John Gollan

John Gollan (2 April 1911 – 5 September 1977) was a British political leader who was general secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from 1956 to 1975.

John Gollan
6th General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain
In office
13 May 1956 – 11 March 1975
Preceded byHarry Pollitt
Succeeded byGordon McLennan
Personal details
Born(1911-04-02)2 April 1911
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died5 September 1977(1977-09-05) (aged 66)
London, England[1]
Political partyCommunist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)
OccupationPainter, signwriter, newspaper editor
Known forBritish communist activism

Biography

Gollan was born in Edinburgh, where he grew up and took his first job as a painter's apprentice. His first introduction to political activity was during the 1926 general strike when he helped distribute the papers of the strike committee. On International Workers' Day, 1 May, the following year, he joined the CPGB and its youth wing the Young Communist League (YCL). He became a signwriter, but his career was cut short in July 1931 when he was arrested for distributing anti-militarist leaflets. He had been organising soldiers to demand better rights and conditions, an activity for which he was sentenced to 6 months in HM Prison Edinburgh.[2] After a popular campaign calling for his release, he was freed in January 1932 and began working for the party.

Gollan became the editor of the YCL's newspaper The Young Worker and its successor publication Challenge. He did this for several years, until his election as General Secretary of the YCL in 1935.[3] He then held various regional posts, before becoming the party's national organiser in 1945. In 1949, he became assistant editor of the Daily Worker, and in 1954 he became the party's Assistant General Secretary.

Plaque dedicated to Gollan at Golders Green Crematorium

In 1956, he became the party's General Secretary and immediately had to deal with the drop in membership following the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian Revolution. He held the post until 9 March 1975, when he resigned after being diagnosed with lung cancer,[4] and died in 1977. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.

References
  1. Johnstone, Monty, "Gollan, John (1911–1977)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, September 2004. Retrieved 7 December 2022. (subscription required)
  2. Pearce, Brian (19 March 1960). Hogsbjerg, Christian (ed.). "Constant Reader". Marxists Internet Archive.
  3. Stevenson, Graham (18 December 2005). "Compendium of Communist Biography". p. F to I by surname. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. He went on to be successively editor of the Young Communist League's newspaper Challenge in 1932 and General Secretary of the League in 1935.
  4. Beckett, Francis (23 May 2011). "Gordon McLennan obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2022.

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