Alfred Augustus Watts (1862–1928), also known as A. A. Watts, was a British
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
.
Born in
Bow, London
Bow () is an area of East London within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is primarily a built-up and mostly residential area and is east of Charing Cross.
It was in the traditional county of Middlesex but became part of the County of ...
, Watts became a
compositor and joined the
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...
(SDF). In 1904, he became a member of the
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.
England and Wales
Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...
in
Poplar, a post he held until his death. After the SDF became the
British Socialist Party
The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...
, Watts became a leader of the majority anti-war faction, and was elected to the party executive as Treasurer, alongside
Albert Inkpin
Albert Samuel Inkpin, (also written Inkpen) (16 June 1884 – 29 March 1944) was a British communist and the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). He served several terms in prison for political offences. ...
and
John Maclean. He was a supporter of the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
and of the formation of the
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...
(CPGB).
In 1919, Watts was elected as a
Labour Party member of
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
in
Battersea North, and in 1922 he was re-elected for the CPGB. In 1925, he was elected as a Councillor for
Poplar Council, with the support of both Labour and the CPGB.
References
*Graham Stevenson
Compendium of Communist Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Alf
1862 births
1928 deaths
British Socialist Party members
Communist Party of Great Britain councillors
Members of London County Council
Social Democratic Federation members