The Sad Death of Cllr Neil Wilson

Cllr Neil Wilson

It was announced on Wednesday 30th July that Cllr Neil Wilson had died whilst with family in Scotland.

Neil Wilson served the same ward in Plaistow for 31 years, being elected at the same time as Cllr Lester Hudson; the two shared the accolades for length of service on the council.

The name of the ward changed, (Hudsons Ward to Plaistow South) and the boundaries shifted slightly, but Neil represented the people of the ward in which he lived.

His first foray into local elections as a candidate was in South Ward, (East Ham South), where a complete Labour victory was blocked by the late Alec Kellaway who won the seat for the Lib-Dems alongside Alexander Thompson and Tom Jenkinson for Labour.

He was more successful in 1994 when he was elected alongside Graham Lane and Bryan Collier for the first time to represent Hudson’s Ward. He and Graham worked closely together until the latter left the council in 2010.

Neil served in the cabinets of both mayors, Fiaz and Wales. He served as Chair of the Majority Group.

He began his working life as a teacher, but as time went on he dedicated more time to his political work. He was also a lifelong Anglican and a regular worshipper at St Alban the Martyr, in Holborn, where he was a trustee of the church charity.