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Anna Mendelssohn (born Anna Mendleson,Her name is frequently given as Anna Mendelson. 1948 – 15 November 2009), who wrote under the name Grace Lake, was a British writer, poet and political activist. She came from a left-wing political family, was inspired by the Paris student risings in May 1968, and became a political radical in Britain. Mendelsohn was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions as part of The Angry Brigade, a ruling she insisted was unjust. After her release she raised a family, resumed her education and devoted her life to art and to poetry. She grew somewhat isolated from the rest of society, but her friends saw to it that some of her work was published.


School

Mendleson was the daughter of Maurice Mendleson, a market trader from
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
in Cheshire.Steve Crowther, "Breaking of Anna the Bomber", ''Daily Mirror'', 15 February 1977, p. 5. According to Peter Riley, writing in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', her father was from a "working class Jewish" background, fought on the Republican side in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, and was a
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
councillor in Stockport;Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 36. the Mendleson family was later described by
Des Wilson Des Wilson (born 5 March 1941) is a New Zealand-born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and poker player. He was one of the founders of the British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an ...
as "politically radical". Mendleson was educated at Stockport High School for Girls, where she became Head Girl. She was reported to have been a "brilliant and unruly pupil". In addition Mendleson fostered her artistic ability through attending the New Era Academy of Drama and Music from 1957 to 1967, and performed at several Northern Music Festivals."Vanishing points: new modernist poems" (ed. John Kinsella, Rod Mengham), Salt Publishing, 2004, p. 302.


Dropping out of university

In September 1967, Mendleson went up to the University of Essex to read English Literature and American History. In May 1968, she went to Paris, to join in the student political rising; what she saw had a great effect on her political thinking.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 30. In 1969 she dropped out of her university course rather than continue into her final year, but remained living in Wivenhoe around the university for several months. In early 1970 she was living in York Way in the King's Cross area of London, and was a close friend of a group including some university friends who were living a semi-communal life in Stamford Hill; among them was Hilary Creek.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 48. Mendleson and Creek were supporting a group which had
squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
empty flats in
Arbour Square Arbour Square is a late Georgian square in Stepney, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, England. It is located just off the Commercial Road (A13) approximately one mile (1.6 km) east of the City of London. The square is currently ...
in Stepney.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 50. She became a friend of Jim Greenfield after meeting him on leaving a political meeting.


Wanted by police

On 27 February 1971, Mendleson and Greenfield visited Liverpool to discuss founding a new radical libertarian newspaper; after leaving the meeting they and three others drove to Greenfield's nearby home town of Widnes to go to a
pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
. The police were called by someone who thought the group looked suspicious and when Greenfield had no documents for their hire car, all five were arrested. Police searches discovered
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
and a stolen Essex University cheque book; the five gave false names and were bailed to report to Colchester Police Station. The newspaper eventually appeared under the name ''Strike''; for it Mendleson wrote an article on "Judges and the Law".Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 93-4. After the arrests the police linked the case to other stolen cheque books and, on 11 June 1971, Mendleson was one of six people to be charged with conspiracy to defraud. However she had jumped bail and her picture was printed in the ''Police Gazette'' as a wanted person.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 106. People arrested in a police raid in Wivenhoe in April 1971 were shown pictures of Mendleson and asked if they recognised her."Conspiracy Notes 4", Stoke Newington Eight Defence Group, London, 1972, p. 8.


Amhurst Road

Needing a base to produce ''Strike'', the group decided to rent a flat in London. On 2 July 1971, John Barker and Hilary Creek posing as a married couple, and Mendleson using the name 'Nancy Pye', rented the top floor flat at 359 Amhurst Road in
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...
.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 108. One of the Mendleson's main concerns was that the group continue to support the defence of Jake Prescott and Ian Purdie, who were charged with carrying out two bombings for The Angry Brigade anarchist group.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 110-1. The duplicating equipment at Amhurst Road was used to produce Angry Brigade Communiqué No. 11 published on 31 July 1971, and Mendleson drafted the Angry Brigade Moonlighter's Cell Communiqué which followed it.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 114-7.


Police raid

With regular police raids on people known to be supportive of the Angry Brigade and with Mendleson a wanted person (although for cheque fraud only), the police were interested in finding any addresses where she might be found. Mendleson was keeping in regular touch with her family in Stockport and a police informer there passed the Amhurst Road address to police on 18 August 1971.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 121-2. An observation was set up and when Jim Greenfield was seen leaving the flat, a search warrant was obtained. At 4:15 PM on 20 August the police entered the flat and arrested Mendleson, Creek, Barker and Greenfield. Mendleson again gave her name as Nancy Pye.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 122-3. The police reported that their searches of 359 Amhurst Road discovered not only duplicating equipment on which Angry Brigade publications had been produced, but a stick of
gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpe ...
, two
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...
s, a Browning pistol and 81 rounds of ammunition. Mendleson was remanded in custody at Holloway Prison and was eventually charged with possession of the armaments and conspiracy to cause explosions. Mendleson's fingerprints were found on a copy of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine used to wrap a bomb planted at the Italian consulate in Manchester, and she was also charged with attempting to cause this explosion.Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 143-5.


Stoke Newington Eight trial

Mendleson found prison life extremely stressful and at the committal hearing complained that five months in Holloway had caused "isolation and repression, both physical and mental".Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 148. The resulting trial of eight defendants at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
became the longest criminal trial at that point in English legal history, Mendleson was one of three defendants to represent themselves; the "Stoke Newington Eight Defence Group" argued that this was the right decision as they had challenged prosecution witnesses and exposed several as liars."Conspiracy Notes 4", Stoke Newington Eight Defence Group, London, 1972, p. 15. However her health suffered and she was ill throughout much of the trial; on occasion she was too ill to take part at all and the trial had to be halted.On 13 June 1972 a doctor's note said that Mendleson needed to stay in bed for 48 hours; the trial was adjourned until she was better. She was granted bail during a four-week summer adjournment of the trial, spending the time in Wales.


Defence speech

The most important part of the trial for Mendleson was her final speech in her own defence, which took a day and a half of court time. She urged the jury to understand her political work and lifestyle, which would help them see why the police should have planted guns and explosives on her. She noted that at the time of the Manchester bombing she had been living in Wivenhoe where doors were left open and people borrowed each other's magazines, and she had been able to produce unchallenged alibi witnesses to the fact that she was in Wivenhoe when the bomb was planted. Although she knew others in the case, she asserted that there was no evidence of any plots or conspiracies. Mendleson said that she understood the feelings behind those who would make bomb attacks on cabinet ministers but doing so "isn't going to get rid of the capitalist system, because there is always somebody to step into his place unless the situation and conditions are right". In conclusion she stressed that those in dock "are working together for a happier and more peaceful world".Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 193-5. Notwithstanding her oratory, Mendleson was convicted by a 10–2 majority of conspiracy to cause explosions. She was also found guilty of the possession charges, but not guilty of attempting to cause an explosion in Manchester. The jury foreman asked for "leniency or clemency" for the defendants, which the Judge took into account by reducing the overall sentence by five years. Mendleson was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. While being taken down to the cells she called out "I would like to say thank you to the two members of the jury who had faith in us".Carr, "The Angry Brigade", p. 203-5. Along with others convicted in the trial, Mendleson appealed against both verdict and sentence, being represented by
Michael Mansfield Michael Mansfield (born 12 October 1941) is an English barrister and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers. He was recently described as "The king of human rights work" by The Legal 500 and as a Leading Silk in civil liberties and human rights ( ...
. The appeals failed.


Parole

Mendleson was quietly released on parole in November 1976, just four years after the end of the trial. The news was not disclosed by the Home Office until 13 February 1977, causing a storm of press coverage which one reporter described as "scandalous and distasteful". The issue was raised in Parliament with
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
, Merlyn Rees, saying that Mendleson was no longer a danger to society; William Whitelaw criticised the decision and asserted that protection of the public and police morale came first. Mendleson moved to Cambridge to live with friends as a condition of her parole, and remained a Cambridge resident for the rest of her life. Her father gave an interview to BBC Radio explaining that prison had had a terrible effect on her, making it impossible for her to concentrate. He also said that she had taken no part in the bombings and that she and the other defendants were "good young people" who tried to help others.


Poetry

After her release, she adopted the alternative spelling of her surname Mendelssohn. She spent some time in Sheffield, where she started a family and had three children. Mendelssohn moved to Cambridge in about 1985, studying poetry at St Edmund's College, Cambridge, and devoting her life to poetry and art. She became opposed to technology and disliked judgments based on rationality in favour of those based on an artistic judgment, which led to her life becoming increasingly disconnected from the rest of society. Such a lifestyle meant she was not greatly interested in seeing her poetry published, but others thought that her work deserved a larger audience. She is said to have had poems published in the Sheffield Free Press. Also, a volume of poetry, due to be published by the Common Ground Printing Co-operative, was reportedly removed prior to publication after the printer sought to censor the content. She was first published in 1986, according to a later reviewer, through "a series of home-made, distributed hand to hand, photographed-manuscript ''feuilles volantes''". In 1988 two of her poems were published under the title ''La Facciata'' as issue number 5 of ''Poetical Histories'', with a cover design by the author.


Grace Lake

Three volumes of her poetry were published by
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