Victor George Wilcox (6 November 1912 – 29 April 1989) was a New Zealand farmer and trade unionist who was secretary-general of the

Communist Party of New Zealand The Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ) was a communist party in New Zealand which existed from 1921 to 1994. Although spurred to life by events in Soviet Russia in the aftermath of World War I, the party had roots in pre-existing revolutiona ...

Biography

Early life

Wilcox was born in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England on 6 November 1912 to William Wilcox, a railway shunter, and his wife Kathleen Sage. In the mid-1920s, the Wilcoxs emigrated to New Zealand with his family. His father took up dairy farming at

Waiharara Waiharara is a community at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through the community. To the west is Aupouri Forest, and beyond that Ninety Mile Beach. To the east is Rangaunu Harbour. Houhora i ...

in Northland while Vic was educated at

Takapuna Grammar School Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Devo ...

. After completing his education Wilcox worked on farms in Northland. There he became involved with the Waiharara branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union and he served as its secretary from 1936 until 1939. He partook in many sports in his youth including rugby and tennis, later in life he took a keen interest in horse racing. Wilcox married Ann Richards on 21 June 1940 and would later have one daughter. Then during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Wilcox served as a clerk in the Royal New Zealand Air Force starting May 1942. In October 1943 he was transferred to the reserve list on grounds of ill health.

Political career

After spending much time unemployed during the Great Depression, Wilcox read wide ranges of Marxist literature and became convinced that the economic models used in the Soviet Union were a better model than those used in New Zealand at the time. In 1933 he formed a branch of the

Friends of the Soviet Union The International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the Communist International in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world. It grew out ...

and in 1934 he joined the

(CPNZ). By 1941 he was a member of the national committee of the CPNZ and later joined the national executive in 1946 as treasurer. In 1951 Wilcox succeeded

Sid Scott Sidney Wilfred Scott (20 July 1900 – 17 September 1970) was a New Zealand communist, journalist and editor. Biography He was born in Ifield, Sussex, England in 1900. On 14 July 1928 police seized books and papers of "seditious nature" fro ...

as general secretary, the highest position in the CPNZ. He stood unsuccessfully for the CPNZ for the electorate in , and , in and in both and . Wilcox's poll of 534 (4.1%) in Arch Hill in 1946 was highest ever vote for a communist candidate in New Zealand. Wilcox also stood in

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

in Auckland, receiving better results. He secured over 3,000 votes in his campaign for Auckland's mayoralty in 1947. In 1960 a rift opened between pro-Soviet and pro-China members in the CPNZ during the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...

. As leader Wilcox aligned the CPNZ with China. In 1966 one-third of the party membership left to form the pro-Soviet Socialist Unity Party (SUP). Wilcox regularly visited China and was frequently a welcome guest of leaders including

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

and

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

Later life and death

Wilcox continued his political activity in old age via the New Zealand China Friendship Society before dying of cancer at his home in Henderson, Auckland, on 29 April 1989. He was survived by his wife and daughter. His funeral ceremony took place in a green garden in the Waitakere foothills where his brother-in-law Mark Richards (a poet) read a poem by communist

Rewi Alley Rewi Alley (known in China as 路易•艾黎, Lùyì Àilí, 2 December 1897 – 27 December 1987) was a New Zealand-born writer and political activist. A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years of his life to the cause a ...

in tribute to Wilcox and the attendees sang "

The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of t ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Victor George 1912 births 1989 deaths New Zealand communists British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand trade unionists New Zealand farmers People from Willesden Unsuccessful candidates in the 1946 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election New Zealand military personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in New Zealand