George Manning was born on the 11th.Feb. 1887 in Gowerton ,and lived at 38 Mill St.
He spoke very little Welsh because his father, Richard, was from a small vilIage in Devon called West Down and had come to seek work in Wales at the age of about 22years. He could neither read nor write He met a village girl, Sarah Davies whom he married in1883 in the St Johns Anglican Church in Gowerton, being the first to do so ,and they were presented with a copper tea kettle to mark the occasion.
In 1887 their only son George was born,but sadly his mother died four years later, so George had very little recollection of her.
He attended Gowerton Primary School, from where he won a Scholarship to attend the Gowerton Grammar School at 12 years of age ,but although a very bright pupil ,he stayed only l5months, and went to work(,as I believe the money was needed by the family).
By this time his father had remarried; to the sister of his late wife .A daughter, Annie was born, but her mother was also destined to die a short time later.
George's first job was as a labourer at the Tin Works ,but later he joined his father at the Elba Steel Works situated at the bottom of Mill St. He worked 12
hour shifts by day or night and stoking the furnaces with a shovel was hot and dirtv work.
Despite his long hours at work George found time to take an active interest in Gospel Temple Church ,one of his responsibilities being to collect the Pew fees.
He also joined the Independent Labour Party. He also enjoyed sport and played as fly- half for the Gowerton Rugby Club. His jovial humour made him very popular also .He reached only5ft.fins in height but was a strong stocky young man ,full of ambition .He was very close to his cousins in the Hill family,(all ten) where he was made very welcome while without a mother. He was friendly with the headmaster's son Abbie Bevan while at school, and Ted Thomas ,( related to Harry ,Morlais and Hanley)whom older members ofthe audience may recall .It was through the encouragement ofTed,who had gone to New Zealand for health reasons ,that my father decided to travel to N.Z. for a better life ,so in 1910 at the age of 23years he left his native Wales on a month- long voyage by sea to Wellington and then south to Christchurch.
Although he took some very fine references, work was not easy to find ,so he was forced to work as a labourer, a tram conductor ,and later as an Assistant Grocery Shop Manager among other jobs .He also worked in Wellington, again as a tram conductor, for a short while .He became very active in the Trade Union movement ,the Labour 'Party ,the Congregational Church ,the Ch .Ch . Cambrian Society and the Workers Educational Association where he attended lectures in Economics .His thirst for knowledge was enormous and remained with him always .He was turned down for active service during the Great War because of an enlarged heart .After the war in 1920, he returned to Wales. but had not been home long when Professor Condliffe from the Canterbury College who had been impressed by his ability in his Economics classes, offered him the position of Organising Secretary of the W.E.A in Christchurch (which had onlv begun in 1915). He accepted the position gladly and the top floor of the Trades Hall became his office for the next 28 years. George also had the opponunity to attend the University part time and gained a B.A followed by an M.A. in Economics. In one paper he topped N.Z .with 98%.He then completed a Diploma in Social Science. Meanwhile he extended the work of the W.E.A. and became the
Dominion President for six years .His interest in the Labour Party grew and he was elected to the Ch.Ch. City Council, the Ch.Ch. Tramway Board and the Lyttelton Harbour Board in succeeding years, often topping the polls.
In 1923 on Oct. 1Ith. he had also married Sarah Edith Willmore ( who three years earlier had arrived in the city from Birmingham ,England,) having met through the W.E.A where Sarah was attending singing classes .In 1928 they had a son Penrhy Winstone, (me)!and I enjoyed the stories my father would tell me of his ownboyhood in Gowerton, including his after- school job, as lather- boy at the local barber shop where the men would come to be shaved or have their beard trimmed.
Dad had a very busy life and was seldom home, although he enjoyed looking after his garden and growing the vegetables .He took a strong interest in Rugby football
and loved meeting the teams from Wales when they played the All Blacks.
In 1948 George resigned from the W.E.A. as he had been appointed Metropolitan Tutor with the Adult Education Dept. of the University ,which involved lecturing
to people at their work- place in their lunch hour, as well as to many organizations during the day or evening .Topics would include International Affairs ,Economics, History .and Chairmanship .He remained in the position for ten years while at the same time acting as Deputy- Mayor of the City .He was respected for his integrity ,intelligence ,and ability to see both sides of an argument, by the various spectrums ofthe political world, regardless of his Labour Party Affiliations .He never forgot his Welsh connections and welcomed anyone from his homeland visiting Ch,Ch Nor did he lose his Welsh accent or his love of Welsh hymns and music. The Cathedral service on S1. David's Day was an annual ritual.
After 30 years on the City Council and chairman of several committees ,he was pressured by the Labour Party to stand for the Mayoralty, a position he was to hold for the next ten years until ill-health forced him to resign in 1968 at the age of 81 years .On many occasions he welcomed the Queen and other members of the Royal Family to Ch .. Ch. together with visiting Heads of States, Governors General, Sports Teams and other celebreties. He was also instrumental in winning the 1 974 Commonwealth Games for Ch .Ch. when he led a delegation to Jamaica in1966. , After the World War 11, in 1951,my father and mother,with me with them, returned to Wales and were received by the Lord Mayor of Swansea. It was a great joy for him to meet many of his old mates in Gowerton again ,and for me to meet my relatives for the first time. They returned again in 1963 when they were the guests of the Lord Mayor ofLondon(Sir Ralf Perrin) and on that visit to.