40 years of the London Borough of Southwark

Guests at the dinner hosted by Mayor of Southwark Cllr Vicky Naish included long-serving council staff, past mayors and representatives of commerce and the voluntary sector in Southwark.

In 1965 the present-day borough of Southwark was formed by the merger of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Southwark, Bermondsey and Camberwell. Three of the original councillors elected to the new body in 1965 were present at the anniversary event.

Head of Democratic Services Graham Love was singled out for a special mention during the evening's proceedings – as a schoolboy 40 years ago he was part of the band that played at the inauguration of the new borough at Southwark Town Hall.

Delegations attended the event from Southwark's twin towns of Langenhagen in Germany and Clichy in France as well as Sierra Leone.

With a nod to the future of the borough, the guest list included Irvine Sellar, the developer behind the so-called Shard of Glass planned for London Bridge, as well as Southwark Street-based architects Bob Allies and Graham Morrison.

Former director of regeneration Fred Manson OBE was also at the event.