Robbie Robson (communist)

Robert William Robson (1897 – 1973), known as Robbie Robson, was a British communist activist.

Born in Guisborough, Robson served in the British Army during World War I, then became a labourer. He joined the Independent Labour Party then in 1922 moved to the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). In 1927, he was appointed as the CPGB's London District Organiser, and was also elected to the party's Central Committee. In 1933, he moved to lead the party's Organisation Department, in which role he led recruitment of volunteers for the British Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. MI5 believed that he was also involved in spying.[1][2]

During World War II, Robson became ill with tuberculosis. He withdrew from political activity and moved to Timberscombe in Somerset, to recuperate. His wife, Eileen Potter, became interested in religion. MI5 tried to use the local vicar to get Robson to defect, but were unsuccessful.[2]

References

  1. ^ McIlroy, John; Campbell, Alan (2022). "'Class Against Class': The leadership of the Communist Party of Great Britain during the Comintern's Third Period, 1928–1934". Labor History. 63 (2).
  2. ^ a b Stevenson, Graham. "Robson Robbie". Encyclopedia of Communist Biographies.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.