Mr Chairman by Wal Hannington - Farleigh press (1950)
"Some
years ago I was asked to draft a small handbook for (trade union)
Branch Presidents. it was printed and issued, and many times in the
course of my visits to branches, i have heard unsolicited expressions of
appreciations for the usefulness of that booklet"
No doubt also published as an alternative to right wing TUC General Secretary, Walter MacLennan Citrine's "A. B. C. of Chairmanship" (1939).
What the Labour movement can say is that conduct at our meetings while boring and sometimes stifling is usually democratic and structured, unlike many others outside the movement
From the top of the Monument the great stone pillar that towers 200 feet high in the heart of the City of London, there streamed yesterday (Friday 30th December 1938) a huge banner:-
“For a Happy New Year Unemployed Must Not Starve in 1939”
The unemployed (NUWM) themselves who were finally ejected by the police, told reporters how it was done. Seven or eight men walked up the steps to the top of the Monument. A diversion was created which drew away the attendant. Then the door was wedged.
Mr Alf Salisbury Secretary of the Stepney BranchNational Unemployed Workers Movement “We took part in this demonstration to protest against the vicious administration of extra winter relief regulations”
Alf Salisbury
Alf Salisbury (far left) demonstrating in Stepney in 1936
Alf was born to Latvian Jewish immigrant parents in 1909, one of ten children. He left school at 14 years of age and joined the merchant marine and the National Union of Seamen.
In 1926, he jumped ship in New York. A three-year trek across the USA saw him become involved with the IWW, the `Wobblies’. Back at sea in 1929, he was arrested in Guatemala as a spy and spent seven weeks in prison.
Returning to Britain, he joined the Communist Party in 1929 and remained a loyal Communist until the end of his life. In 1936, he was victimised by being placed on a proscribed list from going back into the merchant navy. Before then, and perhaps prompting this act, he had become an activist in the National Unemployed Workers Movement and participated in anti-fascist struggles, including Cable Street.
Alf joined the International Brigade in 1937 and returned to Britain in 1938 after the Brigades were withdrawn and became secretary of the Stepney NUWM.
Rejected on medical grounds for wartime military service, in 1940 he married Lilly Nicklansky, and moved to Maryport, Cumbria, where he worked in a munitions factory, organised for the Party, and became a shop steward. Back in London in the post-war period, in 1949, Alf was to be found throwing himself in front of lorries trying to cross the picket of striking hotel workers at the Savoy, in the Strand, London.
Alf was involved in East End housing campaigns and started a rent strike, becomg evicted in the process. Over the next years, he worked in the textile, clothing, chemical and furniture industries, on the railways, edning up with the London Co-Operative Society.
He spent his remaining years as a local activist of considerable renown, being involved with trades councils, and latterly with the shopworkers' union Usdaw, until his death. In 1970, he co-founded the Waltham Forest Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
He remained involved with his union post-retirement, with London pensioners' organisations and the International Brigade Association. In the 1980s, he was exceptionally active in supporting the miners' strike and the printers sacked by Rupert Murdoch at Wapping, and the pensioners' movement.
For four decades, he was a delegate to Westminster and City Trades Council. In 1970, he co-founded Waltham Forest CND. He died on November 5th 2000, aged 91.
Sources: Morning Star November 11th 2000; Guardian December 8th 2000; The life and times of Alf Salisbury by Liane Groves Cities of London & Westminster Trades Council.
The WSPU - The Monument
On the 18th April 1913 suffragettes of the WSPU stormed the Monument in London (built to mark the Fire of London)
You can see in the WSPU flag flying from the railings
Local Hayes WSPU supporter Marion Cunningham lived at Oakdene, Hayes End,
The National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM) also occupied the Monument during the Thirties and unveiled a banner
An extra message was chiselled on in 1681 – But Popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched. This was a reference to the anti-Catholic feeling of the times, and was scrubbed out in 1831 when Catholics were given civil rights.From London tourist guide
The Monument was designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, and built between 1671 and 1677, After it was completed an extra message was chiselled on it in 1681 –
But Popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched.
This was a reference to the anti-Catholic feeling of the times, and was scrubbed out in 1831 when Catholics were given limited civil rights in England.
An extra message was chiselled on in 1681 – But Popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched. This was a reference to the anti-Catholic feeling of the times, and was scrubbed out in 1831 when Catholics were given civil rights.From London tourist guide An extra message was chiselled on in 1681 – But Popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched. This was a reference to the anti-Catholic feeling of the times, and was scrubbed out in 1831 when Catholics were given civil rights.From London tourist guide
Maud Brown was the women's organiser of the National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM) and in that capacity helped lead the great hunger marches of the nineteen thirties.
In 1929 a Women's section of the NUWM was established on the initiative of a Mrs Youle of Sheffield Women's Section of the NUWM.
Maud Brown became the head of the new department, according to Richard Croucher who wrote a comprehensive history of the NUWM "her appointment marked the beginning of a rapid and qualitive improvement in the movements work among women".
Maud Brown, was unlike many other leaders of the NUWM not a member of the Communist Party
With the failure of the Government to abolish the "not genuinely seeking work" clause or address other unemployed grievances It was decided that the "hunger march" of march 1930 consisted of some 1,100 men included twelve contingents coming chiefly from Scotland, Durham, Northumberland, Plymouth, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, derby, south wales, Staffordshire, Midlands and Kent would include
It was also agreed that for the first time a women's contingent . This contingent from the derelict textile areas comprised of eight women from Barnsley and fourteen from Bradford. This decision may partly be explained by the appointment of Margaret Bondfield as Minister of Labour.
They set off from Leeds with Maud Brown at the head of the Women's contingent and arrived in London on may day to be greeted by 50,000 supporters May Day. However, the women's contingent marched separately according to Margaret McCarthy Secretary of Burnley NUWM "to avoid scandalous gossip".
The women's contingent was met in London by the London Committee of Action set up to support the Hunger March. This committee presented with a red scarf
After the rally in Hyde Park many of the marchers sought accommodation In Fulham Workhouse, after a major stand off with the marchers and the huge crowd who supported them, they were allowed inside, almost immediately a huge red flag was hoisted, despite the protestations of the workhouse master.
In 1935 the NUWM published "stop this starvation of mother and child", Maud Browns booklet presented a wealth of medical evidence to show the close relationship between poverty and mother and child morbidity.
At her eightieth birthday in August 1968 Maud Brown spoke of her role in the unemployment movement and her part in Aberdeen, when tenants hauled rats from homes at councillors. Her special job was to throw the only live one.
Nan Macmillan stated of her role in the hunger marches that she organised them with "courage and fearlessness".
Hilda Vernon speaking at Brown's eightieth birthday she did so "With a stern sense of duty, a kind heart and a sense of humour".
In October 1919 I was going through one of my spells of unemployment when I received a message from Bob Lovell, a fellow tradesman who knew of my activities in the union and workshop, and who had recently started work at the famous Slough Transport Depot, a government establishment.
His message asked me to meet him next meeting night at the Cricklewood (West London) branch of the Toolmakers’ Society. I kept the appointment and he then told me that he wanted me to apply for a job at the Slough Depot, where over 5,000 were employed, and where he was already carrying on a fight against a reactionary shop stewards’ committee.
He stated that there were many grievances amongst the workers, but many of the shop stewards were passive and under the domination of the chairman of the works committee, who appeared to be acting more as a representative of the management than of the men.
He said they were wanting more men at the depot and he wanted me to get a job there in order to strengthen the fight for a militant shop stewards’ organisation. He had also written to Tom Dingley of Coventry, who was on the National Committee of the Shop Stewards’ and Workers’ Committee Movement, urging him also to come down for a job.
I was keen to take on the job and the activity, and next morning I got started in the engine-fitting shop.
Dingley followed next day in the tool-room. So we were both in, and soon got down to business. We arranged for talks with groups of militant trade unionists in the dinner-hours. We planned our propaganda and lines of agitation. Both Dingley and I were platform speakers and we began a series of dinner-hour lectures at the works, on various subjects relating to trade-union activity and the working-class movement.
The attendances at the meetings grew day by day until they reached the size of mass meetings. We quickly gathered a tremendous support around us and launched our campaign against the weakness of the shop stewards’ committee, particularly the reactionary role of the chairman. In less than a month we had caused important changes in the works committee and both Dingley and I were elected as shop stewards in our respective departments.
We succeeded in getting regular weekly meetings of the works committee (shop stewards from every department throughout the works) and we led a fight for a militant policy in respect to numerous grievances which prevailed in a number of departments. So keen did the struggle on policy become that it ultimately took the form of open mass meetings amongst the men, with both sides, the right-wing and the left-wing representatives, stating their case and fighting for support. For over a week this battle of mass meetings raged throughout the various departments. The left wing, which Dingley and I were leading, were fighting not only for action against the management for im-proved conditions, but also for our works committee to become part of the National Shop Stewards’ and Workers’ Committee Movement.
As the campaign developed it was clear that the left wing were gaining ground rapidly. Then came the final round of meetings at which the men were to vote for the policy which they supported. The results were a crushing defeat for the right wing. New elections of shop stewards resulted in the militants sweeping the board.
Tom Dingley became convener of the works committee, I became chairman, and Bob Lovell secretary. The management had, of course, been following the course of the battle, and there is no doubt they were seriously alarmed when “the reds,” as we were called, won the day.
They had good cause for their alarm, for we were not long in letting them know what a militant works committee meant. Deputations met the management in several departments to demand the remedying of various grievances about conditions of employment. Negotiations failed to bring results, but when the works committee called for strike action from over 5,000 men and every shop struck solid the management soon came down to satisfactory terms.
The first big battle had resulted in victory for the militant policy, and many who had wavered between the left and the right line now became firm supporters of the left. From then onward, whenever grievances arose, if the shop stewards could not settle the trouble by negotiation they had no difficulty in getting strike action in the department affected, with the threat of a works stoppage if the management did not come to terms within a fixed time. The departmental actions invariably won, and it only became necessary on one occasion in the next six months to resort to a complete stoppage.
This arose over the question of rates of pay on certain classes of work. The works were a government concern and the management at Slough said they had no power to negotiate a settlement because they were acting under orders from Whitehall.
The works were situated about twenty miles from London, several miles from any big town, and stood on a mile and a quarter square of ground in the open country on the outskirts of the town of Slough which at that time was not much more than a large village. Most of the workers lived long distances from the works and travelled daily by special trains which ran into a railway siding in the works. They came chiefly from London, Reading, Staines, Guildford and Windsor. From London three special trains ran from Paddington every morning, and returned with the same workers at night.
Accordingly, when strikes took place in the Slough Depot, they were all stay-in strikes. If they were not settled before leaving-off time in the evening the strikers caught their trains as usual back to their homes and returned next morning to the works, entered it in the usual way, but did no work. The men would have “sing-songs,” play cards, read books and chat together while waiting for the shop stewards to report the results of their negotiations.
The complete stoppage over wage rates continued into the third day, when the management called in the leaders of the works committee and informed us that the “people in Whitehall” wanted to meet us that afternoon at the Admiralty building to discuss the dispute.
A meeting of the works committee, consisting of about seventy shop stewards, was immediately convened, and a deputation of seven, including the officers of the committee, was elected. To the sound of cheers from the workers we departed to Whitehall to do battle with the “brass hats”.
We were received in a well-furnished room by a group of very efficient men. But not all the efficiency was on their side of the table. Before the interview finished they realised that they were dealing with a group of workers’ representatives who knew how to state a case and knew how to fight on the finest points. At the end of an hour and a half we came to terms. We had to concede one or two small points, but in the main it was a complete victory.
We hastened from the conference room and rushed back to the Slough Depot, arriving there about an hour before the time of departure. A tremendous mass meeting was called in the chassis shop and from a lorry used as a platform we reported our negotiations in Whitehall. The terms of settlement were unanimously endorsed by the men, and that night as an expression of their solidarity they formed up in marching formation and marched in a body to the railway siding and the depot exits. Next morning work was resumed.
News of the events at Slough had spread far and wide. It was a topic of conversation in many trade-union branches and workers’ clubs. In the House of Commons a Conservative member one day rose to ask: “What does the Government intend to do about the existence of the Soviets which have been created in the Slough Government Motor Transport Depot?” The answer was: “We are carefully watching the situation.”
The depot was handling all the old army lorries that were being returned from the battle-fields, and it was known of course that sooner or later the depot would either be closed or radically changed. It was commonly spoken of as a “white elephant.” Politicians argued that it was not a paying concern and agitation in the government circles was directed towards closing it down or selling it to a private concern.
The blow came in April, 1920. Notices were posted up informing the employees that on April 30th the works would close down and that all employees were under a week’s notice. We learnt that the works were to be sold to private enterprise and the managers put the story into circulation that certain men would be asked to continue their service with the new company, if their conduct had proved satisfactory.
There were not many men caught by this trick. The bulk of them saw through the move and were not inclined to stick at their job during the week that they were under notice. It was a week of intense activity for the shop stewards, who took advantage of every opportunity to hold meetings of the men and to spread working-class propaganda. The organ of the National Shop Stewards’ and Workers’ Committee Movement, Solidarity,had a big sale in the works, as well as thousands of pamphlets dealing with the working-class movement.
One afternoon the shop stewards were surprised to learn that at the two main exits small huts were being rapidly erected and that a force of police had been brought into the works. We gathered that that evening as the men left a personal search was to be carried out by the police and works officials to ascertain whether the men were taking out property which did not belong to them. The shop stewards and the men indignantly resented this move and its inference, and it was decided to resist any search.
Wide roads ran through the works, and all the employees assembled in marching formation, twelve abreast, to march out. When we reached the main exit a cordon of police stood across our path, but the workers marched on, and as the dense column of marchers came almost breast to breast with the police the cordon sagged and gave way, and with mighty cheers the workers marched out of the gates. A little scuffling took place when the police tried to recover their lost position, but they were hopelessly out-numbered and the temper of the men was such that they ultimately gave it up as a bad job. The organised march out from the works was carried out each evening up to the last day.
As the depot had received the name of “white elephant,” the works committee decided to make a fitting end to the “elephant” by organising a mock funeral for the day on which the employment terminated (30th April 1930). The carpenters, body-builders and upholsterers agreed to make a huge white elephant. There were to be a clergyman and choir boys in their surplices, the workers were to be the mourners, and pall-bearers were appointed to carry the body of the elephant. The funeral was to start at 9 o’clock in the morning on the last day of employment. Before leaving the works the night previous we saw the elephant completed. It was a splendid piece of work—real craftsmanship had been put into it. It almost seemed a pity to have to bury such a fine specimen. It was carefully covered with a tarpaulin in the body-building department to await the return of the workers next morning. But next day, when we arrived in the works, to our horror and dismay we found that the elephant had disappeared!
The police who had been brought into the works, in conjunction with the management, had evidently decided to put a stop to the mock funeral by a premature cremation! We were not sure that that was the end of the elephant, for no traces of its end were left; it had simply disappeared.
The choir boys were all dressed up in their surplices, the clergyman was ready with his bible, the pall-bearers were bracing themselves for their strenuous task, and the jazz band with its instruments were ready to play the Dead March in Saul—but the body had vanished!
We were determined not to be beaten and we decided that another elephant should be quickly constructed. The start of the funeral was postponed until 11.30. The new elephant appeared on time, and the funeral with its 5,000 mourners moved slowly down the roads of the works towards the big space in front of the main offices. The clergyman mounted a dais, the choir boys with their candlesticks gathered at his feet, and the congregation formed a huge semi-circle. The grave-diggers were ordered to dig the grave; it measured twelve feet long by twelve feet wide. The clergy-man read the funeral oration—it was an oration over the body of capitalism, ending with a call for the workers of the world to unite to end the system which had created the “white elephant.”
The assembled mass of workers were then solemnly called upon to uncover. They had caught the spirit of the thing and they all obeyed. Then just as the elephant was being lowered into the grave the clergyman noticed that the managers and foremen and other members of the staff who were assembled on the big flat roof of the offices were looking down on the scene and had not removed their hats.
He stopped the ceremony and pointed to the roof of the building. A shout went up from the mourners demanding that “respect” be shown by the managers and foremen as well as by the men. The crowd began to move towards the offices; quickly the group on top of the building removed their headgear, and the ceremonies were continued. The grave-diggers shovelled the earth into the grave and the great mock funeral ended by all sing-ing the “Red Flag”—the workers’ battle-hymn. The rest of the day was spent in improvised concerts and general merry-making.
The numerous red flags which had been used in the funeral were jealously guarded and carried home as souvenirs.
Many small flags hung from the windows of the trains as they steamed for the last time out of the Slough Depot. On the door of the carriage in which I was sitting with other shop stewards, one of the wags just before the train departed, had chalked in big letters: “Slough Soviet makes its last journey.”
Next day was May Day. The banners which were carried in the Slough funeral were brought to the Thames Embankment and the Slough workers gathered behind their banner and marched with the rest of the workers to Hyde Park.
They declared themselves a Soviet made a big wooden elephant, wrote ‘Capitalism’ on it and buried it. Then they went to London to demonstrate.
House of Commons 08 June 1920Mr. DOYLE M.P.asked the Home Secretary whether he is in a position to give the number of Soviet committees established in South Wales, in Glasgow and Scotland generally, and the industrial centres of England; if there are very strong bodies of the same at Slough motor depôt PROFILE
Wal (Walter) Hannington
Wal Hannington was an infamous leader of unemployed struggles in Britain between the wars. He was born on 17th June 1896 in Randall Street, Camden Town, London into a large family, his father being a bricklayer. Relatives of one Herbert Hannington, suspect that Wal was his uncle, in which case Wal’s father would have been Louis Hannington, born in Chalk Farm.
He was apprenticed to a toolmaker at 14 and joined the Toolmakers' Society during the 1914-18 War, and married his wife, Winnie, in 1917. He joined the British Socialist Party during this period and became a member of the Toolmakers’ London committee. He went over to the Amalgamated Engineering Union in the 1920 merger and was a founder member and life long Communist Party member.
On November 11, 1918, the War ended but Wal was just beginning. He celebrated Armistice Day by hoisting a red flag atop his factory. Later, in the huge Government motor transport depot at Slough.
When the closure of the factory was announced, Wal gainned fame by dressing them all up as clergymen in surplices and paraded them through the grounds before a huge white cloth elephant, (representing capitalism) which they mourned as dead.
Made unemployed during the 1921 slump, he helped found the National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement (NUWM), which organised hunger marches and other activities to draw attention to the consequences of unemployment. Hannington was National Organiser of the NUWM from its formation at the International Socialist Club, City Road, Hoxton, on the 15th April 1921.
In 1922, as the leading figure in the national hunger march on London, he was arrested in Leicester and jailed for a month. While in gaol he stood for Parliament as the Communist candidate for Bermondsey West. With 11 other Communists, he was sentenced in 1925 to three years imprisonment. In the general election of 1929 he stood as Communist candidate at Wallsend.
Hannington successfully prosecuted Lord Trenchard, then Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and two policemen for wrongfully breaking into the offices of the NUWM in Great Russell St, London, and was awarded damages.
In his autobiography, he vividly describes the endless demands of local authorities, the deputations to the TUC, fights with the police, local and national Hunger Marches. He recounts dramatic episodes involving fake coffins and occupations of salubrious restaurants of the rich. He organised a series of activities, including a lie-down in Oxford Street, to illustrate the effects of unemployment. He was sent to prison for several months, after an unemployed march on Parliament in 1932, as "a disturber of the peace ". Hannington led the very last Hunger march, which took place in October/November 1936, and led the NUWM until its effective end in 1939.
A life-long member of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, he became its National Organiser in 1942. In this, he was particularly associated with the wartime relaunch of the shop stewards’ movement in the engineering industry. He was beaten during the cold war in a re-election for his position as National Organiser in 1950 but later became the Assistant Divisional Organiser for the No. 25 Division. He formally retired from trade union work in 1961 but was still attending demonstrations in 1964 against the then Government imposed "Pay Pause".
Wal Hannington died in November 1966. He died aged 71, just after leaving Hammersmith hospital, where he had been having a medical examination.
The then General Secretary of the Communist Party, John Gollan was reported to have commented that: " Wal Hannington was one of the great, cheerful, and optimistic figures of our movement - a founder of the Communist Party and a great leader of the engineers and of the unemployed. His life was a model of service to his class."
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The Monument
In 1913 suffragettes of the WSPU stormed the Monument in London (built to mark the Fire of London)
You can see in the WSPU flag flying from the railings
Local Hayes WSPU supporter Marion Cunningham lived at Oakdene, Hayes End,
The National Unemployed Workers Movement (NUWM) also occupied the Monument during the Thirties and unveiled a banner
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Dickie Bond
Cecil Bond, Cyril Bond, Dick Bond or more commonly know as Dickie Bond, was a leading member of the Communist Party in Uxbridge, his union the Electricians Union and later Pensioners Federation.
Born in Cowley, Uxbridgeon Good Friday, 13thApril1900 he lived in a small cottage in Clements(?), in Cowley.
His father who could not read or write was a farm labourer toiling long hours in the fields for low pay for a farmer called Richardson.
His mother worked in the kitchens of Cowley House for Countess of Essex and Dickie recalled sitting at the back step of the House doliving offleft overs his mother couldspirit away “When I came home from schoolI used to wait and see if she had brought any scraps from the kitchen….that was how it was, that's why I am a socialist"
He attended the Hillingdon Road School and greatly enjoyed it, Aged 12 his family moved a few miles down the road to Uxbridge.
In his early years Dickie attended Friends Meeting House and it was here he meet sympathetic educated people Dickie considered the Quakers a "very intelligent people" and his socialism grew from that.
In his Youth Dickie was a very keen sportsman, particularly cycling andhe was proud to represent the British Workers Sports Federation in MoscowWorkers Olympics in 1929 and again at the Paris Workers Olympics in 1930 The Federation had been established in 1923 under the auspices of Clarion Cycling Club, Labour Party sympathisers and trade union officials. Its goal was international unity and peace through sport.
Dickie recalled that during the general strike of 1926 how he use to act as a cyclingcourier between Uxbridge Strike Committee headquarters at the Uxbridge Labour Hall in Villiers Street and the TUC strike committee headquarters at Southall Labour Hall (where a young Sid Bidwell, later MP was also active) and Labour hall at committee. Dickie stated that Southall was always the strongest area trade union wise because of the commitment of the Railwaymen.
He recalled that the Uxbridge strike committee was lead by a “fine man” called Tom Dubberley the local leader of the railwaymen (NUR) .
Politically, Dickie Bond had originally joined the UxbridgeIndependent Labour Party (ILP)an ILP who he recalled had about 20-30 members. The Uxbridge ILP held open air meetings at the traditional Saturday night meeting and speaking spot by the pump at the back of St Margaret’s church, Uxbridge and he recalled speakers such as Fenner Brockway entertaining the crowd.
Dickie recalled that a policeman would often be present at these open air meetings to take the names of speakers, and when he was asked for his name on one occasion he replied “That book must be full of my name”.
Their was also a small branch of the Social Democratic Federation in Uxbridge run by Albert Notley (Life Assurance salesman) and a Mr Barr a watch repairer).
Unemployed, Dickie became active in the National Unemployed Workers Movement and became Secretary of the Uxbridge branch and was involved in a Hunger march from Southall Labour Hall to Hyde Park with banners stating "Work or Full maintaince". the march started with 30 or 40 mostly from Hayes and Southall but picked up groups of unemployed along the way... "we shouted to passers by join the march..join the march and some did".
Dickie was also involved in the Uxbridge League Against Imperialism (LAI) (Reginald Bridgeman head of the national LAI was the local Labour candidate).
In 1929 Dickie joined the Communist Party in 1929 (after his visit to Moscow to participate in the Workers Olympics of 1929), Dickie spent the subsequent years until his death selling the Daily Worker and later the Morning Star regularly outside Uxbridge Underground station, “The Star is my bible”.
During the Thirties, Dickie found it hard to secure long term employment as an electrician because of his political views he was regularly victimised and blacklisted " when ever they got to find out who I was I was sacked, It was the same where ever I went".
He was awarded theTUC Tolpuddle medal for recruitment in 1934 (a medal which he continued to wareuntil his jacket lapel until his death).
Dickie was one of many who mobilised to defend the East End against Mosleys fascists at Cable streeton October 4th 1936,. Dickie mobilised many of his union members to attend Cable Street.
However Dickie himself found himself and 20 tor 30 other anti fascists corned by a large Police presence, eventually the Police charged them with their batons forcing them deliberately into a large underground lavatory where they were locked in by the policemen.
During the Spanish Civil War Dickie helped with collections but like a number in the AEU and ETU members to recondition and construct motor cycles (many of them motor cycle ambulances) at Hayes Labour hall at Pump Lane lead by Sidney “Sid” Bennett (Fairey Aviation Engineering apprentice), and other like John Mansfield (also a Faiey Aviation apprentice).
Dickie recalled the witch hunt of Communists in 1941 lead by Labour Minister Herbert Morrison at the outbreak of the Second World War.
“I was working on Government work as an electrician, in the Liverpool dock yards (Cammell Lairds), one of the organisers of my union, Frank Foulkes a member of the Communist Party member, he was the local organiser, he came to me one day and said look Dick, I have been given instructions by the Police, that with your history, if your not out of Liverpool in 24 hours, your going to be arrested under (Regulation) 18b, for my political outlook"
"He said the only thing I can do now is take you to a certain place outside Liverpool (a little cottage that acted as a safe house), where they had all thefood and everything for me, if your going to have a drink (he gave me money), If you go and have a drink tell them your one of the evacuee from London
"I was down there Down there about two or three weeks, I could not send a letter to my wife,or send her money, He had to do that"
After some weeks , he came down in his car, you’ve got to do some work….Russia had come into war (22nd June 1941) and the whole political complexion changed, so I went back to work as electrician ....I would have been arrested, if it was not for Frank Foulkes.... he saved me a lot of trouble".
Unsurprisingly, Dickie never ever went back to Liverpool.
One other war time recollection was working "up North" with a young electricians apprenticeand young Communist league membercalled Frank Chapplelater the ultra right wing General Secretary of the Electricians Union.
Just after the end of the war, Dickie did secure permanent work (20 years) as an Electrician for the London County Council based at County hall but looking after local schools and health establishments, he became Chairman of the former London County Council Shop Steward Committee (and remained at Electricians Trade Union member for fifty five years).
After the war he worked with fellow Uxbridge Communist Fred Glitz and left wing L:abour councillors to address the shortages of housing and in 1946 helped squatters (many bombed out or newly returned soilders) to occupy Coaxden Hall, Providence Road Nursery.
Dickie also stood for the Uxbridge Town council as a Communist along with Glitz.
He served on theElectricians Trade Union (ETU) National Executive Committee and was on the London DistrictCommittee, President of North West Region and Chairman of Acton, Hayes and Uxbridge ETU branches
In the 1940's Dickie became involved with Hayes Trades Council for fifteen years ibefore its amalgamation to form Hillingdon Trades Union Council
He was a member of the London Co-operative Society (LCS) for 22 years, and was Chairman of District 28 of the LCS he was elected to the LondonSociety’s West Area Education Committee.
After the War Uxbridge elected Labour MP Frank Beswick as its MP who was according to Dickie a good local Labour MP.
Active in the co-operative youth movement the Woodcraft folk at Providence road school, in the 60's-70s. Dickie Bond recalled that their were quite a lot of progressive people involved in co-operative movement locally including Mrs Dubblerley (later Mayor of Uxbridge).
In later years Dickie was active in the Uxbridge & District branch of the National Association of Old Age Pensioners.
Among his not so well knowninterestswere poetry and folk music,particularly Peggy Seger and Ewan McColl hisfavourite song being“Where have all the flowers gone?”. Dickie was inspired to write aBallard which he was to hear PeggySeger sing. It was theBallard of the Migrant Labourer
“A building is more than concrete, It’s also part of them, Who build but seldom inhabit, Its also part of men. Part of the sinew and muscle, the skill of their hands and brain. Part of their hope in the morning, gone with the evening again.
His wife Nancy, was alsoa keen Socialist, Women’s co-operator and Labour party member. She was a founder member of Uxbridge Labour party, and on occasions a Labour Council candidate at which she was not only attacked by local Tories as a "Communist" but some inside the Party who tried to have her expelled for criticising Labour Party policy. Nancy died in 1969,
During the Miners strikeof 1984-1985 he was charged with two counts of making a street collection without permission of the commissioner and with using a megaphone to obtain money (Hillingdon Miners Support Group raised over£6,000 from street collections with another £6,000 from local union branches (total of about £50,000 today)during the strike). Dickie appeared in court for the first time two days before his 85th birthday. He participated along with many from Hillingdon the Kent NUM theRamsgatesolidaritymarch for the Miners with Kent NUM friends who had picketed West Drayton Coal depot during the dispute (from the offices of the Trade Union Support Unit based in West Drayton)
After the strike he stated “The strike may be over but the struggle goes on for all of us the class struggle goes on all the bloody time"
Dickie was from my recollection a small man, well dressed man, always wore a suit and andtrilby hat, and had even in his later years a strong powerful voice
