University experts in a quest to have Rochdale writers work republished

Jack and Mary Hilton

Dr Jack Windle from the University of Sheffield is on a quest to have the work of Rochdale writer Jack Hilton republished.

Jack Hilton’s book, Caliban Shrieks was hailed by George Orwell as a seminal work when it was first released in 1935 but today the author's name is forgotten.

Dr Windle said: “He was an incredibly fascinating guy from Rochdale and is really interesting to read about and to look into.”

Dr Windle has teamed up with Ben Clarke from the University of North Carolina to undertake the project.

He said: “We both decided that this was something that needed to be done.”

Dr Windle first discovered Jack Hilton’s book whilst researching life in the 1930s and began his quest to have the work republished.

Dr Windle added: “He didn’t write like many of the authors at the time. He had a different outlook to other writers. His book included a long poem about the Rochdale Pioneers and included things about his childhood in Rochdale.”

Now Jack hopes to have the books republished as there “isn’t anything out there like it.” He added: “From an academic stand point there is nothing like his book out there at the minute and from a Rochdale perspective he was a very interesting man with a very fascinating life.”

Hilton was born to a poor family in 1900 and moved to Rochdale with his family as a child. After serving in the First World War, he became a plasterer and an active member of the plasterer's union.

Dr Windle and Mr Clarke are currently at the latter stages of researching Hilton and his life. Dr Windle has recently been in touch with relatives of Hilton and is planning on meeting them soon.

He added: “The next thing really is to track down the copyright holder because without that, we can’t do anything. Hilton died childless you see so that makes things a little harder but I am hoping we are towards the end of the research stage and can focus on finding the copyright holder.”

Dr Windle is also interested in hearing from anyone with information regarding Jack Hilton or who can help identify the copyright holder. If this is something you can help with, Dr Windle can be contacted via j.windle@sheffield.ac.uk