Letter to Guardian from 1963 from a Peter Righton on Books dealing with Sex for 14-year olds

Below is a letter published in the Guardian from March 23rd, 1963, from a Peter Righton, here described as ‘Tutor, Organiser for Wiltshire The Workers’ Educational Association’, address in Devizes, Wiltshire. It is not entirely clear if this is the same Righton, but it seems likely [Edit: since publishing this article, it has been confirmed to me from sources close to the early 1990s investigation that this is definitely the same Righton, and the correct address for him from that time]. Righton had taught at Redhill School, Maidstone, from 1957 to 1962 (see the name gallery at a site for the school), apparently not leaving in 1964 as earlier reported (Stewart Payne and Eileen Fairweather, ‘Country house hideaway of disgraced care chief’, Evening Standard, May 6th, 1993), so it is perfectly possible that he had relocated in Wiltshire and taken up a position with the WEA at this time. Not a great deal is known about Righton’s activities around this time, before he became established in the world of social work and child care by the late 1960s at the latest, so this may help fill in some gaps.

The tone of the letter and the subject matter is entirely characteristic of Righton’s writings elsewhere.

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