L'ouvrier anglais, défenseur de son foyer

Abstract

This pamphlet is about the life and carrier of Will Crooks.

The story of Will Crooks's life and career is truly remarkable. Born in a single-room home in East London, he experienced poverty and hunger from his earliest childhood. He spent very little time in a Poor Law school and began working at the age of eleven. Such beginnings might have embittered many a person; for Will Crooks, they served only to foster a profound compassion for the less fortunate. His common sense and grasp of public affairs caught the attention of his peers, who soon made him their leader. A member of the London County Council and the Board of Guardians, Mayor of Poplar, Member of Parliament, and a member of the King's Privy Council, he remained true throughout his life to his mission: relieving the poor and improving the lot of the working class. Will Crooks never let success go to his head; he still lives in the very neighbourhood where he was born. He resides in a small, two-story house in Poplar—a place where the unfortunate and the distressed flock from morning till night.