Kay Beauchamp
Encyclopedia
Kay Beauchamp was a leading light in the Communist Party of Great Britain
in the 1920s. She helped found the Daily Worker (later The Morning Star
) and was a local councillor in Finsbury
.
, Somerset
on 27 May 1899. She was sister of Joan Beauchamp
, later Joan Thompson, who became a prominent suffragette
and associate of Sylvia Pankhurst
.
She completed a degree in history at University College, London in 1924. In that year she married bookseller and bibliographer Graham Pollard
, son of Professor Albert Pollard
.
She joined the Communist Party, for which she served as International Secretary. She also helped found the Daily Worker. As its Managing Director, she was jailed for contempt of court when the paper described the conviction of Wal Hannington
, an unemployed workers' leader, as a “frame-up”.
She was one of the eight Party members who produced the first ever edition of the Daily Worker, which appeared on 1 January 1930.
She worked as a teacher and was also involved with the Communist Party’s Education Department. During the 1930s and 1940s, she worked closely with Harry Pollitt
, organising hunger marches, solidarity work for the Spanish Civil War
and the campaign for the Second Front in World War II
.
After the war, she was elected a local Councillor in Finsbury
. She also served as International Secretary of the Communist Party. In this role she made several visits to Africa. She was involved in the Movement for Colonial Freedom
(MCF), founded in 1954, and worked with Kwame Nkrumah
, Jomo Kenyatta
and other future leaders of emergent Africa.
In 1972 her first marriage was dissolved and she married Tony Gilbert. She continued to be active in politics for the rest of her life. She died on 25 January 1992.
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:...
in the 1920s. She helped found the Daily Worker (later The Morning Star
The Morning Star
The Morning Star is a left wing British daily tabloid newspaper with a focus on social and trade union issues. Articles and comment columns are contributed by writers from socialist, social democratic, green and religious perspectives....
) and was a local councillor in Finsbury
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.- Boundaries :...
.
Biography
She was born to a farming family in the coalmining community of Midsomer NortonMidsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
on 27 May 1899. She was sister of Joan Beauchamp
Joan Beauchamp
Joan Beauchamp was a prominent anti-World War I campaigner, suffragette and co-founder of the Communist Party of Great Britain.-Childhood:She was born in 1890 into a farming family in Midsomer Norton in Somerset...
, later Joan Thompson, who became a prominent suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
and associate of Sylvia Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst
Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
.
She completed a degree in history at University College, London in 1924. In that year she married bookseller and bibliographer Graham Pollard
Graham Pollard
Henry Graham Pollard was a British bookseller and bibliographer.Pollard was the son of the historian Albert Pollard and was born in Putney, London on 7 March 1903...
, son of Professor Albert Pollard
Albert Pollard
Albert Frederick Pollard was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period.-Life and career:Pollard was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Felsted School and Jesus College, Oxford where he achieved a first class honours in Modern History in 1891...
.
She joined the Communist Party, for which she served as International Secretary. She also helped found the Daily Worker. As its Managing Director, she was jailed for contempt of court when the paper described the conviction of Wal Hannington
Wal Hannington
Walter "Wal" Hannington was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and National Organiser of the National Unemployed Workers' Movement, from its formation in 1921 to its end in 1939, when he became National Organiser of the Amalgamated Engineering Union.-Political career:In...
, an unemployed workers' leader, as a “frame-up”.
She was one of the eight Party members who produced the first ever edition of the Daily Worker, which appeared on 1 January 1930.
She worked as a teacher and was also involved with the Communist Party’s Education Department. During the 1930s and 1940s, she worked closely with Harry Pollitt
Harry Pollitt
Harry Pollitt was the head of the trade union department of the Communist Party of Great Britain and the General Secretary of the party for more than 20 years.- Early life :...
, organising hunger marches, solidarity work for 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...
and the campaign for the Second Front in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After the war, she was elected a local Councillor in Finsbury
Finsbury
Finsbury is a district of central London, England. It lies immediately north of the City of London and Clerkenwell, west of Shoreditch, and south of Islington and City Road. It is in the south of the London Borough of Islington. The Finsbury Estate is in the western part of the district...
. She also served as International Secretary of the Communist Party. In this role she made several visits to Africa. She was involved in the Movement for Colonial Freedom
Movement for Colonial Freedom
The Movement for Colonial Freedom was a UK based political civil rights advocacy group founded in the United Kingdom in 1954. It had the support of many MPs including Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle with Tony Benn as treasurer. It had support also amongst celebrities such as Benjamin Britten and in...
(MCF), founded in 1954, and worked with Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
and other future leaders of emergent Africa.
In 1972 her first marriage was dissolved and she married Tony Gilbert. She continued to be active in politics for the rest of her life. She died on 25 January 1992.
Publications written by Kay Beauchamp
- Leninism ~ a syllabus (1940)
- Our Borough - an introductory discussion syllabus. On the government of the borough of Finsbury (1945)
- Canvassing (1945)
- Fascism and how to defeat it (1959)
- We can get those deep shelters (1961)
- Black citizens(1973)
- Report of Liberation Conference to isolate and defeat racism (1977)
- One race, the human race (1979)
- Ethiopia: An African Giant Awakens [with Tony Gilbert] (1985)
- Racism: A Threat to World Peace – [with Amanda Mensah] (1986)
- Ring Around the Carnival [with Maggie Chetty] (1986)
External links
- http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conObject.9416&Who=&What=&Where=&When=&contentType=conObject&pp=10&search_word=&catId%5B6%5D%5B%5D=00200700b&¤tPage=3¤t_browser_object=25. Interview of Kay Beauchamp for oral history project.