LAST week, a special event took place in Hexham Abbey as part of the two weeks of events to commemorate the First World War.

Organised by Hexham Abbey and the Quakers, Journeymen Theatre performed Red Flag Over Bermondsey .

Following a moving set of peace songs, beautifully performed by 60 members of the Tynedale Community Choir, the play told the story of Ada Salter from 1909 until 1922 – a true radical, campaigner for equal rights, socialist, republican, pacifist, environmentalist, trade union activist and a leading light in the transformation of the Bermondsey slums in the early part of the 20th century.

Ada, born into Methodism, became a Quaker in 1914 and she and her GP husband, Alfred Salter, dedicated their lives to the people of Bermondsey, living and working in the heart of their community – and having to accept the tragic consequences of their choice.

Ada became both the first woman councillor in London and then the first woman mayor.

The play, written and performed by Lynn Morris and directed by Dave Morris, was a triumph of courage, pathos, tragedy and hope – and the delivery of this one woman show was masterful.

The Abbey echoed with her laughter, pain, anger and determination, and her sensitively-acted and nuanced performance raised issues that still have resonance today.

Penny Grennan