Bringing the Salford story to the world, Walter Greenwood was more than a writer; he was a voice for the city’s overlooked and unheard.
His most famous work, ‘Love on the Dole’, told the story of a young Salford family facing poverty, unemployment and explored how the economic crisis affected their relationships.
It was adapted into a film and a play that toured the country and overseas, showcasing the struggles of the people of Salford.
“He took the Salford story to the world stage,” says Salford University archivist Dr Alexandra Mitchell.
Dr Mitchell manages the Salford University archives, which includes the Walter Greenwood Collection: a vast array of images, letters and manuscripts from Greenwood himself.
The university acquired this collection directly from Greenwood when he was presented with an honorary degree in 1971. It is a collection that he put together himself to document his life, so it is an interesting reflection of how he saw himself.
Amongst the archive, there are scrapbooks full of news cuttings and media coverage that he collected about himself and collated.
For Dr Mitchell, these scrapbooks are the most interesting insight into him as a person.
“He was very much aware of his success, but also how he was received and perceived nationally and internationally as well.”
‘Love on the Dole’ received varied responses from the middle and upper classes in London, but the working-class areas around the country saw themselves in the story.
It is set in Hanky Park, an industrial slum in Salford where Greenwood grew up. The themes of the story reflect Greenwood’s childhood in the area.
Greenwood’s father, Thomas, died from alcoholism when Walter was nine years old. Then, from the age of 13, he was forced to work low-paying jobs to avoid unemployment.
It was whilst unemployed that he wrote Love on the Dole, and after several rejections, it was published in 1933.
When the play began touring, American audiences resonated strongly with the story, having just gone through the Great Depression themselves.
However, many Salford residents at the time were not particularly pleased with the portrayal of the city in the book, arguing that Greenwood had picked the worst parts of their lives.
He was quick to admit this, instead saying he wanted to highlight the very worst aspects of the ways people had to live.
In an interview in the 1960s, Greenwood described growing up in Salford as “a great fight for life” but said, “it provided humour and great comedians.”
He also celebrated the “great fortitude of the people” from the city.
For Professor Chris Hopkins, who manages a website dedicated to Greenwood, his work is so significant because he spoke about something important and ‘made sure that he was heard’.
“He stands up and speaks out something which you couldn’t expect to be popular, but he made people believe it.
“People all over the country started thinking differently.”
It was whilst teaching Greenwood’s work at Sheffield Hallam University that Professor Hopkins began to recognise his importance. His students thought it reflected real life in a way that a lot of books failed to. Many of them would use Love on the Dole as inspiration in their own work.
Since then, Professor Hopkins has written a book on the topic, and in 2016 was commissioned to write an introductory essay for the re-release of the film version of Love on the Dole.
“If you read about him, you think he died after the one novel. He wrote many more, and he was often in the newspaper and on the radio. He was a real celebrity.
“I thought he deserved a history of his own,” Hopkins adds.
He began the website to promote his book, but he has now written over 880,000 words on the topic. He jokes that he won’t stop until that figure hits a million.
Whilst Love on the Dole was by far his most famous work, Professor Hopkins suggests that Greenwood’s best book may have been his 1967 memoir, There Was A Time. By then, he had 30 years of experience as a professional writer.
In his heart, he was a writer, but the social commentary he provided was a welcome outcome.
In the early 1960s, a block of flats was named Walter Greenwood Court as part of the long-awaited redevelopment to replace housing in the ‘slum’ area known as Hanky Park, where Greenwood grew up.
The flats were demolished in 2001, but for the 35 years they stood, they were a monument to Greenwood’s life in the area and the impact he had on the story of Salford.
Today, he is remembered as a Salford Hero, his words still giving voice to working-class struggles and reminding us of the power of storytelling to inspire change.
