Obituary from the August 1910 issue of the Socialist Standard
With great regret we have to record the death at the age of 39, of our comrade W. G. Killick. Our deceased comrade was a member of the S.P.G.B. from its inception, having taken a prominent part in the revolt of the so-called impossibilists within the ranks of the S D.F. (as it then was) previous to the formation of our Party. Of highly artistic temperament and great intellectual capacity, capitalist conditions of life and work proved exceptionally repulsive to him, and, despite a frail physical frame, he was one of the most untiring and devoted fighters in the cause of Socialism. His funeral was attended by many members of the S.P.G.B., and in accordance with his expressed wish he was interred without any religious ceremony but with the simple, heartfelt tributes of comrades who knew his worth. Our sincere sympathy goes out to our late comrade’s widow and to his young son, in whom we are sure his father’s revolutionary temper will live again.
1 comment:
Don't quote me on this but this might be the first obituary of a Party member in the pages of the Socialist Standard. In 1910 it was still a young party, largely made up of young members.
More information on Killick - via Kaz - is the following:
"Peckham branch [member]. SDF Peckham branch secretary 1903. Killick was one of the leading Impossibilists in the SDF and was expelled along with Neumann and Martin in April 1904. He died in 1910 (obituary in Socialist Standard of August 1910)."
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