Met Mr. Wilson while at Oxford
ToHN .BRANAGAN. the ILF 55-year-old local government officer who next month becomes vice-chairman of the Greater London Council has had a success story that in som.: ways parallels that of Harold Wilson, with whom he formed a close friendship at Oxford in the 1930s.
Poplar born and bred, Mr. Branagan won a scholarship to Oxford's Catholic Workers College, after receiving his basic education at St. Mary and St. Joseph's primary school in the East End.
He recalls with grim humour that after taking his diploma in political science and economics, he was forced to go on the dole. It E ventually, however, he ;nu itual" started a career in local governs .nt with the Poplar Borough Council. This was interrupted during the war years while he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps.
After demobilisation. he retained his active interest in the Labour Party and in 1949 was eket;:c1 to the L.C.C. He has seecialised in education and child care.
1
A bachelor, Cllr. Branagan was nn..the Parliamentary panel of his trade union for 10 years, but has now relinquished his parliamentary ambitions.
Airport chapel fund growing
The fund raising campaign for the projected interdenominational chapel at London airport is now-in full swing.
Members of the Catholic Aviation Guild which caters for the spiritual needs of the nearly 5.000 Catholics working at the airport, are distributing special brochures to get their colleagues interested. Last July the "urgent" appeal for the £100,000 chapel was launched by a letter in The Times signed by Cardinal Heenan, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Free Church General Council.
As the appeal is still in its early stages it still only stands at 0.000. The next stage of the fund-raising is to be concentrat.d on the 12 million passengers who pass through the airport yearly and its 38,000 staff.
Guards van cells for the nuns
Eleven old railway guards vans are to be used as nuns cells at the Carmelite convent at Llandovery; Carmarthenshire, if the county council gives planning permission. The Mother Prioress said: "We are too poor to be able to build the extra accommodation we need."
The Swansea scrap dealer from whom they were bought said: "We charged under £20 for each van. That is about half what we could have got. but it's in a good cause."
Prinknash Abbey
In our issue of March 4 we stated that the Gloucestershire County Council Planning Authority had approved the erection of the new Benedictine Monastery at Prinknash, permission having been postponed for about three years while objections to the design were considered.
We have been asked to point out that approval was not given by the Gloucestershire County Council Planning Authority but by the Ministry of Town and Country Planning who, in accordance with the recommendation of a Ministry Inspector following on a public inquiry. over-ruled the objections of the local Planning Authority and annroved Plans originally rejected by the Planning Authority in 1964.