Another Window Cleaning Mayor

SPOTLIGHT ON WALTHAMSTOW - Focus on popular window-cleaner and former Mayor Bob Wheatley: Bob Wheatley has been cleaning windows in his beloved Waltham Forest for nearly 50 years and is a familiar face to residents. Carl Brown spoke to the former Mayor about how the area has changed and why he still gets a buzz from doing his daily rounds. Bob Wheatley is well-known in Walthamstow as a councillor, window cleaner and community figure. The 82-year-old still goes out in all but the most severe weather, with his six staff, cleaning windows across the borough.
But Bob, who in the mid 90s served as Mayor of Waltham Forest, a year he describes as the”best of his life”, had an unfortunate start to life. As a baby Bob was abandoned by his mother, left outside a phone box in Islington. He was taken to an orphanage in Barkingside, and later lived in a Barnado's home before being taken in by a Mrs Boswell, of Plumstead. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the young Bob was evacuated to Snodland, in Kent, and later learned that Mrs Boswell had been killed in an air raid. From 1942 to 1958, Bob joined the merchant navy, travelling all over the world. He met a friend named Gerry Steer, who persuaded him to move to Baron's Court, in West London. But Bob had developed a drinking problem, and on the advice, of Mr Steer's wife, decided to move away. He said: “I did not see the point in moving a short distance away and I had been to Walthamstow before and I liked it.
“People don't appreciate Walthamstow, there is no part where you cannot get to forest or green areas, whether Epping Forest or Hollow Ponds.” Bob had several jobs, including working in a furniture shop in Billet Road, but drink still posed a problem and prevented him from holding on to jobs. But in 1962, on the advice of a friend, he started window cleaning. He said: “To begin with I just went out in a scooter and side car, during the bad winters it continued to work whereas bigger cars didn't.” Bob kicked the booze, he has been tee total for 40 years, and as his business went from strength to strength and he soon became settled in Walthamstow.
He has watched as the area has changed. He said: “There are so many more people from ethnic backgrounds now. “I remember when I was seeking a housemate a man told me on the phone 'you should know that I am black', because he expected it would be a problem, I told him I'm colour blind so it does not matter. “But it shows that race attitudes have improved beyond all recognition.
Bob became involved in politics, joining the Liberal Party and standing as a candidate in a by-election in 1972, where he was beaten into third place by the far-right National Front. This spurred him on and he continued to campaign, before in 1988 winning a seat on the council. As an activist there are naturally things about Walthamstow Bob wants to see changed. He said: “The High Street is not like it used to be, there is not the same variety of stalls and I get annoyed by traders leaving their rubbish lying around.” Bob said some groups don't do enough to encourage wider participation in their activities and describes the delayed Arcade site development as a “missed opportunity.” But Bob says the introduction of police safer neighbourhood teams has made a positive difference “because you can ring them up and speak to them.”
And he enjoys the fact that, after 50 years, people know who he is when he walks down the street. He said: “It is a diverse community, you feel free. “Everybody speaks to me around here, its a nice feeling, and that is what I like about Walthamstow.” So is Bob planning to put away his ladder any time soon? He said: “I had a fall a while back and people tried to talk me into retiring. “But it is important for someone who is old to keep active because if you don't that's when you start to decline.”