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Cecil John L'Estrange Malone (7 September 1890 – 25 February 1965) was a British politician and pioneer naval aviator who served as the United Kingdom's first
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 ...
member of parliament.


Early years and military service

Malone was born in
Dalton Holme Dalton Holme a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England. It is situated to the north-west from the market town of Beverley and covering an area of . It is made up of two villages, South Dalton and Holme on the Wolds, which over ...
, a parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on 7 September 1890. He was the son of the Reverend Savile L'Estrange Malone and Frances Mary Faljomb. He was related to the sisters Constance Markievicz and Eva Gore-Booth. Malone was educated at
Cordwalles School St Piran's is a prep school located on Gringer Hill in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The school was known as Cordwalles School until 1919 and has been co-educational since the 1990s. History The origin of St Piran's was in 1805 at a small sc ...
in
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
before joining the Royal Navy in 1905 and went through officer training at
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
. On 15 March 1910, he was confirmed as a
sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...
having previously been acting in that rank. In 1911, he was part of the second course approved by the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...
to attend
Naval Flying School, Eastchurch Royal Air Force Eastchurch or more simply RAF Eastchurch (formerly RNAS Eastchurch) is a former Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the fi ...
. He was promoted to lieutenant from sub-lieutenant on 15 December 1911. Malone earned his Royal Aero Club certificate ( No. 195) on 12 March 1912. In the
Army Manoeuvres of 1912 The Army Manoeuvres of 1912 was the last military exercise of its kind conducted by the British Army before the outbreak of the First World War. (The Army Manoeuvres of 1913 were on a much smaller scale.) In the manoeuvres, Sir James Grierson decis ...
, Malone flew a twin-engined triple-screwed
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biplane. He is also noted for flying off the forecastle of steaming . During the First World War, Malone commanded
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
(RNAS) planes in the
Cuxhaven Raid The Raid on Cuxhaven (german: link=no, Weihnachtsangriff, Christmas Raid) was a British ship-based Airstrike, air-raid on the Imperial German Navy at Cuxhaven mounted on Christmas Day, 1914. Aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service were carried ...
on 25 December 1914. From August 1914 to March 1915, he captained , a cross-channel steamer converted to a seaplane carrier. From March 1915 to April 1916, he captained , another steamer converted to a seaplane carrier. Under Malone's command, seaplanes from ''Ben-my-Chree'' were the first on record to carry torpedoes and they torpedoed three enemy vessels in 1916. Malone then took over command of the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron, for which he was awarded the Fourth Class of the Order of the Nile. Malone was appointed to the Plans Division of the Admiralty in 1918 before becoming the First British Air Attache at the Embassy of the United Kingdom, Paris. In this capacity, he was the Air Representative of the
Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution and w ...
in Versailles in 1918. He was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his war efforts.


Early political career

Malone was elected as the Coalition Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for East Leyton at the 1918 general election. He was a member of the
anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
Reconstruction Society and wrote a number of articles strongly criticising left-wing activists. As Adams and Wilson wrote, "his early career contained no hint of his subsequent espousal of the communist cause." On 13 September 1919, with a
passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
endorsed by the British
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
in hand, Cecil Malone embarked on the ''S.S. Arcturus'' for Helsinki. There Malone, who intended to visit Soviet Russia despite the blockade of the country, unexpectedly met up with another individual planning on crossing over to
Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. After travelling by sea and land to the border, the pair managed to cross the frontier through deserted forests and marshland by foot, arriving at the Soviet border on Sunday, 28 September. The two arrived in Petrograd by train at 6 pm the following day. Malone met and spoke with key leaders of the trade union movement in Petrograd before proceeding by train to Moscow. In Moscow, Malone met with Maxim Litvinov, then a top official in the
People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of External Relations (MER) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (russian: Министерство иностранных дел СССР) was founded on 6 July 1923. It had three names during its existence: People's Co ...
, with whom he had a long discussion. He later met for an hour with foreign minister Georgii Chicherin. Malone's new friends arranged for him to accompany Red Army leader Leon Trotsky on an inspection of troops at
Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains *Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...
aboard Trotsky's special train. Accompanying Malone on the trip were the head of the
Supreme Council of National Economy Supreme Board of the National Economy, Superior Board of the People's Economy, (Высший совет народного хозяйства, ВСНХ, ''Vysshiy sovet narodnogo khozyaystva'', VSNKh) was the superior state institution for managem ...
(VSNKh),
Alexei Rykov Alexei Ivanovich Rykov (25 February 188115 March 1938) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician and statesman, most prominent as premier of Russia and the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1929 and 1924 to 1930 respectively. He wa ...
; chief of food supply for the Russian Republic, Alexander Tsiurupa; and People's Commissar of Education Anatoly Lunacharsky. During his visit, detailed in his memoir, Malone toured factories and theatres, power stations and government offices. He found the mission of the Bolshevik government in attempting economic reconstruction to be compelling and emerged from his trip a committed communist. "The history of Allied negotiations and transactions with Russia appears to have been a chain of catastrophes and mistakes" he wrote:
"... seems there was a culpable lack of foresight in visualizing the forces behind the Revolution. Every effort was made by Lenin and Trotsky to bring about peace with the Allies. They were prepared to refuse to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, and instead to continue the fight on the side of the Allies, but the Allies refused to recognize them ... Various interventional operations, mostly carried out on the plea of protecting Russia against the invasion from Germany, were inaugurated, but really, as we now see, they were carried out in the interests of the capitalist class in Russia. It seems incredible that such slender excuses for intervention should have been allowed to hold good for so long.... w we find ourselves supporting partisan leaders in Russia by the supply of arms and munitions at the expense of the British taxpayer, and in addition we find our Government carrying on an inhuman and illegal blockade against the Russian people, the result of which during the coming winter months will indeed be terrible."
Upon his return to England, Malone became active in the '' Hands Off Russia'' campaign, and in November 1919 he officially joined the proto-Communist
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 ...
(BSP). Malone was soon being elected to the party's leadership through the patronage of
Theodore Rothstein Theodore Rothstein (russian: Фёдор Аронович Ротштейн, ''Fyodor Aronovich Rotshteyn''; 14 February 1871 30 August 1953) was a Soviet politician, journalist, writer and communist. He served as a Soviet ambassador in the 1920s. ...
. In the summer of 1920, the BSP became the main constituent 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), and as a result, Malone became the first CPGB MP. He attended the London Communist Unity Convention held 31 July and 1 August 1921, at which he was elected to the new party's governing Central Committee. Malone's sudden conversion to revolutionary politics brought more questions than answers, and its genuineness was questioned. John Maclean claimed that Malone was a counter-revolutionary sent to disrupt the workers' movement, and he refused to speak alongside Malone. Official CPGB historian James Klugmann saw Malone as a leading figure in the party's first year of existence:
"In the first months of the Party's existence Col. Malone was very active not only in Parliament, but addressing mass meetings and rallies all over the country. Whatever his theoretical weaknesses, he was a man of passion, moved by the revolutionary tremors that were shaking the world, full of wrath and indignation against the powers that be, and after a fiery speech in the Albert Hall on November 7, 1920, he was charged with
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
under Regulation 42 of the Defense of the Realm Act ... was sentenced to six months in the Second Division."
The line which landed Malone in jail related to his argument that during a revolutionary crisis, excesses might occur resulting in the killing of some prominent members of the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
. "What are a few
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 1 ...
s or a few
Curzon Curzon may refer to: People Americans * Aria Curzon (born 1987), American actress * Walter de Curzon Poultney (1845–1929), one of Baltimore, Maryland's most colorful and flamboyant high-society members Britons * Christopher Curzon (born 1958), ...
s on lampposts compared to the massacre of thousands of human beings?", Malone asked his audience. Despite Malone's prosecution, the Communist Party did not disavow Malone's rhetorical flourish, going so far as to publish an official party pamphlet, entitled ''What are a Few Churchills?'' in January 1921. He was stripped of his
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
on 24 June 1921. Malone came to the attention of
Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
, whose role it was to combat "Bolshevik subversion". He was frequently mentioned in reports to the cabinet on ''Revolutionary Organisations in the United Kingdom''. Malone worked to promote the affiliation of the CPGB to the Labour Party, which was under consideration as a tactical matter, urged by Lenin. Malone was particularly keen and stated "There are still a few differences between the Communist Party and the Labour Party. I am glad to realise, however, that this will soon be settled by affiliation".


Later political and military career

Malone dissociated himself from the Communist Party of Great Britain and joined the Independent Labour Party, which was affiliated to the Labour Party, in 1922. He was the Labour candidate for Ashton-under-Lyne in the 1924 general election, but was unsuccessful. However, following the death of Arthur Holland in 1927, Malone was elected as MP for
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
in the ensuing 1928 by-election. He was re-elected at the 1929 general election, and served in
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 ...
's government as the
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
to the Minister of Pensions, Frederick Roberts, in 1931. He was not re-elected in the 1931 general election. Malone returned to military service in the Second World War. In 1942 he was the staff officer to the chief warden of the City of Westminster Civil Defence. From 1943 to 1945 he served in the Admiralty Small Vessels Pool. Following the end of the war in 1945, he became the Vice President of the
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
, the founder and chairman of the Radio Association, and a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. By the time of his death his publications included ''The Russian Republic'', ''New China'', and ''Manchukuo: Jewel of Asia''.


Later life

Malone married Leah Kay in 1921. After her death, he remarried in 1956. He died on 25 February 1965, aged 74.


References


External links

* *
Documents relating to Cecil Malone held at the National Archives of the United Kingdom
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Cecillestrange 1890 births 1965 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Socialist Party members Independent Labour Party MPs People stripped of a British Commonwealth honour People from Dalton Holme UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Communist Party of Great Britain MPs Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal Navy officers Military personnel from Yorkshire Royal Navy personnel of World War I