Obituary: Tom Mallett (1963)

Obituary from the June 1963 issue of the Socialist Standard

We sadly report the recent death of our comrade Tom Mallett. For those who knew and worked with him, his death will leave a deep feeling of loss. Tom joined the Party in the middle 1930’s. He never became a speaker or writer; he chose instead to spend his energies on canvassing and selling Party literature at his place of work and at party meetings in the South London district.

For many years. Tom earned his living as a news-van driver for one of the big London evening papers, and it was along his run, from Temple Gardens in the City to Twickenham, that over the years he managed to persuade news-vendors to take and to display the Socialist Standard. His greatest delight was the time he managed after much persuasion to get a display of the Standard in Parliament Square, and another display of a selection of party literature outside Russell Square tube station. At his place of work he managed to sell a regular number of Socialist Standards and he also managed to take up a regular collection for the Party's General Fund. Unfortunately over the years no record was kept of these small but regular sums, which must have amounted to quite a respectable contribution to Party funds.

Branch canvassing was yet another of Tom’s interests, and for many years he gave example to, and urged others in S.W. London Branch to sell the S.S. from door to door. At the time that regular outdoor meetings were being held at Clapham Common, Tom could always be relied upon to be there with his case of Party literature, and when some few years ago Comrade Ritchie died leaving a large literature round, Tom casually managed to add quite a large portion of the round to his own, already large and scattered, rounds in Battersea and Clapham. So, before ill health began to mar his efforts he was selling twenty dozen Socialist Standards regularly.

Sadly, in recent years persistent ill health prevented him from being as active as he once was, yet he still managed somehow to take and sell a regular five dozen Standards. Now he has gone, remembered probably by only a few Party members, but known to a great many readers and sympathisers. His role in the Party’s work was silent but his efforts live as an example to us all. He will be sadly missed. And to his wife and two children we send our deepest and heartfelt sympathy.

Vic Phillips.