Obituary: Mike Bathurst (1997)

Obituary from the July 1997 issue of the Socialist Standard

Mike Bathurst, a member of the Party for over 30 years, died prematurely—a victim of cancer—in late April. Mike was a founder member of the Colchester Group in 1990, and three years later he became treasurer of what is now the Colchester Branch of the Party.

Mike was a steadfast socialist, loyal and true, and all his friends in the branch will miss him dearly. His father, Stan, was a member of the Party and so, too, is his brother John.

It's easy in the welter of minutes, conference papers and the like, to forget why people are socialists: the vision of a world free from poverty, wars and social hostility, where co-operation, freedom and democracy are the order of the day. But Mike never forgot. He was the most thorough of administrators—a careful and punctilious treasurer—but never forgot why we were holding meetings, distributing leaflets, trying to involve others in our enterprise. And when—often after a glass or two of red wine—Mike would talk about socialism he conjured another world—a better, brighter world—and his eyes would shine, his voice would become animated, and his excitement was there for all to see and to hear. Like many of us Mike was transformed by the possibilities of a better, freer, co-operative and caring world.

We will miss him.