John Ross Campbell (14 October 1894 – 18 September 1969) was a British communist activist and

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. Campbell is best remembered as the principal in the Campbell Case. In 1924, Campbell was charged under the Incitement to Mutiny Act for an article published in the paper '' Workers' Weekly''. Campbell called on British soldiers to "let it be known that, neither in the class war nor in a military war, will you turn your guns on your fellow workers, but instead will line up with your fellow workers in an attack upon the exploiters and capitalists." The decision by the Labour government of Prime Minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

to withdraw prosecution of Campbell lead to the loss of a

confidence vote A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, forcing the elections which ended the first Labour government in October 1924. Campbell remained a top leader and leading public figure associated with the British Communist Party from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Early years

Campbell was born on 15 October 1894 in Paisley, Scotland. 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 ...

in 1912. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served in the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...

and was wounded in active service. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in battle. Following the war, Campbell returned to Scotland and was active in the

Clyde Workers' Committee The Clyde Workers Committee was formed to campaign against the Munitions Act. It was originally called the ''Labour Withholding Committee''. The leader of the CWC was Willie Gallacher, who was jailed under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 to ...

. From 1921 to 1924 he edited its newspaper, ''The Worker''. He followed the

into the newly formed

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 CPGB ...

(CPGB), of which he was a founding member, and served on its Central Committee from its re-organisation in 1923. Campbell and his close associate Willie Gallacher were joint secretaries of the British Bureau of the

Red International of Labour Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (russian: Красный интернационал профсоюзов, translit=Krasnyi internatsional profsoyuzov, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Comm ...

, with

Tom Mann Thomas Mann (15 April 1856 – 13 March 1941), was an English trade unionist and is widely recognised as a leading, pioneering figure for the early labour movement in Britain. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a ...

chairman of the organisation.

The Campbell Case of 1924

In 1924, Campbell moved to London to become acting editor of the CPGB's ''Workers' Weekly'' newspaper. On 25 July 1924, Campbell published an article entitled "An Open Letter to Fighting Forces", which called on the armed forces to unite to form "the nucleus of an organisation that will prepare the whole of the soldiers, sailors and airmen, not merely to refuse to go to war, or to refuse to shoot strikers during industrial conflicts, but will make it possible for the workers, peasants and soldiers and airmen to go forward in a common attack upon the capitalists and smash capitalism for ever, and institute the reign of the whole working class." Cited in . The article, written anonymously by

Harry Pollitt Harry Pollitt (22 November 1890 – 27 June 1960) was a British communist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from 1929 to September 1939 and again from 1941 until his death in 1960. Pollitt spent ...

, together with a similar article published on 1 August 1924, was the basis for Campbell being charged under the Incitement to Mutiny Act of 1797. This became known as the "Campbell Case", and when the first Labour government dropped the prosecution, the combined

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

opposition won a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, which in turn led to the 1924 general election. Campbell defended the Communist Party's decision to publish the aggressive articles in a pamphlet published late in 1924:

... e Communist Party of Great Britain had to call attention to the fact that the Labour Government, while talking of its attachment to the cause of peace, was continuing the policy of previous imperialist governments. We had to expose to the Labour movement the true nature of this policy and to ask the Labour movement, if it was sincerely opposed to war, to fight war by all the means in its power. On the question of armaments, we advocated the policy of no credits for capitalist armaments. On the question of empire, we advocated that the Labour movement should force the government to abandon the brutal and cowardly repression of the struggling colonial peoples. We asserted that the Labour Government could prove its attachment to peace in a practical fashion, by publishing the secret treaties and the secret war plans in the archives of the Foreign and War Offices.

Later political career

In 1925, Campbell was one of twelve 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. He was sentenced to six months in prison, but was released before the

UK general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...

of May 1926. Campbell was elected to the Executive Committee of the

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

in 1928, and used the opportunity to argue against its hostility to joint work with the Labour Party. During the 1930s, Campbell was one of the public figures most closely identified with the CPGB in the public eye, along with

and Willie Gallacher. In 1931, he unsuccessfully fought a by-election in the safe Labour seat of Ogmore in Wales, and would fight the same seat in the

1931 general election Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – ...

, this time finishing in third place to the Conservatives. In 1932, Campbell became the foreign editor of the CPGB's ''

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 ...

'' newspaper, then later in the decade became its assistant editor, and in 1939 served briefly as its editor. In that same year, he published ''Soviet Policy and Its Critics'', largely a defence of the

Moscow Trials The Moscow trials were a series of show trials held by the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938 at the instigation of Joseph Stalin. They were nominally directed against " Trotskyists" and members of " Right Opposition" of the Communist Party o ...

, having spent a year in Moscow observing the events. On 3 September 1939, Prime Minister

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeaseme ...

spoke to the nation on the BBC, announcing the declaration of war between Britain and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Along with CPGB leader

, Campbell sought to portray the conflict against

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

as a continuation of the

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

fight. However, backed with the knowledge of the details of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

and seeking to preserve the Soviet Union by turning Hitler's attention to Western Europe, the Comintern quickly signalled that the conflict was to be portrayed by the world communist movement as an "Imperialist War" between two more or less equally culpable blocs of capitalist nations. Pollitt and Campbell remained opposed to this interpretation of the conflict. On 2 and 3 October the governing Central Committee of the CPGB met and voted 21–3 in favour of the Communist International's "Imperialist War" thesis. Pollitt was removed from his position as general secretary and Campbell as ''Daily Worker'' editor at that time, although the cashiering of the third member of the minority, Willie Gallacher, the CPGB's only Member of Parliament, was considered unthinkable. Neither Pollitt nor Campbell publicly fought the party over its new

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

-determined orientation and neither was expelled for their dissent. When the party line on the war changed once again following Hitler's invasion of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

in June 1941, both Pollitt and Campbell were restored to the party's good graces. From 1949 to 1959, Campbell again served as editor of the ''Daily Worker''. In 1956, he supported the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, although in 1968 he condemned the

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

. In the 1951 general election he stood against

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

in the Woodford constituency, gaining 871 votes (1.34 per cent). Campbell died on 18 September 1969.

Published works

* ''Direct Action: An Outline of Workshop and Social Organisation.'' With William Gallacher. Glasgow: Scottish Workers' Committees, 1919. * ''My Case.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d.

924 __NOTOC__ Year 924 ( CMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Forces led by Simeon I, ruler (''knyaz'') ...

* ''What Is the Use of Parliament? The Limitations of Parliamentary Democracy as Disclosed in the General Election, 1924.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. . 1925 * ''The Communist Party on Trial: J.R. Campbell's Defence: The Speech for the Defence.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d.

925 Year 925 ( CMXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May 15 – Nicholas I Mystikos, twice the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constanti ...

* ''Communism and Industrial Peace.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1928. * ''Red Politics in the Trade Unions: Who Are the Disrupters?'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1928. * ''Is Labour Lost? The New Labour Party's Programme Examined.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1928. * ''Rationalisation and British Industry.'' London: Trinity Trust, 1928. * ''Preparing for Revolt.'' With N. Lenin. London: Modern Books, 1929. * ''Only Communism Can Conquer Unemployment: A Reply to Lloyd George and Others.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. 929 * ''Arguments of the Opponents of the United Front in England.'' London: Modern Books, 1936. * ''Peace — But How? A Workshop Talk.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. . 1936 * ''Spain Organises for Victory: The Policy of the Communist Party of Spain.'' With Jesús Hernández and Joan Comorera. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. 937 * ''Spain's "Left" Critics.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1937. * ''Questions and Answers on Communism.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1938. * ''Soviet Policy and Its Critics.'' London: Victor Gollancz, 1939. * ''Doing Well Out of the War?'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1941. * ''Russia's Way to Victory.'' London: Modern Books, n.d.

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* ''Socialism through Victory: A Reply to the Policy of the ILP.'' Glasgow: Scottish District Committee, Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d.

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* ''Disquiet on the Home Front.'' London: Trinity Trust, 1943. * ''The War Worker and the Second Front.'' London: Trinity Trust, 1944. * ''Trotskyist Saboteurs.'' London: Daily Worker League, 1944. * ''The Plan of British Socialism.'' London: Trinity Trust, 1944. * ''Post War "Daily Worker" Conference, 12 May: J.R. Campbell Reports.'' London: Daily Worker League, n.d.

945 Year 945 ( CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barel ...

* ''Over to Peace: Communist Policy for the Conversion of Industry.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1945. * ''The Communist Answer to the Challenge of our Time: A Reprint of the Lectures.'' With John Lewis, J.D. Bernal, Randall Swingler, B. Farrington, and H. Levy. London: Thames, 1947. * ''A Socialist Solution to the Crisis.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. 948 * ''William Rust, A Fighter for the People.'' With William Rust. London: Peoples' Press Printing Society, 1949. * ''The Story of the Daily Worker.'' With William Rust and Allen Hunt.'' London: Peoples' Press Printing Society, 1949. * ''Welfare State or Warfare State? An Appeal to Every Sincere Labour Man and Woman.'' With Harry Pollitt and R. Palme Dutt. London : People's Press Printing Society, n.d.

950 Year 950 ( CML) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: A Hamdanid army (30,000 men) led by Sayf al-Dawla raids int ...

* ''Creative Marxism versus Vulgar "Marxism."'' New York: American Marxist Association, 1955. * ''Some Economic Illusions in the Labour Movement.'' London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1959. * ''Robert Burns "the Democrat" (1759–1959).'' Glasgow: Communist Party, Scottish Committee, n.d. 959 * ''40 Fighting Years: The Communist Record, 1920 – 1960: Some Highlights in the Life of the Communist Party of Great Britain.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1960. * ''The Case for Higher Wages: The Incomes Policy Racket Exposed.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1963. * ''Hands Off the Trade Unions.'' London: Communist Party of Great Britain, 1965.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

John Ross Campbell Archive
at the

Marxist Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John Ross 1894 births 1969 deaths British newspaper editors British Socialist Party members Communist Party of Great Britain members Executive Committee of the Communist International Recipients of the Military Medal Writers from Paisley, Renfrewshire