Anne Shillcock 1936-2025

Joining the Labour Party in 1970, Anne was elected to Easthampstead Rural District Council in 1971 – the first of her eight terms representing Great Hollands. After the 1973 election, when Labour won control of the new Bracknell District Council, she became a member of the Housing Committee, rising to chair in 1975. In her tenure, she demonstrated her commitment to preserve the stock of council housing, fight the Bracknell Development Corporation for every resource, and campaign for accommodation for the homeless. She never shied from a fight, standing up for residents in the campaign for sufficient schooling provision in Great Hollands.

Said Terry Pearce, Anne’s predecessor as chair of the Housing Committee, “Anne and I visited a family living in a second world war air raid shelter, kids were sick, damp walls, awful. We both vowed to make sure no one in Bracknell should ever live like that again. That’s why she and I became passionate about housing.”

Anne, centre with glasses, at a group photo of the inaugural Bracknell District councillors elected in 1973 (© Bracknell Times - Thursday 28 June 1973)

After the party’s defeat in 1976, Anne continued to stand up for Labour values as chair of the Bracknell Labour Party. Saying of Conservative plans to scale back housing, “To reduce the house building programme from 300 to 100 a year can only be described as catastrophic and inhuman for those on the waiting list, many of whom are in urgent need of rehousing…The decision was made in the full knowledge that the waiting list now stands at over 1700 and is increasing rapidly. Some families will now have to wait at least eight years before being considered for rehousing.” She added that the decision reflects the Tories’ attitude of “‘to hell with the less fortunate — we are O.K.’” She also played a leading role in the party’s successful campaign to preserve the existence of Bracknell Town Council.

Anne was elected back to Bracknell District Council in 1979, becoming deputy leader of the opposition. Never afraid to stand up for her views, she was a delegate at famous 1981 Labour Party Conference, which precipitated the SDP split – speaking in front of TV cameras and hostility from some parts of the audience, she argued for greater member democracy in the party.

Electing not to stand again in 1983, Anne nevertheless remained active in the local Labour Party, and after a 12-year absence, returned to Bracknell Forest Council in 1995, once again serving as chair of the Housing Committee for the 1995-1997 Labour administration and continuing her efforts to support the housing needs of the community. Anne on election night 1995 (© Bracknell Times - Thursday 11 May 1995)

Elected once again in 1997, Anne would serve a further 14 years as a Great Hollands councillor, including as leader of the opposition from 2003 to 2011. Anne last stood for election in 2019, but remained active in the community, serving as Chair of the Great Hollands Practice Patient Group. In her last interview with the BBC in 2023 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-67578860), Anne talked about how fortunate she was to call Bracknell home in the mid-1960s, benefiting from the post-war promise of homes for everyone. Truly, Anne not only appreciated the opportunities she had, but worked hard to make sure future generations could share the same ones

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	© Bracknell Times - Thursday 06 November 1975
	© Bracknell Times - Thursday 05 February 1981
	© Bracknell Times - Thursday 02 May 1991