Ernest John Bartlett Allen
Encyclopedia
Ernest John Bartlett Allen (29 March 1884 – 16 June 1945) was a British
socialist active in the United Kingdom
and New Zealand
.
Allen was born in South Hinksey
, Berkshire
(now Oxfordshire
) and graduated from Oxford University. He joined the Social Democratic Federation
in 1900, and in May 1904 participated in the Provisional Committee which led to the founding in June of the Socialist Party of Great Britain
. During the first few years of its existence Allen was very active in the SPGB, speaking at both indoor and outdoor venues and writing for the Socialist Standard
. He was also a member of the Executive Committee from 1905 to 1906, secretary of Fulham
branch from 1904 to 1906, and Chairman of the Party's first Conference in April 1905.
Allen was in favour of setting up socialist trade union
s, a policy which was gradually defeated, and in line with this in mid-1906 he joined the Socialist Labour Party
. Although this was contrary to Party rules his membership was allowed to lapse on 23 October 1906 rather than being expelled. His final connection with the SPGB was on 20 January 1907 when he represented the SLP in a debate with Jack Fitzgerald
in Plumstead
.
In 1907 he was a leading member of the British Advocates of Industrial Unionism, being editor of their journal The Industrial Unionist and London Branches Secretary. He was expelled in 1908 for anti-parliamentarianism. Taking with him six London branches, the Tredegar branch, and assorted members, he formed the Industrialist League. He was National Organiser of this group, editor of The Industrialist, and wrote their pamphlet Revolutionary Unionism in 1909. Associated with Allen in the AIU and the Industrial League was Les Boyne, an early member (1904–1906) of the SPGB.
Around December 1908 he moved to Honley
in the Colne Valley
, where he was resident until 1912. Here he became a supporter of Victor Grayson
. He spoke in Chicago
with Malatesta
in October 1908 and with Rudolf Rocker
at the Charlotte Street Club in London
the following month. In 1910 he was expelled from the Industrialist League because of his association with Grayson. The South West Solidarity website reports rather alarmingly that he “mysteriously disappeared” in 1912 and his revolutionary talk “may have cost him his life to the secret service”. In reality he moved to London to become assistant secretary of Tom Mann
’s Industrial Syndicalist Education League
(the most important pre-war syndicalist organisation) and assistant editor of their journal The Syndicalist. Also in the ISEL at this time was fellow SPGB founder member George Hicks
.
Two years later he emigrated with Mann to New Zealand
, where he became Assistant Editor (later Editor) of the Maoriland Worker
. He lost this position shortly after the outbreak of the First World War because he supported the war and conscription
and was expelled from the movement. By 1919 he was writing again for the Maoriland Worker. During the interwar years he was a supporter of the New Zealand Labour Party
, writing the pamphlet Labour and Politics in 1922, as well as speaking for the New Zealand Rationalist Association and writing many articles for their journal, the New Zealand Rationalist. During this period he assisted John A. Lee
, President of the Labour Party, in his attempt to enter parliament.
Despite his degree Allen did not have a professional career, working in the 1920s variously as an unskilled labourer, clerk and driver. He died in Auckland
on 16 June 1945.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
socialist active in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Allen was born in South Hinksey
South Hinksey
South Hinksey is a village and civil parish just over south of the centre of Oxford. The parish includes the residential area of Hinksey Hill about south of the village....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
(now Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
) and graduated from Oxford University. He joined the Social Democratic Federation
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
in 1900, and in May 1904 participated in the Provisional Committee which led to the founding in June of the Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
. During the first few years of its existence Allen was very active in the SPGB, speaking at both indoor and outdoor venues and writing for the Socialist Standard
Socialist Standard
The Socialist Standard is a monthly socialist magazine published without interruption since 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain. The magazine is written in a simple, direct style and focuses mainly on socialist advocacy and Marxian analysis of current events, particularly those affecting...
. He was also a member of the Executive Committee from 1905 to 1906, secretary of Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
branch from 1904 to 1906, and Chairman of the Party's first Conference in April 1905.
Allen was in favour of setting up socialist trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, a policy which was gradually defeated, and in line with this in mid-1906 he joined the Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)
The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
. Although this was contrary to Party rules his membership was allowed to lapse on 23 October 1906 rather than being expelled. His final connection with the SPGB was on 20 January 1907 when he represented the SLP in a debate with Jack Fitzgerald
Jack Fitzgerald
Jack Fitzgerald was a founder member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain.“Fitz”, as he was known, was a very well known indoor and outdoor speaker for Party—two of his debates were issued as pamphlets: The Socialist Party and the Liberal Party and Socialism and Tariff Reform —and was a...
in Plumstead
Plumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
.
In 1907 he was a leading member of the British Advocates of Industrial Unionism, being editor of their journal The Industrial Unionist and London Branches Secretary. He was expelled in 1908 for anti-parliamentarianism. Taking with him six London branches, the Tredegar branch, and assorted members, he formed the Industrialist League. He was National Organiser of this group, editor of The Industrialist, and wrote their pamphlet Revolutionary Unionism in 1909. Associated with Allen in the AIU and the Industrial League was Les Boyne, an early member (1904–1906) of the SPGB.
Around December 1908 he moved to Honley
Honley
Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield situated on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. In 2001 it had a population of 5,897 according to the census.-Education:...
in the Colne Valley
Colne Valley
The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward along the floor of the valley....
, where he was resident until 1912. Here he became a supporter of Victor Grayson
Victor Grayson
Albert Victor Grayson was an English socialist politician of the early 20th century. A Member of Parliament from 1907 to 1910, his sudden and still-unexplained disappearance in 1920 is widely believed to have been the result of his intention to reveal evidence of corruption at the highest levels...
. He spoke in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with Malatesta
Malatesta
Malatesta may refer to:*The House of Malatesta, an Italian family which ruled over Rimini from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century*Errico Malatesta , an Italian anarchist*Malatesta , a 1970 German film...
in October 1908 and with Rudolf Rocker
Rudolf Rocker
Johann Rudolf Rocker was an anarcho-syndicalist writer and activist. A self-professed anarchist without adjectives, Rocker believed that anarchist schools of thought represented "only different methods of economy" and that the first objective for anarchists was "to secure the personal and social...
at the Charlotte Street Club in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
the following month. In 1910 he was expelled from the Industrialist League because of his association with Grayson. The South West Solidarity website reports rather alarmingly that he “mysteriously disappeared” in 1912 and his revolutionary talk “may have cost him his life to the secret service”. In reality he moved to London to become assistant secretary of Tom Mann
Tom Mann
Tom Mann was a noted British trade unionist. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a popular public speaker in the labour movement.-Early years:...
’s Industrial Syndicalist Education League
Industrial Syndicalist Education League
The Industrial Syndicalist Education League was a British syndicalist organisation which existed from 1910 to 1913.In May 1910 Guy Bowman and Tom Mann, two dissident members of the Social Democratic Federation travelled to France visiting members of the syndicalist General Confederation of...
(the most important pre-war syndicalist organisation) and assistant editor of their journal The Syndicalist. Also in the ISEL at this time was fellow SPGB founder member George Hicks
George Hicks
Ernest George Hicks was a British trades unionist and Labour Party politician.Hicks was born in 1879 in Venham Dean, Hampshire. Along with fellow bricklayers Jack Fitzgerald and F. K. Cadman, he was one of the founding members of the Socialist Party of Great Britain in June 1904...
.
Two years later he emigrated with Mann to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where he became Assistant Editor (later Editor) of the Maoriland Worker
Maoriland Worker
The Maoriland Worker was a leading New Zealand labour journal of the early 20th century. It was initially published monthly.It was launched in 1910 by the Shearers Union, and was soon taken over by the New Zealand Federation of Labour and became the official organ of the federation.The journal...
. He lost this position shortly after the outbreak of the First World War because he supported the war and conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and was expelled from the movement. By 1919 he was writing again for the Maoriland Worker. During the interwar years he was a supporter of the New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
, writing the pamphlet Labour and Politics in 1922, as well as speaking for the New Zealand Rationalist Association and writing many articles for their journal, the New Zealand Rationalist. During this period he assisted John A. Lee
John A. Lee
John Alfred Alexander Lee DCM was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialists in New Zealand's political history.-Early life:...
, President of the Labour Party, in his attempt to enter parliament.
Despite his degree Allen did not have a professional career, working in the 1920s variously as an unskilled labourer, clerk and driver. He died in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
on 16 June 1945.