Theodore Herzl Ainley (3 October 1903 – 19 March 1968) 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, ...

trade union leader and communist activist. Born Theodore Abrahamson in

Cheetham Cheetham may refer to: People * Cheetham (surname) Places * Cheetham and Altona Important Bird Area, Melbourne, Australia * Cheetham Close, a megalith and scheduled ancient monument located in Lancashire, very close to the boundary with Greater Ma ...

, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, he was educated at a Jewish school, leaving when he was thirteen, to undertake an apprenticeship as a chemist. He soon left this, and instead found work making waterproof garments. In 1929, he changed his surname to "Ainley", a change which his brother, Ben, had made two years before.John Saville, "Ainley, Theodore (Ted)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.X, pp.1–3 Ted was influenced by Ben's socialism, and both Ted and his younger brother David became founder members of the Manchester

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) in 1922. Ted 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 ...

the following year, and also began working full-time for the YCL, as its organiser for North East England and Glasgow. He was elected to the National Executive of Committee of the YCL, and in 1929, attended the

Lenin School The International Lenin School (ILS) was an official training school operated in Moscow, Soviet Union, by the Communist International from May 1926 to 1938. It was resumed after the Second World War and run by the Communist Party of the Soviet Unio ...

in Moscow. Ainley returned to the UK and his former post in 1930, then in 1931 moved back to Manchester, and in 1932, on to London, where he took a post with the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...

''. This proved only short-term, and he returned again to Manchester, working at the Books and Books shop until it closed in 1935. He then returned to making waterproof clothing, joining the Waterproof Garment Workers' Union, and in 1937 he was elected as general secretary of the union. However, other figures in the union objected to his communism, and he was soon removed from office. He resigned from the union, and instead found work as an organiser for the Shop Assistants' Union. In 1943, Ainley changed job again, becoming National Organiser for the

Association of Scientific Workers The Association of Scientific Workers (AScW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the National Union of Scientific Workers in 1918, changing its name to the Association of Scientific Workers in 1927. The union largely rep ...

. He won election as the union's general secretary in 1949, but took early retirement in 1951 due to poor health. He returned to working for the Communist Party, spending time as secretary of its Economic Committee, and then of its Cultural Committee. From 1957 until 1962, he was the editor of ''World News and Views'', the party's weekly journal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainley, Ted 1903 births 1968 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members General secretaries of British trade unions International Lenin School alumni Trade unionists from Manchester