Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe (16 October 1913 – 14 October 2002) was a British solicitor and left wing journalist and political activist. He was one of the founders of the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

. The elder son of Ernest, first Lord Simon and Shena, Lady Simon, he inherited the title on his father's death in 1960. Although he never renounced the title, he did not use it. After

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

Holt, Norfolk Holt is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town has a population of 3,550, rising and including the ward to ...

, where he was a contemporary of

James Klugmann Norman John Klugmann (27 February 1912 – 14 September 1977), generally known as James Klugmann, was a leading British Communist writer and WW2 Soviet Spy, who became the official historian of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Background ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

and Donald Maclean, Simon read economics at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. While there he was invited to join the Political Economy Club run by

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

. At one of the club's meetings, Piero Sraffa, a friend of

Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...

, advised him to read

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, and Simon later joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, as his brother

Brian Simon Brian Simon (26 March 1915 – 17 January 2002) was an English educationist and historian. A leading member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, his histories reflected a Marxian interpretation. Background and early life The younger son of ...

had done earlier. Simon was influenced in this decision by meeting Emile Burns on the boat to the Soviet Union in 1936 - a trip with his parents. In 1935, he qualified as a solicitor, and from 1942 to 1945 he served in the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

. He went for officer training at Catterick, where he met the Marxist

Arnold Kettle Arnold Charles Kettle (17 March 1916 – 24 December 1986)Turner, John R. (2004). 'Kettle, Arnold Charles (1916–1986)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', 23 September 2004 (online edition). Retrieved 30 December 2022. was a British Marx ...

, later a close friend. From 1945 to 1946, he taught law at

Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is one ...

, where soldiers with three years' service could have a month's free education. At Welbeck he met

Edmund Penning-Rowsell Edmund Lionel Penning-Rowsell (1913–2002) was a British journalist considered the doyen of Britain's writers on wine, and possibly the world's longest-serving wine correspondent. Biography Rowsell came from an upper middle class London family ...

, another communist who became a lifelong friend and fellow wine enthusiast. From 1946 to 1958, he worked for Ealing Borough Council as a solicitor. He married Daphne May in 1951 and they had two children. He had a love of walking and often visited the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. In 1958 he joined the

Labour Research Department The Labour Research Department (LRD) is an independent trade union based research organisation, based in London, that provides information to support trade union activity and campaigns. About 2,000 trade union organisations, including 51 national ...

, becoming secretary from 1965 to 1977 but continued doing work for the organisation until just before his death. He published many pamphlets and articles on economic issues. Within the Communist Party, where he sat on the Economic Committee, he strongly supported the "Eurocommunist" philosophy. He was also on the board of Lawrence and Wishart and encouraged the publication of "Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci" in 1971. His last ten years were devoted to red-green politics. He was a member of the

William Morris Society The William Morris Society was founded in 1955 in London, England. The Society's office and museum are located at Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, where Morris lived from 1879 until his death in 1896. The Society aims to make more well-known th ...

References

* Pat Devine, Obituary, ''

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 ...

'', 25 October 2002.

Publications

* ''Local Councils and the Citizen'', Stevens & Sons (1948) * ''The British State'', Lawrence & Wishart (1958) (co-authored, under the pseudonyms James Harvey & Katherine Hood) * ''Light on the City'', LRD Publications (1962) * ''An Introduction To Gramsci's Political Thought'' (1982) * ''William Morris Now - Socialism by Design'', Communist Party (1984) * ''Introducing Marxism'', Communist Party (1986) {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon of Wythenshawe, Roger Simon, 2nd Baron 1913 births 2002 deaths People educated at Gresham's School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British male journalists Communist Party of Great Britain members Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Corps of Signals officers