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kanishka

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Don't you?

I had a letter from him last week er er a lengthy letter.

Well George's secretary at the Cosmopolitan Debating Society after er er Tom Moseley had er died, and er George takes an entirely different view of from me, of the you know.

He's more right wing than me, he's a very far, he's a good socialist, he's a very fair man.

But he we don't share opinions about the General Strike.

He don't think it was, but I I'm sure it was.

I remem remember being with with our newspaper being chased up up Road, and you know, the police were chasing me, of course I were only young I could run faster then.

But in any case I'd chucked all me things in the cemetery, you know, and that's so when they caught up with me I hadn't got any newspapers.

I'd thrown them away.

How how did the newspapers at the time respond to the Ge General Strike?

Well there were no newspapers.

The newspapers?

er well of course they were opposed to everything, working class, there was some er some sympathy from the old Journal, and the Evening News was a lot better course course it was, it was a Liberal paper.

And it was pretty Liberal too.

Er but of course there was no newspapers er printed at all then,and I've got, there was a Churchill's Paper, what did they call that?

And there was our paper, the British Worker.

What did he call his paper?

I've got one upstairs.

What ?

Bulldog was it?

Was it Bulldog?

No.

I've got one of his papers upstairs somewhere.

Somewhere I've got it.

You know that was i i issued during during the time.

The General Strike was a was a great time.

Was a great time.

They could have gone over the top you know, I think, I'm sure they could, I'm certain they could.

I mean you know what happened when,wh when th General Strike was on, there was er nothing entered unless it'd got a permit from a Trades Council, and you know that don't you?

Didn't you know that?

Oh yeah.

When they got to Bridge they, if they hadn't got a permit they they had to go back, the pickets'd be there.

The Trades Council it would be.

And one of the craziest debates during that time there was whether to allow beer waggons over.

W who who you know they they allowed food waggons through, and the the the great debate was was beer food?

You know, and they came down that it was food, and they allowed the the beer barrels to proceed over the bridge.

you know they were tipping buses and everything up then, you know.

So was much more militant then?

was was good then.

Mm.

And the Tr how did the Trades Council organize

Trades Council was all for it.

It was well up, I w I wasn't a second at it.

They were a well organized Trades Council.

Very well organized.

And there was real real militant, they was good.

Aye, and there were very few people caught you know for when the the the particularly buses, which was a blackleg firm, they used to tip their buses over.

They'd never let them run from to .

People had to get out and they'd turn the bus over time and time.

I I've got a paper somewhere that refers to this business, I don't know where.

Go on, are you, are you right?

Yeah, I'm alright.

Right.

Well Of course came the War and and er like for about twelve years like before the War I'd been president of the Hosiery Finishers Association.

And then in nineteen forty two the secretary, the very well known for a number of reasons secretary of the Hosiery Workers, his name was , he was the J P and he was er er I wouldn't say he's a a pillar of the Tory Party but he weren't far off, you, well he died.

And er they advertised er for a a secretary.

Well I was very reluctant to to to put in for this job, I didn't want to really, but I was you know people said, Put in for it, you won't get it if you put in.

And er I thought well I won't really, and I probably didn't like losing anyway you know I I I was never a good loser I don't think, and I thought no I shan't get many votes and I'll look silly I'm not putting in for it.

But anyway there was so many people and one chap who he he was, as a matter of fact, he was organizer with Communist Party for whom I've got the very greatest respect, the very greatest respect.

Because er his name was Les , and he got er er and the whole family was real militant Labour Supporters at .

And his brother he was in the er Spanish Civil War, he was an officer, he was a miner, but he left to join the the Spanish Brigade and er he came back and of course but after the General Strike they wouldn't neither set him nor his brother on the pits you know.

And he never got into the pits, so Les and he was er was a very fine Marxist that he he he could tell you anything you know about Marxism.

And and as a matter of fact he if er if ever you went to see him about anything and said, What about this, Les?

And he'd say, Well and he'd got a whole string of Lenin's books, and he'd reach down and pick one and turn to the right page straight away, says, This is what Lenin said, and he said, I'll stand by this, you know.

But Les was a great great bloke.

But he got down the pit, after you know whe after the War.

Er they had them all back like when the pits was nationalized, all these people who'd been sacked you know got back on.

And so these two brothers, they both got back on, but unfortunately er Les, he was made a full time official of the miners, when he retired, full time official of the miners union.

Er but unfortunately Les died.

Very great loss to that was.

Very great loss.

And er but his brother's still alive, and is a retired miner.

Aye.

Do you remember many people going off to the Red Brigade?

To the International Brigade?

Oh yes, quite a few, quite a few.

Now talking bout the Cosmo, I'll come back to that again because there was a lad there and he was in the Independent Labour Party, and er his name was Eric and er this pamphlet will tell you said he answered more questions when he spoke, and at nineteen he was he spoke, he answered more questions than any other speaker had ever answered at the Cosmo you know he got a record for answering questions.

But he was a very fine lad.

And he were nineteen then, he went and he got killed.

Eric , his name should be remembered, but nobody now will know, but he was in the I L P.

I tell you he was a very good bloke.

And he got killed, oh aye.

Lionel , you know Lionel ?

In fact I've got to I'm going to interview him.

When?

Soon.

I've not fixed up the date yet.

And where you going to interview him?

I don't know yet, I've

At his er at his work?

Where he is independent tailor you know.

Mm.

Oh I was very, I haven't seen him for a while, being ill you don't, but er, he was always sending messages of good will when I was in hospital.

Lionel's a very he he he, you'll enjoy him, he'll be good.

He'll be your star turn, you you must see him when you can.

But, the best thing to do is to see him at his off where he works, he's a tailor you know that, do you?

Mm.

Good too.

I've got lot's of clothes he's made me.

What about Fascism in ?