Comments on: So Long, Martin White https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:37:53 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.1 By: Tracey https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174454 Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:37:53 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174454 Dear Gentle Author,

Thank you for writing a tribute for my dear father Martin! My father was a one off and extraordinary man. He was a great asset to the designers, costumiers, tailors, dressmakers, students alike. He will be very sorely missed by many… and in particularly myself. Never to be forgotten.

]]> By: Justine Solomons https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174385 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:21:38 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174385 Thanks so much for this article. Martin was my mum’s first cousin (so my first cousin once removed). I loved reading about our family, also his voice is very strong in the article. He really was a character!

]]> By: Robin https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174223 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:58:52 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174223 What a great story of grit and perseverance. A sad loss of a wonderful life.

]]> By: Andy https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174217 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:44:19 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174217 May his soul rest in peace

]]> By: Frances Donnelly https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174215 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:33:24 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174215 This is (for me) the Gentle author at his finest. An absorbing story about a world I’m fascinated by, the rag- trade-, but know little about, with the inside story of an admirable man and how you ducked and dived from the age of fifteen to make a living. A recent obituary in the Times commemorated a similar man from from the rag trade who became a lord and a philanthropist- can’t remember his name, who got his start in the North in the forties and fifties buying up stock from mills which were going out of business. When asked how he knew where to go, he explained that you just walked the streets till you saw a smoking factory chimney then went in and asked if they had any ends of lines they wanted to sell. I was lucky enough to work next door to Great Portland Street in the late Sixties, Seventies and Eighties when it was the bustling heart of the Rag Trade- designers machinists ,button and zip seller- shared premises. Each night there were bags of discarded cloth put out on the pavements, which were excellent for patchwork. Then over night the ducal landlords doubled rents across the board and almost the entire community was was scattered to the four winds and cheaper premises. A great loss.

]]> By: achim https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174205 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:01:23 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174205 I’m really sorry to hear that. Martin White (born in the same year as my mother) was a wonderful person and a wise businessman. May he rest in peace. — MARTIN WHITE (1931–2026) R.I.P.

Love & Peace
ACHIM

]]> By: Marcia Howard https://spitalfieldslife.com/2026/08/30/so-long-martin-white/#comment-2174202 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 08:31:03 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=207915#comment-2174202 What a fascinating history and life of one man. They don’t make ’em like that anymore. I’m sure he will be sadly missed by all who knew him, so sincere condolences them all.

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