MRS KATH
KELLY (1920 - 2001)
TMO Link (London) Winter
2001
With the death of
Mrs Kelly [picture], the Royal Borough has
lost a great friend and citizen. By Martyn Kingsford,
Tenant Management Organisation Chief Executive
Mrs Kathleen Kelly
was born in Jamaica in May 1920, and was the widow of
the former Councillor Eric Kelly. She lived on the
Swinbrook Estate, moving there in 1982 as one of the
first tenants from 375 Portobello. Mrs Kelly was
president of the Swinbrook Estate Residents
Association, having been chair since 1987. She
represented her estate as a member of the Tenants
Consultative Committee, the Portobello Area Review
Board, the Golborne SRB Residents' Group, the
Kensington and Chelsea Police Consultative Committee,
and the TMO Carnival Committee.
At various times, Mrs
Kelly sat on working parties and groups, the most
notable being the councillor/tenant working group in
1992 which discussed the future of council housing in
Kensington & Chelsea. This working group led on
to the forming of the TMO. Mrs Kelly was a founder of
the TMO, and an active supporter.
For over 30 years,
firstly former Councillor Eric Kelly, and later Mrs
Kelly were community activists in the Golborne ward.
This tradition of public service is followed by
Joanne Kelly who is an elected member of the TMO
board.
It was this devotion
to voluntary public service over such a long time
that remains one of the most inspiring memories of
Mrs Kelly. Here was a lady who, rain or shine, would
always be at the meeting, and who made her point and
presence felt. It is fashionable these days for
professionals to talk of networking, but Mrs Kelly
was a master at knowing everyone. Or rather everyone
knew Mrs Kelly, for she never used her position or
her knowledge of whom she knew to make her case. She
did this with the natural grace and charm that
created lifelong admiration and support. She was
known by everyone from the great and good to everyday
friends. A regular visitor to the mayor's parlour,
she also attended the grand occasion of the annual
mayor's reception in the wonderful setting of the
Great Hall where she mixed with ease with
ambassadors, councillors, colonels and judges.
Everyone recognised
an exceptional lady who was tireless in her
commitment to public service and making life better
for her neighbours. Mrs Kelly was an excellent
committee person, who could hold her own. However,
she was always eager to learn, and as recently as
last November, she received her tenant training
certificate from Councillor Richard Walker-Arnott,
the mayor, at the 20th anniversary of the TCC.
Mrs Kelly was a
leader in the community who did not expect reward. In
1996, she received great praise from the councillors
on the Kensington & Chelsea housing committee for
her work in attracting City Challenge funding to
improve her estate, and received personal thanks from
the chairman of the committee. It was known that in
order to make it work, the professionals had to get
Mrs Kelly on side. She made a great ally, knowing how
to lobby and pull the levers, and she also made a
fearsome critic. However, comment and criticism was
always followed by that infectious smile, and
everyone knew she was very loyal to those who helped
her estate.
It was this loyalty
that gave successive housing managers and officers
such pleasure in working with her. Yes, she could be
devastating in her criticism, but she was also
steadfast in her support - both public and private.
This was very true in her relations with the local
police. Mrs Kelly encouraged, criticised and
supported the police, of all ranks, and yet everyone
knew that when the chips were down, she would stand
up for the police, especially the young constables.
The thought of a little 70 year old lady protecting
her estate, and dare one say, the Surrey police at
the carnival, was inspiring.
Some struggles,
however, were enormous. For years Mrs Kelly battled
against the opening hours of the Subterania club, and
over time her campaign drew attention to the problems
of a large night-club in a residential area. But one
struggle was too much, and that was against the drug
dealers and criminals who brought misery to Acklam
Road and the area. Why should a lady in her late 70s
like Mrs Kelly have the quality of her life ruined by
such people? Nevertheless the Kelly spirit shone
through, even with this horrific neighbourhood
problem.
Mrs Kelly had great
character. She was a fighter for her estate, but
above all, she was a lady in the old fashioned sense.
Although Mrs Kelly was very small, she had great
presence.
She enjoyed company
and had an infectious smile, and laugh, and brought a
sense of fun to any occasion. Nowhere was this more
so than at the annual TPAS conference where Mrs Kelly
mixed with hundreds of tenant leaders from across the
country. She had great dignity and charm, but was
also a mother and grandmother, and children knew
this. Respect for elders was Mrs Kelly's creed, and
her own upbringing and high standards of behaviour
were always present in the special way she cared.
Memories of Mrs Kelly
will flood in, but one abiding memory will be her
contribution to making for over 30 years the Golborne
area a real live community with her wonderful gift at
building bridges to encompass all sectors of the
community. Her memorial will also be as a figure
against which we can measure our own contribution to
society and the community. She was, and remains, an
outstanding example of selfless and tireless public
service for the good of others. She was a good
Samaritan.
Kathleen
Kelly's last big fight, with the Westway Development
Trust,
is in part documented in Brian Deer's Notting Hell
Copyright,
Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management
Organisation. Republished by permission. See this
webpage reported in Kensington &
Chelsea News