Alfred Marsh (3 November 1858 – 13 October 1914) was an
anarchist-communist
Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...
and long-time editor and stalwart of the newspaper
''Freedom''.
Early years
Marsh was born in
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington.
The well after which it was named was redisco ...
, London. Having lost his mother at an early age, he was brought up by his father who was of a radical inclination. His father was a close friend of secularist and co-operative pioneer
George Holyoake
George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 – 22 January 1906) was an English secularist, co-operator and newspaper editor. He coined the terms secularism in 1851 and "jingoism" in 1878. He edited a secularist paper, the ''Reasoner'', from 1846 to Ju ...
. Later in life, he would take a daughter of Holyoake’s (Emilie Ashurst Holyoake) as his second wife. His childhood meant he was heavily influenced by the radical ideas of
Robert Owen, and his close associate Dr. Henry Travis.
Political development
In around 1883 he read
Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary ...
’s
God and the State
''God and the State'' (called by its author ''The Historical Sophisms of the Doctrinaire School of Communism'') is an unfinished manuscript by the Russian anarchist philosopher Mikhail Bakunin, published posthumously in 1882. The work criticises ...
which left a lasting impression on him. He was thrown out of by his father on the account of having a relationship with a woman from his brush factory. From there on in, Marsh’s livelihood was garnered from earning working as a violinist in theatre orchestras and by giving music lessons. He is said to have had a modest lifestyle and contributed regularly his meagre income to ensure the Freedom newspaper stayed afloat over the years
Like many a radical, he 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 ...
, but was disgusted at the abusive and opportunistic nature of
H. M Hyndman and his followers. After joining in 1886, he left not soon after.
The
Haymarket Martyrs
The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in ...
had been something of a turning point and he by this time began to identify as an anarchist-communist.
Political activities
He became close associates with
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
and this cemented his relationship with the
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
group. He would contribute regularly for the paper, often anonymously; he would also regularly speak at talks. His first such talk at Farringdon Hall attacked the labour leader
John Burns
John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...
and his view of social democracy as a stepping stone to communism.
Freedom had had problems functioning with
Charlotte Wilson
Charlotte Mary Wilson (6 May 1854, Kemerton, Worcestershire – 28 April 1944, Irvington-on-Hudson, New York) was an English Fabian and anarchist who co-founded '' Freedom'' newspaper in 1886 with Peter Kropotkin, and edited, published, ...
as editor, suffering as she was with personal difficulties in 1889 and again in 1895. Marsh soon restarted it in May 1895 on the advice of
William Wess, and they were joined by ex-members of the defunct
Socialist League's publication,
Commonweal
Commonweal or common weal may refer to:
* Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community
* Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group
* Commonweal (magazine), ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Cath ...
– John Turner,
Tom Cantwell, and
Joseph Presburg.
As well as editing Freedom for the next twenty years he also edited the short-lived Voice of Labour which was a to workplace agitation paper published by Freedom Press. This time was particularly difficult, because Britain had undertaken a very jingoistic turn around the
Boer Wars
The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...
and the climate was not entirely favourable to anarchist ideas. Using his father inheritance in 1909 he was able to bring out complete edition in English of God and the State as well as being able to reprint all the Freedom Press pamphlets.
From 1910 onwards he is understood to have been of declining health and editorship of Freedom was handed over to
Tom Keell. It is during this time he is expressed his dismay to find the founder of Freedom,
Peter Kropotkin
Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
, surrounded by rich sycophants and with little time to see his old anarchist friends when he visited him in France.
In September 1914 he was told he had inoperable cancer, from which he died a month later in Hastings.
Posthumously, anarchists set up a meeting place in 1915 called Marsh House, on Mecklenburgh St, London, near Russell Square in his honour.
References
Further reading
*
* Archive o
Alfred Marsh Papersat the
International Institute of Social History
The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figu ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Alfred
1858 births
1914 deaths
Writers from London
English anarchists
People from Clerkenwell
Anarcho-communists
English newspaper editors
English male journalists