Tom Bell (politician)
Thomas Hargrave Bell (20 September 1882 – 19 April 1944) was a
Biography
Early years
Thomas Bell was born in
While an employee at the bottling shop, Bell became interested in atheism and labour politics.[5] He read rationalist works by Ernst Haeckel and Thomas Huxley as well as works on evolution by Charles Darwin and gradually became acquainted with socialist ideas.[6] Together with two companions, Bell joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1900.[7]
The young "socialist idealist and enthusiast" Bell found the rather mild and ameliorative program of the ILP insufficient and in 1902 he began to attend economics classes conducted by the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), headed by Henry Hyndman, which introduced Bell to the literature of Marxism.[8] In February 1903, Bell left the ILP and enrolled as a member of the SDF.[9]
Some of the SDF classes which Bell attended were led by George Yates, an engineer by trade who impressed the young Bell with his skill as an orator and knowledge of economics, history, and politics.[10] In the spring of 1903, Bell would follow Yates and the group of revolutionary socialist impossiblists around him out of the SDF and join in the foundation of the Socialist Labour Party, a rival organization.[11]
Bell began a seven-year apprenticeship as an
Committed to educating himself, he attended Andersonian College and the Academy of Literature, and soon lectured for the Plebs' League.
Political career
Bell joined the
Generally continuing to work in the metal trades, Bell briefly joined the
In 1916, Bell was elected to the
Employed by the CPGB, he was initially National Organiser. He then attended the
Bell held various posts within the party, including the editorship of Communist Review. In 1925, he was one of twelve CPGB leaders gaoled for seditious libel and incitement to mutiny, spending six months inside.
The next few years were spent between Britain and Russia. In 1930, Bell became the Secretary of the
Death and legacy
Tom Bell died 19 April 1944 aged 61.
Footnotes
- ^ Thomas Bell, Pioneering Days. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1941; pg. 13.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pp. 13-14.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pg. 17.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pp. 21-25.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pg. 26.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pg. 32.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pg. 33.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pp. 34-35.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pg. 35.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pg. 36.
- ^ Bell, Pioneering Days, pp. 39-40.
- ^ a b Bell, Pioneering Days, pp. 61-62.
Sources consulted
Further reading
External links
- Thomas Bell Archive Marxists Internet Archive