour.

By 1997, as FARE continued to flourish, they were able to lease a tenement block of six flats solely to run services from and in the summer of 2010, they moved into the purpose-built Bannatyne House, which is their home today.

Author

Throughout his life, Bob was a prolific writer. He published the groundbreaking ‘Trading in Children: A Study of Private Fostering (1973)’ and made regular contributions to national & social work press as well as authoring numerous academic papers. More than a dozen books followed which include:

  • 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
  • The Corporate Parent: Manchester Children’s Department, 1948-71, National Institute For Social Work, 1996
  • Reshaping Child Care Practice, National Institute For Social Work, 1999
  • Champions for Children: The Lives of Modern Child Care Pioneers, Policy Press 2001
  • The Unknown Fostering, Russell House Publishing Ltd 2002
  • Keir Hardie Labour’s Greatest Hero, Oxford, Lion Books, 2010.
Tributes

As news of Bob’s passing circulated, politicans, academics and commentators reflected on his impact.

  • Ray Jones, Professor of Social Work at Kingston University said he was: “a beaming light and beacon for social workers and all who came into contact with his writing and his life.”
  • Anna Gupta, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London said: “My No. 1 social work hero – a true & tireless champion of the poor and a more just society.”
  • Professor of Social Work at the University of York, Martin Webber, said: “A great man who inspired my journey into and through social work. Sadly missed.”
  • Glasgow MP Margaret Curran said she was “deeply saddened to learn of death of the giant of social justice.”
  • Humza Yousaf MP said: “Sad news about passing of Bob Holman. He was a champion of Glasgow’s East End & all things social justice. He’ll be sadly missed but fondly remembered.”
  • Natalie McGarry MP added: “Very sad news today for residents and community in Easterhouse and across the East End on passing of Bob Holman.”
  • Columnist Ruth Wishart said he was “a man who truly walked the walk”, while Gerry Hassan described Bob as “a wonderful force for good and local champion.”
  • Chair of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), Guy Shennan, said: “Bob Holman was a great social worker, great campaigner and great man. RIP Bob Holman.”
  • As a committed Christian, his local church said his death was a great blow to the people of Easterhouse. Reverend Sandy Weddell of Easterhouse Baptist Church described Bob as “a lovely man, who transcended difference. People, regardless of political persuasion, all ended up really liking him.”

Although Bob officially retired in 2004, he continued to write, speak at conferences, undertake voluntary neighbourhood work and was a visiting professor at the universities of Glasgow and Cardiff. He even had time for an encouraging word for this website when we launched in 2003.

In 2011, he was recognised by the Daily Record Our Heroes Award (pictured) for his anti-poverty work but the following year Bob turned down an MBE on the grounds the honours system was ‘designed to promote differences of status’ and hindered equality.

Bob’s outstanding contribution to social work was recognised formally by England’s Social Worker of the Year Awards in 2015 and again at the Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) Awards in April this year. Along with Annette, he was was awarded with the prestigious ‘Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Award’ as testimony to the dedication they had given to the communities they lived in, especially Easterhouse in Glasgow.

The award celebrated Bob and Annette’s ‘efforts to make the pursuit of social justice come alive through real and sustainable action’, and ‘the struggle towards a society which is more equal and therefore more humane’ as a consistent feature within their work, writing, public statements and contact with people.

Inspiration

BASW Vice Chair, Maggie Mellon, perhaps summed up his contribution best, saying: “Whenever I have had a little wobble about being a social worker or despaired of how much we seem to have lost our way, I remember Bob and Annette – the impact they’ve had and the commitment they’ve shown – and get my motivation and inspiration back.

“If Bob had only had that impact in Easterhouse itself, that would be enough for anyone in a lifetime. But he had an impact so much wider than that. His passion for the cause and the difference Bob made will be his legacy and one which is an inspiration to all who aspire to be and remain true social workers.”

Bob is survived by his wife Annette, children David and Ruth and two grandsons.

Pictured: Bob Holman picking up a Daily Record Our Heroes Award in 2011 for his anti-poverty work.