Edward John West was born on the 16th of October 1919 and came to Wokingham when he was only two years old. He was an only child and was educated at Palmer School.
In 1924 John was hit by a car in Peach Street. One leg was so badly injured that he had to spend nine months in hospital during which he underwent a number of operations. Although he regained the use of his leg, the injuries were only partly healed which ruled out manual work. He opted for hairdressing after having failed to obtain apprenticeships with the railway and an aircraft parts manufacturer. He was eventually taken on by a Tilehurst hairdresser. At the end of his apprenticeship he moved to Maidenhead where he decided to cut men’s hair rather than women’s. Two years later he found employment with Townsend in the Butts at Reading.
Then came the Second World War and being unfit for military duty he worked for a company that manufactured plastic components for aircraft.
He married Iris nee Hatto (1920-1991) in the early 1940s and had two sons.
After the end of hostilities Edward succeeded in finding work with Extons, of Broad Street, Wokingham. Then, after, two long spells in Camberley totalling sixteen years he opened his own business in Wescott Road.
In 1966 the family moved to Coronation Square.
Edward entered civic life because of his interest in people. His particular concern was public health and in some parts of Wokingham there were still households sharing one outside tap.
On the day that he become Mayor, he stated that he also wanted to be remembered ‘as the Mayor who did his best to make Wokingham a cleaner and tidier place to live in’ and announced a cleanup campaign. He wanted Wokingham to be litter-free, blaming consumers of fish and chips as being the main culprits. Hoarding and slum property were also on his list for removal. . Councillor Jean Davy was his Deputy Mayor and Iris, his Mayoress.
In November during a Sunday morning stroll in the Market Place Edward was told to ‘move on’ by a member of a unit that was filming location scenes for a film starring Mia Farrow. He walked away, but became rather angry the more he thought about it. When he returned he discovered that attempts had also been made to move the Market Superintendent. When Edward informed them who he was they apologised and invited him to lunch the following day.
Edward died in September 1992. He was buried beside his mother, Emily Harriet West (1891-1967).
Wokingham Town Museum Unique Identifier: WTH0124