Struggle, struggle and struggle for [a] better future. It's not easy, but [it is] noble.Communist Party activist
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At its peak, the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) had tens of thousands of dedicated activists fighting to bring sweeping change across Britain. These activists penetrated nearly all areas of British society, from industry and trade unions to colonial administration and academia. Convinced of the righteousness of their cause, these activists showed great enthusiasm and fierce determination in advancing the struggle for socialism.
This collection is drawn from the personal papers of a multitude of CPGB activists throughout the twentieth century. This includes those at the heart of party (such as full-time "national organisers") and peripheral figures who supported the communist cause (such as Labour MP Dennis Nowell Pritt). Covering over a hundred years, from the communist movement’s earliest sprouting’s to its nadir in the late twentieth century, the collection offers valuable insights into the grassroots efforts of almost one hundred communist activists and sympathisers.
The collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Kevin Morgan.
Papers of miscellaneous communist activists
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This document contains a range of material on communist-aligned agitation and anti-imperialist activity during the era of the British Raj. This covers various flashpoints such as the Qissa Khwani massacre, the Meerut Conspiracy Trial, and actions by the League Against Imperialism.
In the immediate aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and Communist victory, Marian Ramelson took the long voyage to China to as a delegate of the ‘Conference of Asian Women’, which celebrated women’s role in the revolution and looked to women’s new place in society. Her trip is told through revealing handwritten diary entries.
During the potentially apocalyptic nuclear confrontation between East and West known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kit Meredith sought to challenge and expose the impotency of civil defence from nuclear weapons as it was being sold to the British public.
This document features detailed reports on the organisation of agriculture and property in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Communist activists, like Jack Dunman, often looked to socialist countries as offering a beacon of hope in finding economic alternatives to the capitalist system that dominated Britain.
This collection contains papers related to a breadth of communist activists that stretches far beyond the shores of Britain. The collection houses material from regions ranging from colonial Africa to war-torn Northeast Asia.
A large portion of the material is derived from those activists most intimately bound to the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). This includes files on the political activity of “full-time” CPGB activists such as Mariam Ramelson and Jack Dunman.
The work of trade unionists are featured extensively, and the papers of Peter Kerrigan and Arthur Horner shed light on the activities and campaigns of the Amalgamated Engineering Union and the Welsh Miners Federation, respectively.
All levels of British politics are covered, from local councillers like C.K. Cullen in Poplar through to sympathetic Labour MP’s like Dennis Nowell Pritt and John Burns.
Material collected by activists attached to media publications like the Morning Star, Marxism Today, and the Soviet Weekly, offers a perspective on how the communist movement tried to utilise mass media to spread anti-capitalist sentiment in Britain and abroad.
The collection also hosts material related to militant activism, with biographical material concerning British volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, as well as accounts of those who fought against fascism in the Second World War.
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