Edwin Charles Fairchild (1874–1955) was a socialist activist and

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Biography

A long-term member of 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), Fairchild was a member of its radical Central Hackney branch, alongside

Zelda Kahan Zelda Kahan (1886 – 1969) was a British communist. Born into a Jewish family in Russia in 1886, Kahan's family were forced to emigrate, and she moved to Britain at an early age. The Kahans lived at 6 Clapton Square in Hackney, London. She be ...

and

Theodore Rothstein Theodore Rothstein (russian: Фёдор Аронович Ротштейн, ''Fyodor Aronovich Rotshteyn''; 14 February 1871 30 August 1953) was a Soviet politician, journalist, writer and communist. He served as a Soviet ambassador in the 1920s. ...

. As early as 1909, he was a signatory to a resolution denouncing party leader

H. M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's '' Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing ...

's anti-German rhetoric. He supported closer links with the Independent Labour Party and other socialists, and worked with

Alf Purcell Albert Arthur "Alf" Purcell (3 November 1872, Hoxton – 24 December 1935) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and later President of the International Fede ...

and Victor Grayson on the Provisional Committee for the Promotion of Common Ground Among the Socialists. This was opposed by the right-wing of the SDF, but proved successful, as it constituted 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 ...

(BSP), and the SDF merged itself into the new party. Fairchild was elected to the BSP's first standing orders committee, alongside

Duncan Carmichael Duncan Carmichael (1870 – 31 August 1926) was a British people, British trade unionist and socialist activist. Living in Battersea, Carmichael joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) in 1903, and served on its executive committee fro ...

, Peter Petroff and

C. T. Douthwaite Christopher Thomas Douthwaite (17 November 1875 – 11 February 1949) was a British socialist politician. Born in Manchester, Douthwaite left school at the age of eleven, working first for a tea merchant, then for the Bradford Dyers Association. ...

. The four worked together to ensure voices in the party opposing British rearmament were heard.David Howell, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XII, pp.72-76 He was also elected to the party's executive, representing the party's left-wing. At the

1913 London County Council election An election to the London County Council, County Council of London took place on 5 March 1913. It was the ninth triennial election of the whole Council. The size of the council was 118 councillors and 19 aldermen. The councillors were elected f ...

, Fairchild stood for the BSP in Bow and Bromley. He took 1,609 votes, but was not elected. In 1915, the party selected him as its delegate to the Zimmerwald Conference, but he was refused a passport and could not attend. During this period, Fairchild was close to John Maclean. When Maclean's newspaper, ''Vanguard'', was suppressed, Fairchild launched ''The Call'' as a replacement.Martin Crick, ''The History of the Social-Democratic Federation'', pp.273-274 The BSP was divided over British entry to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; although the majority of the party opposed it, much of the leadership was in favour. Fairchild was an opponent of the war, although he was considered a centrist within the party, as he also argued against action which would endanger "national defence". The party's right-wing were defeated at its conference in 1916 and walked out; following this, Fairchild was elected as the party's chairman, and ''The Call'' became the party's official newspaper. The BSP affiliated to the Labour Party, and Fairchild was selected by the Rochdale Trades and Labour Council as the party's candidate for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

the

1918 UK general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

. However, a dispute over his support for conscientious objection during

led to his replacement by

R. H. Tawney Richard Henry Tawney (30 November 1880 – 16 January 1962) was an English economic historian, social critic, ethical socialist,Noel W. Thompson. ''Political economy and the Labour Party: the economics of democratic socialism, 1884-2005''. 2nd e ...

.Jay M. Winter, ''Socialism and the Challenge of War'', p.176 Like the majority of his party, Fairchild welcomed the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, and he spoke at the launch of the

Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates The Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates was established on 3 June 1917 at the Leeds Convention held in Leeds, England. The founding conference was attended by 1,150 delegates. It was inspired by the events of the Russian February Revoluti ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. However, he remained committed to

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

even when many in his party preferred setting up workers' councils. He and Henry Alexander resigned from the BSP in 1919, after it voted to seek affiliation to the

Third International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...

.Ian Bullock, ''Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left'', pp.135-145

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairchild, Edwin C. 1874 births 1955 deaths British Socialist Party members Social Democratic Federation members