Nina Fishman
15-12-2009
A great many of you will be deeply saddened to learn of the death of our former colleague Nina Fishman on 5th December 2009. Nina was Professor of Industrial and Labour History in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages, University of Westminster, and latterly Honorary Research Professor in History in the History Department at the University of Swansea.
Any encounter with Nina was life-enhancing, thought-provoking, unpredictable and, not least, fun. She was an unfailing friend to fairness and social justice, a formidable enemy of inequality and exploitation of every kind. Her clarity of thought, wisdom, fearlessness and, above all, kindness made her a cherished colleague, teacher, friend. Many of us in the University of Westminster owe a great deal to Nina in our working lives thanks to her unflagging support and comradeship, and some of us had the great good fortune also to be counted amongst her friends.
She was optimistic and positive during the two months in which she knew she had terminal cancer. She had friends from across the UK and Europe visiting almost every day, and remained engaged, interested and enthusiastic about everything that was going on, almost to the last. She lived those last two months with grace and courage, showing the same generosity of spirit that characterized her life and career. She will be greatly missed by all those whose lives she touched.
The funeral will be held at Swansea Crematorium on 17th December 2009 at 1:55pm. Donations to The Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust (of which she was a trustee).
There will also be a performance of Verdi’s Requiem at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea on 17th January 2010 at 7pm with the Welsh Symphony Orchestra and the Swansea Philharmonic Choir. Entrance is free and tickets to the free event can be booked via the Taliesin Arts Centre box office: 01792 602060. Nina organized this event with typical thoughtfulness, to share with friends. On 12th
November she sent round an email saying, “I'm doing well, and hoping to be even better by then”.There will also be a Memorial Service in London in January 2010 which is likely to take place at Congress House, where people can share their memories of Nina. It is hoped that this will also celebrate the launch of Nina’s two-volume political biography of Arthur Horner. Details will be available in due course.
Nina’s life is commemorated in an obituary in The Guardian (by Donald Sassoon; see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/13/nina-fishman-obituary) and there will also be an obituary in The Independent. For a vivid recollection of Nina, see http://compassonline.org.uk/news/item.asp?n=6377 (Neal Lawson)