Sean Creighton – 17th July 1947 to 15th May 2024

Some who subscribe to this blog will be aware of Sean Creighton and also, sadly, that he died recently. For those who weren’t aware, Sean was a community activist and stalwart of the local history scene, particularly in London, where he lived latterly, and in the North-East.

We first met Sean when he hosted a local history walk around some of the local sites associated with our favourite composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The wealth of research that had gone into the walk was very evident and Sean was an engaging guide, happy to share his knowledge. We enjoyed a pint or two in a convenient hostelry afterwards.

After that, we met Sean many times at events where he regularly ran a book stall. He was a publisher too and several of his books and pamphlets jostle for space on our bookshelves. He was a great organiser (one comment at his funeral was that, thanks to his passion and commitment, ‘Sean was the secretary of every group going’) and he graciously invited us to speak at the Norbury Literary Festival (of which he was a driving force) last year on the topic of ‘Writing Black History.’ There are many who knew Sean better than us but it was a privilege to be invited to his house for a birthday gathering last year, his last as it turned out, and to have known him.

His funeral was a fitting tribute, there was standing room only at Lambeth crematorium, with others watching a livestream.

There were tributes from family and friends. One comment that would resonate with those who knew Sean was that, had he lived a few more weeks, he would doubtless have penned a paper on 5th July on how the Labour Government needed to do better!

Perhaps funerals shouldn’t have ‘highlights’ but Tayo Aluko gave a powerful and moving rendition of the Ballad of Joe Hill, here is Paul Robeson’s version (without Tayo’s added verse about Sean):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes

The central message of the song is certainly one that sums up Sean’s outlook…

‘Organise!’