On 9 December 1990, Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity trade union, won a landslide election victory, becoming the first directly elected Polish leader.
Walesa, born in 1943, was an electrician at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk when he was fired for union agitation in 1976. When protests broke out in the Gdansk shipyard over an increase in food prices in August 1980, Walesa climbed the shipyard fence and joined the thousands of workers inside. He was elected leader of the strike committee, and three days later the strikers’ demands were met. Walesa then helped coordinate other strikes in Gdansk and demanded that the Polish government allow the free formation of trade unions and the right to strike. On August 30, the government conceded to the strikers’ demands, legalizing trade unionism and granting greater freedom of religious and political expression.
Millions of Polish workers and farmers came together to form unions, and Solidarity was formed as a national federation of unions, with Walesa as its chairman. Under Walesa’s charismatic leadership, the organisation grew in size and political influence, soon becoming a major threat to the authority of the Polish government. On 13 December 1981, martial law was declared in Poland, Solidarity was outlawed, and Walesa and other labor leaders were arrested.
In November 1982, overwhelming public outcry forced Walesa’s release, but Solidarity remained illegal. In 1983, Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Fearing involuntary exile, he declined to travel to Norway to accept the award. Walesa continued as leader of the now-underground Solidarity movement, and he was subjected to continual monitoring and harassment by the Communist authorities.
In 1988, deteriorating economic conditions led to a new wave of labour strikes across Poland, and the government was forced to negotiate with Walesa. In April 1989, Solidarity was again legalized, and its members were allowed to enter a limited number of candidates in upcoming elections. By September, a Solidarity-led government coalition was in place, with Walesa’s colleague Tadeusz Mazowiecki as premier. In 1990, Poland’s first direct presidential election was held, and Walesa won by a landslide.
Ilford
Ilford is a large suburb of east London, identified as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Historically it was a small rural settlement in the ancient parish of Barking in the Becontree hundred of Essex. Ilford’s strategic position on the River Roding and the London to Colchester road made it a coaching town and the arrival of the railway in 1839 accelerated its growth.
Ilford railway station was opened in 1839. It is now served by the Elizabeth line.
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TUM Dine With Me: Coach and Horses
The Coach & Horses was situated at 108 Notting Hill Gate. 
Mr Drinkwater, landlord of the Coach and Horses, then ‘still a small and primitive tavern’ was prosecuted for selling spirits at the Kensington Hippodrome in the 1830s.
In “Bygone Days”, Florence Gladstone added in his defence, ‘the tavern itself was reputed to be quiet and respectable, instead of being a refuge for highwaymen as of old.’
The pub closed in 1957 and has now been demolished.
By 2015, the site was occupied by McDonald’s beneath Campden Hill Towers.
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