Hello. My name's Bob Forder. I'd like to begin by explaining who I am, what I plan
to do over a series of video clips relevant to the history and traditions
of the National Secular Society, or NSS, one of the oldest, if not the oldest,
radical campaigning organizations in the UK.
I have been a member of the NSS for very many years, more recently have joined
their Council, and I am generally refered to as the NSS historian. I hope it won't sound too
self-indulgent if I endeavour to explain my own interest and passion, but what may
seem an odd and esoteric historical byway.
My great-grandfather, also Robert Forder, was a poor man from Norfolk who joined the
great exodus from rural England to the rapidly growing cities of
the UK, like London, where he settled. He became involved in the various radical
campaigns of the third quarter of the 19th century and, like many other,s he
fell under the spell of the great Charles Bradlaugh.
Bradlaugh founded the National Secular Society in 1866 and became its first president.
After what might be described as a faltering start,
by 1877 the Society had grown sufficiently to employ a paid secretary.
That secretary was to be my ancestor,
whose administrative skills and loyalty for Bradlaugh, had earned him the
president's trust. Robert remained secretary until 1891 and
was therefore associated with all Bradlaugh's struggles, which I shall endeavour
to explore in subsequent talks. He also became a publisher in his own right,
and it was that that drew my attention to him as a young man along
with the odd family story. Over the years I've collected a large
collection of secularist publications, many directly relevant the career of
Charles Bradlaugh and the NSS. It's been a jolly good area for collecting.
The books are scarce, but often remarkably cheap because most
people simply don't understand what they are and what they represent.
To be honest, at first I didn't always understand their significance or
importance in the eyes of the radicals of the period.
But as time has gone on, and I've read more widely, I think I've come to
understand a little more. I want to say something else too.
Having spent a career teaching humanities subjects, and particularly history, I've
also come to understand that history means different things to different people.
And it's teaching serves different purposes according to who you speak to.
On the one hand there is the history of
what you might loosely term conservative traditionalists, even nationalists.
Their history dwells on topics such as 1066, the fleet that beat the Spanish Armada,
Gloria Victoria Britain, the wonders of the Empire,
Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. All these important topics appear on the
curriculum of British schools. Now I know schools sometimes nod in
the direction of the trade union movement and Peterloo, for example, but I
ask you: What is the overall message of school history for the student?
There is another history. It's often drier, more academic and
contained within books and journals with generally short print runs.
But within this you'll find the history of ordinary people, revolt, rebellion, protest and
agitation for change. Perhaps the most obscure history of all
is the story of those who regarded religion as a conservative force,
a bastion of privilege and an obstacle to human progress.
The NSS and its history is a small part of this alternative history, but it is
important, and the traditions it encompasses and contributes
to our not only alive today, but, I would suggest, are increasingly significant in
these populist and potentially illiberal times.
Thank you for watching, and I hope of whetted your appetites and that you will
watch further short videos in this series, where I endeavour to give a
personal view as to the significance of particular individuals and events.
If you want to contact me my email address is r.w.forder@btinternet.com