Walter Holmes (1892 – 1973) was a British communist activist and journalist. In 1912, Holmes found work in a chemical plant in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. He became a supporter of Sylvia Pankhurst, and worked with her to support

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, and later to opposed

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 ...

. In 1916, Holmes began volunteering for the Fabian Research Bureau, but was imprisoned as 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 ...

, and only released in 1919. On release, Holmes became associated with the

guild socialist Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...

movement. 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 became a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, and a leading figure in the Guild Communist faction of the

National Guilds League Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...

. This became a founding part 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 ...

(CPGB), in which Holmes remained active. During the early 1920s, Holmes worked as a journalist for the ''

Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

''. He married

Dona Torr Dona Ruth Anne Torr (April 28, 1883January 8, 1957) was a British Marxist historian, and a major influence on the famous Communist Party Historians Group. Aside from her translations of many Marxist classics into English, she is perhaps best kno ...

, the newspaper's librarian. In 1928, he took over from William Paul as the editor of the CPGB's own ''Sunday Worker'' newspaper, serving until 1930, when it was replaced by 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 ...

''. He became a full-time correspondent for the new paper, writing the regular "Workers Notebook" column, and serving as a war correspondent in Manchuria, and later in Ethiopia - the only British journalist to remain in Ethiopia throughout the Italian invasion. In 1941, the ''Daily Worker'' was banned, and Holmes set up the Industrial and General Information Service as a temporary replacement. The ban was soon lifted, and Holmes returned to working for the ''Daily Worker'', also serving as chair of the paper's Communist Party Committee. He was the paper's correspondent at the

Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

, and remained with the paper until his retirement in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Walter 1892 births 1973 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members English journalists