Tim Sedgwick-Jell writes: In 1992, as part of an MA in social work at the University of Kent at Canterbury, I wrote my dissertation on Bob Holman. As part of this I was lucky enough to interview him in Easterhouse, Glasgow, and was able to see this down-to-earth personality in action on the estate. Everybody seemed to know Bob, and wanted to chat to him; the main conversation seemed to be about Rangers’ footballing exploits.
Bob’s response to the dissertation was characteristically self-deprecating: “This is the first (and probably the last) one which has focused on my work. Having read it through, I realise how boring and repetitive I must be. Still saying the same things.” And good for him, as they all merited repetition.
Those close to my interests included the desirability of social workers living in the areas which they serve – an ideal now further away than ever – and for children in care to be looked after by family members as an alternative to fostering or adoption. Bob was also a pioneer of the Family Centre movement, on which he wrote in his book Putting Families First (1988).
Michael Somerton writes: I never met Bob Holman, but we corresponded by email and post for nine years. His powerful Guardian article Who Cares Who’s Posh? in 2007 examined Who’s Who, exposing the inequality of power and elitism characterising British society. Bob criticised the class assumptions underpinning the entrants’ inclusion and the failure of many to give their home address, despite a desire to provide contact information sometimes being the ostensible reason for inclusion. Fortunately for me, Bob’s email address concluded his article, resulting in a fruitful correspondence that ranged from his passion for eradicating inequality and poverty and his belief in empowering ordinary people, to county cricket in his native Essex.
