SPGB Open Air Meetings (1934)

Party News from the July 1934 issue of the Socialist Standard

Blogger's Note:

Interesting that Hyde Park isn't listed. I guess it was just taken as read that the Party would always have speakers there.

As mentioned previously on the blog, I really wish I could include all the speakers listed in the label section but it's just not doable. Outdoor speaking was so central to the Party's activity and identity in the first fifty years of its history that it's unfortunate that it cannot be properly represented on the blog. Looking at the names listed, here's a wee bit info about some of the speakers listed:

• Tony Turner: The pre-eminent SPGB outdoor speaker for twenty plus years. Originally joined the Southwark Branch of the SPGB in July 1931. Resigned in April 1955 over the Forum dispute. His obituary appeared in the April 1992 issue of the Socialist Standard. He appears on the front cover of the June 2004 centenary issue of the Socialist Standard.
• Gilbert Manion: A former member of the Social Democratic Federation, Manion originally joined the SPGB in November 1928 and was a member of the Party on three separate occasions between 1928 and 1953. Originally a member of the Camberwell Branch of the SPGB he was also a member of Hackney Branch. He was still a member of the Party when he died in 1953. There was no obituary for him in the Standard.
• Jimmy Banks: A member of Battersea Branch, he joined the SPGB in May 1915 and was still a member of the Party  when he died in December 1966. A class conscious objector during the first World War, he was sent to Dartmoor Prison for his principles. Sadly his obituary from the February 1967  issue of the Socialist Standard is brief to the point of ridiculousness for someone who was an active socialist for over 50 years.
• Henry Russell: The Russell listed amongst the speakers was probably Henry Russell. Joining Southwark Branch of the SPGB in September 1933 he was a member of the Party until his membership was lapsed in November 1952.
• Bob Ambridge: One of the mainstay members in the history of the SPGB, Bob Ambridge joined the Battersea Branch of the Party in September 1927 and was a member of Swansea Branch when he died in February 1980. His obituary appeared in the April 1980 issue of the Socialist Standard.
• Claud Godfrey: Sadly, another longstanding member with an all too scant obituary in the pages of the Socialist Standard (April 1972 issue). Godfrey originally joined Tottenham Branch of the Party in July 1926, and was a member of Haringey Branch when he died.
• Jack Butler: Another stalwart member of the SPGB, joined West Ham Branch of the Parry in 1910 and served the Party both as a speaker and as a behind the scenes member. At the time of his premature death in 1944, he had been the Party Treasurer for 20 years. 'Gilmac' (Gilbert McClatchie) wrote a warm and personal obituary for Jack Butler in the September 1944 issue of the Socialist Standard. 
• R. Innes: A member of East London Branch of the SPGB, joining the Party in September 1931.
• F. Wiltshire: There were two 'F. Wiltshires' in the SPGB. A F. Wiltshire Sr and a F. Wiltshire Jr. This was probably F. Wiltshire Sr, who originally joined the Islington Branch of the SPGB in April 1911. He was to join and rejoin the Party three or four times over the course of forty years.
• Nathan Isbitsky: Joined the East London Branch of the SPGB in July 1930. He's briefly mentioned in Barltrop's The Monument, but there is no record of when he left/resigned from the SPGB.
• Sid Rubin: Another member who joined the Party via East London Branch. He joined the Party in July 1931 and was an incredibly prolific speaker and writer through the 1930s and 1940s, until he had to resign his membership in April 1949 as he was moving abroad. As 'George Camden', he wrote the novel 'My Time, My Life'.