John Henry Forshaw (1895-1973) studied Architecture at the University of Liverpool and went on to have a wide-ranging career. His papers which have recently been catalogued cover much of his working life and that of his time with the 55th Divisional Royal Engineers during the First World War.
The papers contain material from Forshaw’s time in the Miners’ Welfare Committee, as Deputy Architect (1939-1941) and Architect (1941-1946) for London County Council (LCC), as Chief Architect and Housing Consultant to the Ministry of Health (1945) and later to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (1946-1959). The material comprises architectural publications, reports, notes, correspondence, photographs, news clippings, ephemeral items and some maps and plans.
Alongside Forshaw’s role as Architect for London County Council during the Second World War, he was also involved with the London Heavy Rescue Service. This saw him in charge of the War Debris Organisation which oversaw the disposal of debris from air raids.
Around this time Forshaw was commissioned in collaboration with Sir Patrick Abercrombie, Professor of Town Planning at University College London, to prepare the County of London Plan for the rebuilding and development of London after the Second World War. In December 1945 Forshaw left the LCC to assume the office of Chief Architect and Housing Consultant to the Ministry of Health.
Some of the material indicates Forshaw’s interest in the design of dwellings and how to accommodate different sizes of families through having a combination of houses and low-rise and high-rise flats. These appear in some of the press cuttings which he kept, along with photographs of buildings abroad and some reports and articles.
The catalogue for these papers: D113 in the University Archives can now be accessed online from the Special Collections and Archives website.
By Sian Wilks, Archivist.