Friends of Hastings Cemetery
Jaakoff Prelooker continued
He soon established himself as a popular speaker and writer on the Russian affairs, often wearing Russian dress. He also organised Russian fairs, pageants, bazaars, recitals and tableaux in provincial towns and villages.
He drummed up support at ‘The Established, Free, and United Presbyterian Churches all over Scotland; Congregational and Baptist Churches, Wesleyan Chapels, Meeting Houses of the Friends, Salvation Army Halls, Unitarian Churches, Secular Societies, Philosophical and Literary Societies, Y.M. and Y.W.C.A., Temperance Societies, Peace and Arbitration meetings.
"Saturday, March 28th, and April 4th, the quiet, peaceable inhabitants of Horsham, Ifield, and Crawley, in sleepy Sussex ' were to a degree excited by the unprecedented event of a man, mere man, and he an alien residing amongst them, being summoned at the Horsham Petty Sessions for refusing to pay rates and taxes as a moral protest against the political disqualifications of his wife and daughter, and Women generally.: [The Anglo-
The chief object of this "passive resistance" being the raising of public interest in the Women's movement, and this having been attained, Prelooker now paid his rates and taxes together with the court expenses, considering it superfluous to allow his furniture to be taken away and sold by auction.........
Later on Prelooker gave hospitality to the Women's Freedom League's Touring Van, and organized in Crawley more meetings, addressed by Mrs. How Martyn, the Hon. Secretary of that League, Miss Muriel Matters, [who lived in Hastings for many years, and stood as an MP here; her ashes are scattered at the Cemetery] and others.
Prelooker was naturalised in 1909.
From the Worker’s Dreadnought May 1917, South West Ham
………….A splendid lantern lecture, with music, on Russia by Jaakoff Prelooker will be held in Lee’s Hall May 14th 7.30 pm
He lived at ‘Rossiana’, 15 Pine Avenue from 1918 until his death in 1935, when it is recorded he is survived by his widow and two daughters.