Following raids on Freedom Press by Special Branch, at the behest of the Home Office, which had been reported in January 1945 (recounted in last month’s column), pressure was kept up with a succession of court cases, reported on at length by the right-wing press
~ Rob Ray ~
That the February 24th edition of War Commentary, then the paper of the Freedom Press group prior to its relaunch, once again, as Freedom later in the year, came out at all was a minor miracle.
The collective had been seriously set back not just by the seizing of its subscriber list and other files, but by the arrest of its entire core editorial team and, just as difficult, a decision by their landlord to kick them out rather than put up with the drama.
Up and down the country, using the seized list, barracks and homes were being raided in an effort to gather evidence for the State’s line that Freedom Press was committing sedition by “seducing” the armed forces. Among those having their collars felt was Colin Ward, then a young conscript up in Scotland, who recalled:
“I was in a Military Detention Camp at the time and was escorted back to my own unit at Stromness, Orkney, where the commanding officer searched my belongings and my mail and retained various books and papers.”
And George Melly, later to become a famed raconteur but at the time serving in the navy, was threatened with a court martial after “subversive literature” was found in his belongings.
Nevertheless, there was no break in production, with the correspondence address simply shifting to be c/o Express Printers in Angel Alley. The printing house at 84a had been bought in 1944 as a business that catered both for sewing magazines and radical pamphleteering, and Freedom remains in the alley to this day, albeit across the road (84a was bought and demolished to make way for what is now the western wing of Whitechapel Art Gallery).
The issue didn’t skimp on anarchist comment about the issues of the day – its splash remarks on the Crimea Declaration—but these events are well documented. For our purposes there were three stories on the State’s actions against free speech, including hints at what would form as the Freedom Defence Committee featuring a certain Eric Blair.
John Olday and Philip Sansom Jailed
Our comrades John Olday and Philip Samson have recently been sentenced to twelve months and two months respectively and are serving their sentences in Brixton Prison.
John Olday is too well known to readers through his two books of drawings The March To Death (ed’s note, the picture above is his cover sketch) and The Life We Live The Death We Die. to need further introduction. He took an uncompromising stand at the Old Bailey where he was charged with stealing by finding in connection with an Identity Card. We shall deal with his case, which dragged on for many weeks, in the next issue of War Commentary.
Philip Samson who has designed many covers for and illustrated Freedom Press pamphlets and War Commentary articles was convicted of a minor charge and we reproduce below the report that appeared in the St Pancras Chronicle (Feb. 2nd 1944).
“It is quite true that I am not concerned with his political views but I am concerned with his record generally as a citizen,” said Mr. Frank Powell, the Clerkenwell magistrate, concerning Philip Richard Samson (28) an artist, of Camden Studios, Camden-street, NW1.
Samson was before the court on charges of obtaining an Army waterproof coat which he said he had bought from a soldier for 25s, and of failing to report a change of address.
Inspector Whitehead said Sansom was connected with an anarchist publication named War Commentary, and had been sharing a studio with a deserter who had been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at the Old Bailey. Sansom provisionally registered as a conscientious objector in 1940, but his name was removed from the register by a tribunal. He appealed but in 1941 this decision was upheld. He was later granted an indefinite deferment under an agricultural scheme and took up employment as a tractor driver, but he left this and came to London without notifying the authorities.
Mr. G. F. Rutledge, for the defence, pointed out that Sansom had no previous convictions, and submitted that the court was not concerned with his political views.
Mr. Powell said he was entitled to consider whether any mitigating circumstances were to be found with regard to his behaviour as a citizen. On the contrary he had done his best to avoid sharing the burden which had fallen on everyone else.
Sansom was sentenced to a month’s imprisonment on the first charge, and fined £5 or a a month (consecutive) on the second.
Readers cannot fail to notice (a) that Inspector Whitehead of the Special Branch was dealing with a case which one can hardly connect with political activity and (b) that no effort was spared to try and influence the magistrate by introducing the Anarchist Bogey which Inspector Whitehead did with more gusto than the local paper report would indicate. Our readers will draw their own conclusions.
We also learn that our comrade Tom W. Brown who as reported in earlier issues of War Commentary is serving a fifteen months sentence in Wormwood Scrubs, has recently lost two months remission of sentence as well as his right to receive or write letters for the the same period. It would appear that a letter he wrote which was passed by the prison censors was stopped by the Special Branch, who also read his correspondence. He was put on a charge, which the visiting magistrates upheld.
To these comrades who are directly or indirectly serving terms of imprisonment because of their Anarchist ideas, we send our fraternal greetings and our assurance that the work for the new Society will go on in spite of threats and organised attempts to impede its forward march.
Four London Anarchists Arrested
OUR comrades Marie Louise Berneri. John Hewetson and V. Richards, were arrested at their homes at 7.30 a.m. on Thursday. February 22nd and taken to West Hampstead Police Station where they were charged with a number of offences under Defence Regulation 39a. They were later taken to Marylebone Police Court where they were joined by comrade Philip Sansom (who, as reported in this issue, is at present serving a 2 months sentence at Brixton). He was charged under the same Defence Regulation.
All four comrades appeared before the magistrate, Mr. Ivan Snell. The charges were read out and we reprint them from the Evening News report of the same day:
Charges against all of them alleged that between November 1943 and December 1944 , at Belsize Road, Hampstead and elsewhere, they were concerned together with other persons unknown in endeavouring to seduce from their duties persons in Armed Forces and to cause among such persons disaffection likely to lead to breaches of their duty.
CIRCULAR LETTER
Vernon and Marie Richards were also charged that on December 12, 1944, at Belsize Road, with intent to contravene the Defence regulations they had in their possession or under their control a circular letter dated October 25, 1944, which was of such a nature that the dissemination of copies among persons in his Majesty’s Services would constitute such a contravention.
Hewetson was similarly charged with having in his possession or under his control documents dated October 2, 1944, at Willow road, on December 12.
Sansom was charged with reference to a similar circular at his studios, dated December 30.
Richards and Hewetson were also charged with endeavouring to cause disaffection among persons in the Services on about November II. 1944.
NO REPLY
Detective-inspector Whitehead, of Scotland Yard, told the magistrate, Mr. Ivan Suell, that when, at 7.30 a.m. today, he told Vernon Vernon Richards and Mrs Richards that he was going to arrest them they made no reply.
At 8 a.m. he saw Dr, Hewetson at Willow Road, Hampstead. He made no reply when told he would be arrested.
Sansom was charged at Marylebone, and replied: “I have nothing to say”
In reply to Mr. Gerald Rutledge, defending, Inspector Whitehead said that Hewetson was the casualty officer at Paddington Hospital.
Inspector Whitehead asked that the case should be remanded until March 9th and bail of £100 with sureties of £100 was granted to the three first named comrades. Comrade Sansom was taken hack to Brixton to complete his two months’ sentence.
It has been decided to form immediately a Defence Committee and comrades will be shortly notified of its composition, and address. Helpers will he required and we are confident of the response from our comrades and sympathisers everywhere.
The Press & CID Check on Anarchists
For space reasons is was not possible to reproduce the Press comments on the Freedom Press in the last issue of War Commentary but we promised readers that we should do so in this issue. Readers who may have cuttings which have not been reproduced in these columns are asked to let us have them for our files.
The first comments appeared in the Daily Express for February 1st, and the Daily Telegraph of the same date. The Daily Express note was headed “YARD IS WATCHING” and reads:
“Scotland Yard’s Special Brunch is inquiring into the origin, membership and activities of a new extreme left wing organisation using the title ‘The British Federation of Anarchists’. Inquiries have shown that there are a dozen leaders and about 150 members. A report is being made to the Home Secretary.”
The Daily Telegraph report which appeared only in the 4 a.m. edition was headed “ANARCHY GROUP INVESTIGATION” and reads:
“A report (dealing with the activities of a small group of about 300 self-styled anarchists is, I understand, being prepared for Mr. Morrison, Home Secretary, by Special Branch detectives. The group is controlled from a private house in West London. Its members several of whom are believed to be in the Services, are suspected of circulating pamphlets among the troops which Home Office legal experts consider to be seditious.”
As readers will see, the Anarchist membership rose by 138 in the night! These two small notes resulted in a visit during the day of an Evening News reporter, a Daily Mirror photographer and a Daily Herald reporter. We declined the offer of appearing alongside the Daily Mirror’s pin up girls and made no statements to the reporters, but that same evening a front page report appeared in the Evening News, with double column headlines: “Files and Papers Carried off In Sacks” “SCOTLAND YARD DRIVE TO CHECK ON ANARCHISTS”, “Army and Navy Units Visited.”
“The activities of a small Left Wing Group who are alleged to have been circulating Anarchist propaganda among members of the Forces and war workers arc under investigation by Scotland Yard’s special branch. At the beginning of this month Detective Inspector Whitehead and other officers visited the Orkneys and look statements from men in the Navy. Visits were also paid to certain military barracks in the North of England where the kits of soldiers were searched for documents. A raid is was made more than a month ago on the offices in Belsize Road, NW, of Freedom Press, which for some time has been publishing a fortnightly newspaper entitled War Commentary — for Anarchism.”
FILES SEIZED
The police seized files of the newspaper and filled sacks with documents and correspondence. A search was also made at the homes of certain members of the organisation.
Detailed reports of the results of the officers’ inquiries have been submitted to the Home Secretory and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The offices of Freedom Press, in Belsize Road, Kilburn, are in a large private house.
When I rang the front-door bell there today it was promptly answered by a pleasant faced middle aged woman. On my asking whether I could sec a copy of “War Commentary — For Anarchism” she readily took me to a room on the first floor where a table was spread with a pile of copies of the paper, looking as though they had just come from the printers.
TOLD TO QUIT
The room was in some disorder and the woman apologised, saying she was packing up as she was moving to a new address. “The landlord has told us to go” she said. “He does not like our business.”
To a question whether the office had been used by the Anarchist organisation for meetings, she replied: “Some meetings have taken place here” The woman declined to give her name or say whether she was a secretary.
VOLUNTARY WORKER
“I am simply a voluntary worker” she said.
“All letters should be addressed to the secretary.”
In the two latest copies of War Commentary there are references to the police searches and a complaint is made that Freedom Press files and other materials seized have not been returned.
In the issue of January 13 appears this statement: “Many subscribers will be without their copies of War Commentary. We have no means of sending out renewal notices.”
UNENVIABLE POSITION
“We are also in the unenviable position of not being able to send out accounts for money owing to Freedom Press which now runs Into several hundred pounds sterling, nor have we details of payments made and to be made for books received, thereby jeopardising our credit with suppliers.”
It is also stated that “Our solicitors have written two letters to the Commissioner of Police, but have obtained no satisfaction.”
Reference is made to “our readers in the Services who have been subjected to the indignity of being searched.” Their letters, it is declared, “show a spirit which is a source of inspiration and hope for the future.”
The following morning February 2nd the Daily Telegraph had more startling revelations for its readers, but this time it was reserved for readers of its early edition and not of its 4 a.m. edition. Headed “ALIENS SUSPECTED OF SEDITION” it ran:
“Special Branch detectives who have been investigating the activities of a group of Left Wing extremists which as reported in the Daily Telegraph yesterday, arc suspected of circulating alleged seditious literature near army camps and naval barracks, have, I understand, discovered that some of its members are of foreign origin. Detectives have visited the homes of some of the members of the group and have taken possession of large quantities of literature and files. When the enquiries are complete a full report will be submitted to Mr. Morrison, Home Secretary and Sir Donald Somervell, the Attorney-General.
