Harry Young (28 February 1901 – 1995) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

socialist activist. Born 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 ...

, Young attended a socialist Sunday school in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. He worked in a large number of jobs and, at various times, joined the Herald League, 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

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

, while still a teenager. Inspired by 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 ...

, he joined 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 ...

soon after its foundation, in 1920. He was soon appointed as national organiser of its associated

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX (name of country) originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of YC ...

(YCL), and in 1921 became the youngest member of the party's executive committee. The following year, he was appointed as the YCL's representative in Moscow, attending the Fourth Congress of the

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

. On returning to the UK, he served as editor of the English language edition of ''Communist International'', and then as manager of the

Collets Bookshop Eva Collet Reckitt (28 June 1890 – 24 September 1976) was the founder of the left-wing bookshop Collet's on Charing Cross Road, London, in 1933. Biography Reckitt was elected in 1927 to the executive of the Labour Research Department. One of the ...

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...

. In 1937, Young resigned from the CPGB, unhappy that he felt it would uncritically follow all Soviet policies, and became a taxi driver. In 1940, he instead joined the

Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppos ...

(SPGB). He was a

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, serving instead as an ambulance driver in London. After the war, Young became a regular speaker at

Speakers' Corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the northeast corner of Hyde Park in London, England. Historically there were a number of other areas design ...

, and he wrote a column for the ''

Socialist Standard ''Socialist Standard'' is a monthly socialist magazine published without interruption since September 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB). The magazine is written in a simple, direct style and focuses mainly on socialist advocacy a ...

'' under the pen name of "Horatio". He stood for the party in East Ham South at the 1950 general election, taking 0.7% of the vote. He retrained as a science teacher, becoming active in the

National Association of Schoolmasters The National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS) was a trade union representing male schoolteachers in the United Kingdom. History The origins of the NAS can be traced back to the formation of the National Association of Men Teachers (NAMT) in 1919 ...

. Young remained active in the SPGB in his retirement, serving on its executive committee for several years. In 1991, he was part of the Socialist Studies split. In 1994, he obtained a degree in science from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, becoming its oldest graduate that year. He died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Harry 1901 births 1995 deaths British Socialist Party members Communist Party of Great Britain members Socialist Party of Great Britain members People from Stoke Newington