Walter "Wal" Hannington (1896–1966) was a founding member of 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 ...

and National Organiser of the National Unemployed Workers' Movement, from its formation in 1921 to its end in 1939, when he became National Organiser of the

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History ...

Biography

Early years

Walter Hannington, best known by his nickname "Wal," was born on 17 June 1896 in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, London. His father was a bricklayer with a large family. He himself was apprenticed to a toolmaker at 14 and joined the Toolmakers' Society during the First World War. He married his wife Winnie in 1917. He joined 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 ...

during this period and became a member of the

Amalgamated Toolmakers {{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom The Amalgamated Society of General Tool Makers, Engineers and Machinists, often known as the Amalgamated Toolmakers, was a trade union representing factory workers in the United Kingdom. ...

' London committee. He went over to the

in the 1920 merger.

Political career

In 1920 Hannington became a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. From the time of its formation in 1921 until its dissolution in 1939 Hannington was the head of the National Unemployed Workers' Movement, an offshoot of the CPGB. Hannington was a delegate to the founding conference of the

National Minority Movement The National Minority Movement was a British organisation, established in 1924 by the Communist Party of Great Britain, which attempted to organise a radical presence within the existing trade unions. The organization was headed by longtime unio ...

(NMM) in August 1924. The National Minority Movement, headed by Harry Pollitt, was a pressure group formed by the CPGB to work within the established trade union movement. With only one or two exceptions, the members of the Executive Committee of the NMM were members of the Communist Party. Wal Hannington was one of the inner circle of the executive which controlled the organization, working as a full-time leader of the section dedicated to the metal workers.Macfarlane, ''The British Communist Party,'' p. 152. In 1925 Hannington was one of 12 members of the Communist Party convicted 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 ...

under the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 and one of the five defendants sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. In 1936 he wrote a book about his experiences as leader of the NUWM, ''Unemployed Struggles 1919–1936: My Life and Struggles Amongst the Unemployed''. He includes accounts of his numerous prison terms, and claims that the government had him and other members of the NUWM under surveillance. In 1937 his book ''The Problem of the Distressed Areas'' was published by Victor Gollancz with a preface by Professor Harold Laski. In 1939 Hannington became National Organiser of the Amalgamated Engineering Union.

Death and legacy

Wal Hannington died on 17 November 1966 at the age of 70.

Footnotes

Publications by Wal Hannington

* ''The Insurgents in London: A Brief History of the Great National Hunger March of the Unemployed on London ... October 17th, 1922 ... until the End of February, 1923 ... under the Auspices of the National Unemployed Workers Committee Movement.'' n.c. ondon n.p. ational Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement n.d.

923 __NOTOC__ Year 923 ( CMXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * June 15 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I is killed; the Frankish a ...

* ''What's Wrong in the Engineering Industry: Being an Analysis of the Present State of Industry and of the Unions, and an Answer to the Question: Can the Demands of the Unions Be Met?" Introduction by Harry Pollitt. London: National Minority Movement, n.d. . 1927 * ''The March of the Miners: How We Smashed the Opposition.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement, 1927. * ''Our March Against the Starvation Government.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement, 1928. * ''The Story of the National Hunger March.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement, n.d.

929 Year 929 ( CMXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 16 – Emir Abd-al-Rahman III of Córdoba proclaims himself caliph and create ...

* ''Our Case for the Unemployed Charter: Contains Also a Report on How the Labour Government Used Police Against Our Deputation.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Movement, n.d.

* ''How to Get Unemployment Benefit: A Practical Guide for Unemployed Workers.'' With E. Lewellyn. London: National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement, n.d. . 1930 * ''Crimes Against the Unemployed: An Exposure of the TUC Scab Scheme and the Crimes Committed Against the Unemployed by the TUC General Council.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Movement, n.d. . 1933 * ''The New Unemployment Bill: What it Means.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Movement, n.d. . 1933 * ''An Exposure of the Unemployed Social Service Schemes.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Movement, n.d.

934 Year 934 ( CMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring and Summer – The Hungarians make an alliance with the Pechenegs ...

* ''Work for Wages, Not Slave Camps: Positive Proposals for Reducing Unemployment.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Movement, n.d. . 1934 * ''Unemployed Struggles, 1919–1936: My Life and Struggles Amongst the Unemployed.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, n.d. 936 * ''The Problem of Distressed Areas.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1937. * ''A Short History of the Unemployed.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1938. * ''Fascist Danger and the Unemployed.'' London: National Unemployed Workers' Movement, 1939. * ''Black Coffins and the Unemployed.'' London: Fact, 1939. * ''Ten Lean Years: An Examination of the Record of the National Government in the Field of Unemployment.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1940. * ''Industrial History in Wartime: Including a Record of the Shop Stewards' Movement.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1941. * ''The Rights of Engineers.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1944. * ''Tom Mann 1856–1941: A Short Biography.'' Coventry: Coventry Tom Mann Memorial Trades and Labour Hall Fund Committee, n.d. . 1947 * ''The New Hungary as We Saw It.'' With Jim Gardner. London: Hungarian News and Information Service, 1949. * ''Never On Our Knees.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1967. * ''Mr. Chairman! A Short Guide to the Conduct and Procedure of Meetings.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hannington, Wal 1896 births 1966 deaths British Socialist Party members Communist Party of Great Britain members British trade unionists People from Camden Town Place of death missing