Fred Copeman
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
volunteer in the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, commanding the British Battalion
British Battalion
The British Battalion was the 16th battalion of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.- Early volunteers :A number of British volunteers, including Tom Wintringham and Nat Cohen, arrived in Spain during August-September 1936 and formed the Tom Mann Centuria - a rifle company in...
. He is also notable for organising 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...
's air raid defences during the Second World War, an achievement which earned him the OBE.
Childhood
Fred Copeman was born in the WangfordWangford
Wangford is a village in Suffolk, England, just off the A12 trunk road on the edge of the Henham Park estate just outside Southwold. .Wangford is connected to the rest of Suffolk by two main roads...
Union Workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
near Beccles
Beccles
Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the Waveney District of the English county of Suffolk. The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 Blythburgh and A12 road, northeast of London as the crow flies, southeast of Norwich, and north northeast of the county town of...
in East Suffolk, England, in 1907. His mother and brother, George, were also residents. Initially, the Copeman brothers were the only children in the workhouse but, in 1916, Fred (aged nine) and George were moved from the workhouse to the Children's Home in Ravensmere Road, Beccles. It was here that Copeman befriended his first dog, a stray he called "Bonnie". Shortly, afterwards, George was sent to Canada to make a fresh start by the children's charity, Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
, and Fred "never saw nor heard of him [again]".
Training
The focus of care at the time was to make boys swiftly self-sufficient and so, aged 12, Copeman was sent to Watts Naval SchoolWatts Naval School
Watts Naval School was originally the Norfolk County School, a public school set up to serve the educational needs of the 'sons of farmers and artisans'...
at North Elmham
North Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households as of the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, to prepare for a life at sea. After two years, he was duly enlisted in the Royal Navy and was sent to HMS Ganges
RNTE Shotley
RNTE Shotley, known in the Royal Navy as HMS Ganges, was a naval training establishment at Shotley, near Ipswich in Suffolk. Starting in 1905, it trained boys for naval service until it closed in 1976, following the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16...
, an onshore naval training base near Shotley
Shotley, Suffolk
Shotley is the parish giving its name to the peninsula between the River Orwell and the River Stour in Suffolk. The village of the same name is located about a mile northwest from the tip of the peninsula where the larger Shotley Gate village is...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. HMS Ganges had a mixed reputation in the Royal Navy, both for its reputed harsh methods of training boys in order to turn out professionally able, self-reliant ratings and for the professionalism of its former trainees. From HMS Ganges, Copeman was sent to the Mediterranean Fleet, which was based in Malta. The poverty of the Maltese had a profound impression on him. It was here that he learned to box, earning money as a heavyweight prizefighter. He also narrowly missed the chance to become an officer, spending three weeks in Malta's Corradina prison for "a practical joke" that went wrong.
Invergordon Mutiny, September 1931
In September 1931, as part of its attempts to deal with the Great DepressionGreat Depression in the United Kingdom
The Great Depression in the United Kingdom, also known as the Great Slump, was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s, which had its origins in the global Great Depression...
, the new National Government launched cuts to public spending. Navy spending cuts were translated into a 10% pay cut (matching 10% cuts across the board for public sector workers). However, the cuts were not applied equally to all ranks. Sailors of the Atlantic Fleet, arriving at Invergordon
Invergordon
Invergordon is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it was also known for the repair of oil rigs which used to be lined up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated...
(on the Cromarty Firth
Cromarty Firth
The Cromarty Firth of Cromarty') is an arm of the North Sea in Scotland. It is the middle of the three sea lochs at the head of the Moray Firth: to the north lies the Dornoch Firth, and to the south the Beauly Firth....
in Scotland) in the afternoon of Friday 11 September, learned about the cuts from newspaper reports. Copeman - then a 24-year-old able seaman serving on the HMS Norfolk - succinctly describes the causes of the mutiny:
It came... as a complete surprise when newspapers were read throughout the ships, indicating that in most cases the lower ranks would lose more than the senior ranks. The actual [pay] reductions were: - Admiral, 7 per cent; Lieut. Commdr., 3.7 per cent; Chief Petty Officer, 11.8 per cent; and Able Seaman, 23 per cent.
The mutiny lasted two days (15–16 September 1931). Copeman, with another able seaman - Len Wincott
Len Wincott
Len Wincott was an English sailor, mutineer and communist activist who later defected to the Soviet Union.-Childhood and early Naval career:...
- became a member of the Norfolks strike committee. Although the mutiny was entirely peaceful, the Royal Navy imprisoned dozens of the ringleaders and dismissed hundreds more, Copeman among them. In Crusade in Spain, Jason Gurney
Jason Gurney
Jason Gurney was a British sculptor who fought in the Spanish Civil War.He was with the International Brigades from December 1936 to August 1937. During that time, he served in the British Battalion, the Lincoln Battalion and XIV International Brigade staff. He was wounded in the right hand by a...
notes that Copeman was not charged, suggesting that his role must have been far more minor than the leader he presented himself to have been. Alan Ereira
Alan Ereira
-Biography:Ereira worked at the BBC on television and radio since 1965 contributing documentaries to the Timewatch strand amongst others.He has been awarded the Japan Prize for his 1978 documentary on the Battle of the Somme, and the Royal Television Society Best Documentary Series award for his...
says that Copeman was one of the eight ringleaders "hustled outside the dockyard gates with 13 s[hillings] and a rail way wararnt" According to Ereira, "Some of the men were seen crying outside the dockyard at Devonport. They were reduced to beggary."
Copeman himself reflected on the event later:
[The mutiny] was a turning point ... I began to understand the meaning of leadership and - even more important - the meaning of politics. Although the mutiny was not, in the minds of those who took part in it, political, I could not fail to be affected politically by it. The Communist Party had not neglected to notice those who taken any leading part at Invergordon. Wincott immediately started work in the International Labour Defence, an organisation in the control of the Communist PartyCommunist Party of Great BritainThe Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. Some months later, I myself linked up with it and both of us finally joined the Party itself. Most politicians are egoists and I more than most. At Invergordon, I had tasted leadership and felt the thrill of power, which came from the willing support of thousands of followers. The Party were quick to observe this and to draw me into active association with them. It was not long before I was in the thick of the political battle on their side and liking it.
Union activist
Shortly after being discharged from the Royal Navy, Copeman became a member of the National Unemployed Workers' MovementNational Unemployed Workers' Movement
The National Unemployed Workers' Movement was a British organisation set up in 1921 by members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It aimed to draw attention to the plight of unemployed workers during the post World War I slump, the 1926 General Strike and later the Great Depression, and to...
. He organised pickets and demonstrations at Employment Exchanges and elsewhere. In 1933, he was imprisoned in Wandsworth Prison
Wandsworth (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south west London, England. It is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is the largest prison in London and one of the largest in western Europe, with similar capacity to Liverpool...
for two months for breaking a government ban on marches. He repeated the offence on being re-released, for which he was sentenced to a further three months, in Brixton Prison
Brixton (HM Prison)
HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
. A few months later, he was again arrested and imprisoned for four months, in Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
, this time at hard labour.
Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
Along with many other Communist Party members, Copeman decided to join the defence of the Second Spanish RepublicSecond Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
. He left for Spain on 26 November 1936, where he joined the British Battalion
British Battalion
The British Battalion was the 16th battalion of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.- Early volunteers :A number of British volunteers, including Tom Wintringham and Nat Cohen, arrived in Spain during August-September 1936 and formed the Tom Mann Centuria - a rifle company in...
of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
. At the Battle of Jarama
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War...
, in February 1937, Copeman was wounded in the arm and head:
Copeman made what appeared to be a complete recovery and, on his return to the battalion, became commander. Later, just before the Battle of Teruel
Battle of Teruel
The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War in December 1937 – February 1938. The combatants fought the battle during the worst Spanish winter in twenty years. It was one of the bloodier actions of the war. The city changed hands several times,...
, he nearly died of complications from his wound (a small piece of unremoved shrapnel became infected) and was invalided home permanently.
World War II and after
The first thing Copeman did on return was to marry. This took place at LewishamLewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
Registry Office on 21 May 1938 and "some eleven hundred people" gathered for the wedding reception that night at St Pancras
St Pancras
-Saints:* Pancras of Taormina, martyred in 40 AD in Sicily* Pancras of Rome, the saint martyred c.304 AD after whom the following are directly or indirectly named-United Kingdom:* St Pancras, London, a district of London...
Town Hall.
However, in common with many returned volunteers, Copeman was disenchanted by what he had seen in Spain. As a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist Party
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, he was invited to visit the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
, where he met Dolores Ibárruri
Dolores Ibárruri
Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez , known more famously as "La Pasionaria" was a Spanish Republican leader of the Spanish Civil War and communist politician of Basque origin...
, better known as La Pasionara. He was disillusioned by what he saw and, following a fist-fight, left the Communist Party shortly afterwards.
Copeman was closely monitored by the British Security Service MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
for years.
Nevertheless, when the Second World War came "he was to play a significant role in organising civilian protection against German air-raids
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
in London and was decorated". In this capacity, he gave several lectures to the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace. In November 1948, he was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to London. Shortly afterwards, he was received into the Roman Catholic church.
He remained active in politics, though over the years he mellowed. He became a "popular Trades Union organiser" and a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
councillor on Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
Borough Council. He and his wife, Kitty, had four children. Copeman died in London in 1983.
Trivia
- He was a friend of Marshal Josip Broz TitoJosip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
of Yugoslavia. - In later life, he applied for visas for both the United States and the Soviet Union. Both were turned down: by the United States because he had been a Communist, and the Soviet Union because he was no longer one.
- He always kept a dog, always named in memory of his first one, "Bonnie".
Sources and references
- Fred Copeman, Reason in Revolt, Blandford Press, London, 1948 - autobiography
- Jason GurneyJason GurneyJason Gurney was a British sculptor who fought in the Spanish Civil War.He was with the International Brigades from December 1936 to August 1937. During that time, he served in the British Battalion, the Lincoln Battalion and XIV International Brigade staff. He was wounded in the right hand by a...
, Crusade in Spain, Faber & Faber, London 1974 - memoirs of the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939... - Alan EreiraAlan Ereira-Biography:Ereira worked at the BBC on television and radio since 1965 contributing documentaries to the Timewatch strand amongst others.He has been awarded the Japan Prize for his 1978 documentary on the Battle of the Somme, and the Royal Television Society Best Documentary Series award for his...
, The Invergordon Mutiny, Routledge, London 1981 - popular account of the mutiny by a BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
producer. - Len Wincott, Invergordon Mutineer, Weidenfeld, London 1974 - memoirs.