Ted Gill

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Edward H. C. Gill (1879 – 1923), often known as Ted Gill was a British socialist activist.

Born in Leominster in Herefordshire, Gill's family moved to Abertillery in Wales when he was ten years old. He left school and began working, becoming a coal miner five years later.[1] Despite his shyness, he came to prominence in the South Wales Miners' Federation, which sponsored him to study at Ruskin College from 1907 to 1909.[1][2] While there, he was a founder member of the Plebs' League, and thereafter frequently spoke in favour of workers' education.[1][3] He also joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and devoted much time to the party,[4] arguing in favour of the nationalisation of the mines.[5]

Like the majority of the ILP, Gill initially opposed World War I, stating that "unless strenuous efforts are made to organise anti-war feeling, we are on the eve of a holocaust too terrible for contemplation". However, within days he changed his mind, joining the 10th South Wales Borderers. Unexpectedly, he received a commission as a second lieutenant, and also qualified as a machine gun instructor before sailing to France at the end of 1915. While in the trenches at Festubert, he crawled into no man's land three times, to organise a retreat of troops at the advanced posts, and then to rescue an injured soldier, for which action he was awarded the Military Cross.[1] He was badly wounded at Mametz Wood, but was said to have leapt from a stretcher to rally the troops he was leading.[1][2] As a result of his injuries, he was invalided out, with the rank of captain.[1]

After the war, Gill suffered ongoing poor health.[2] He devoted his time to the Labour Party,[4] standing in Frome at the 1918 United Kingdom general election. Although he did not win the seat, the party saw his potential as a propagandist, specifically to counter the charge that the party was unpatriotic. For the 1922 United Kingdom general election, he worked with J. W. Kneeshaw and , speaking across the country, with his focus being the south west of England. He also stood again in Frome, this time taking 48.8% of the vote and a very close second place.[6][2]

Gill travelled to campaign for the Labour Party in the 1923 Morpeth by-election, but the strain on his health led to his death.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Evans, Jonathan (19 November 2014). "Website launched to remember World War One heroes". WalesOnline. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Obituary". Annual Report of the Labour Party: 82. 1924.
  3. ^ Evans, D. Gareth (2000). A History of Wales, 1906-2000. University of Wales Press. p. 76. ISBN 0708315941.
  4. ^ a b "Obituary". Annual Report of the Independent Labour Party: 36. 1924.
  5. ^ Campbell, Alan; Fishman, Nina (2016). Miners, Unions and Politics, 1910–1947. Routledge. ISBN 978-1351917384.
  6. ^ Swift, David (2017). For Class and Country: The Patriotic Left and the First World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-1786940025.
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