Over the course of the project, we came across some interesting case studies which can familiarise us with some of the Circle’s everyday operations. Below, we have chosen 4 cases, each concerning a different topic. It is important to remember that these are only a few individual cases from a society that at its peak had almost 3000 members, each of them experiencing their lives and membership in diverse ways.
1. The death benefit and the tombstone
Death benefits were usually assigned to the closest family members who, after the member’s death, used the money to cover funeral expenses. However, instead of declaring a nominee, Mr. S. expressed his desire for the Worker’s Circle to use the death benefit towards erecting a tombstone at the Streatham Jewish Cemetery (also known as Rowan Road Cemetery) in Southwest London. Since the Circle needed Mr. S. to indicate an executor of his will, there is evidence of a phone-call in 1962 between the General Secretary and the member, in which he nominates his solicitor, a Mr. R., as the beneficiary.
However, upon Mr. S.’s death in 1969, a different group of solicitors reached out to claim his death benefit and, after providing the Circle with Mr. S.’s death certificate and an act of probate, they were paid the full amount of £35. Unfortunately, I could not find Mr. S’s tomb at Streatham Jewish Cemetery’s registry, so it seems his wish was not fulfilled.
2. The Circle’s approach towards mental illness
[Rule 24 Sickness Benefits. Sec 1. Mental disablement does NOT disqualify member for sickness benefit. Therefore, view of possibility of hospital taking any monies paid direct towards keeping him in hospital. I suggest that on production of med[ical] cert[ificate] of his stay at hospital. Benefit shall be paid to the wife until the cycle of benefit is completed. He is now entitled to benefit.]
There was some uncertainty whether a member who was diagnosed with a mental illness and needed to stay at the hospital would qualify for a health benefit. Notes found in the member’s file indicate a discussion in which it is confirmed that he is entitled to a benefit according to rule 24 on Sickness Benefits which states: ‘A member rendered incapable of work by some specific disease or by bodily or mental disablement, must receive a certificate from a qualified medical practitioner, certifying as to his (or her) incapacity of work.’ This shows the Circle’s determination to help its members, regardless of their medical predicaments.
3. The missing member
The secretary of Division 7 in Leeds reached out to the Circle’s General Secretary with a peculiar case. The situation was as follows: Mr. S. had been drawing on sick benefits due to a mental illness which caused him to spend many years at a psychiatric institution. However, his stays were so long that it was estimated that he accumulated over £340 in sick benefits over the course of his membership at the Worker’s Circle. That is equivalent to £4700 today. Documents from 1969 show that the member had disappeared 4 to 5 years earlier and could not be found, some even presumed him dead. Mr. S.’s daughter, who had kept paying his contributions after his disappearance, reached out to Div. 7’s secretary for help in settling the matter since she could no longer continue to make the payments.
The Circle was uncertain how to proceed in this case, especially since they could not track the member down. A letter from the secretary shows they had been aware of the member’s situation for years, even trying to buy him out in the 1950’s. The Management Committee decided it could not help the missing member’s daughter and eventually settled on letting his membership lapse.
4. Member quitting the society
Members left the Circle due to various reasons: emigration, lacking the funds to continue paying contributions, or no longer needing the benefits offered owing to the formation of the NHS in 1948. The following is an excerpt from a 90-year-old member’s angry letter in which he revokes his membership to do differing opinions on fee payments. Reading the letter, one can assume the member was not a native English speaker:
‘But I was always with the opinion that the Worker’s circle is a Democratic Circle. So being disappointed after being a member for sixty years, I did not realise that all this is Hypocrisy. If you pay, you are in Benefit… If not – are in arrears – go to Hell, starve, Hunger, be Lie, Struggle… If that is the Policy? I am Out. Thank God, I am not starving!’
Despite the member’s angry tone, he does end his letter on a positive and polite note, assuring his sender it is not personal:
This project has been supported by ACE and was part of our NPO Activity Plan 2023-2024.
