Bob Holman (academic)

For the American poet and poetry activist, see Bob Holman.

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, he was educated at University College London and the London School of Economics.[1] Holman was professor of social administration at the University of Bath. 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 Project in Glasgow in 1989, and a member of Easterhouse Baptist Church. He moved to the estate in 1987.[2]

Holman was a member of the Labour Party since 1961, and a supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.[3] He advocated a 'yes' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[4]

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.[5] Holman and his wife were awarded the title of Outstanding Contribution to Social Work by Community Care in November 2015.[6]

Having recovered from Hodgkins lymphoma in 2010, Holman was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in summer 2015.[3] He died in June 2016, aged 79.[1]

  1. ^ a b Philpot, Terry (15 June 2016). "Bob Holman obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Q & A with Bob Holman: Leading by example in the fight against inequality". New Start. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b Allan, Vicky (20 September 2015). "Interview: Bob Holman, the tireless battler for equality on the importance of community, the future of Labour ... and facing up to illnesswork=The Herald". Glasgow. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  4. ^ Holman, Bob (11 March 2014). "Why I'll be voting yes to Scottish independence". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  5. ^ Holman, Bob (4 June 2012). "Why I rejected my MBE". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Social Worker of the Year Awards 2015: The Winners". Community Care. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.