Wilfred Willett - War Hero, Union Activist and Communist

Wilfred Willett a leading member of the National Union of Agricultural Workers and Communist Party in Kent,

Wilfred Willett

Wilfred Willett born 5th October 1890 at Croydon.

Wilfred was a young undergraduate at Cambridge (Trinity) University in 1913 and hoped to become a surgeon. Here he meet a young girl called Eileen at a May ball and soon fell in love, secretly marrying in December 1913, fearing the objections of their respective parents, living apart and occasionally meeting in small hotels.

In July 1914 at the outbreak of World War One, Wilfred took the "Kings shilling" and joined the London Rifle Brigade, taking the opportunity to "officially" marry Eileen in Church and even briefly live together. Soon Wilfred was posted to France, but after just five weeks in Flanders was shot in the head by a German sniper, as he tried to save the life of an injured solider. (Soliders on this front had not been issued with tin hats at this point in the war).

The result of this injury was that the whole of the right side of his body was paralysed and he was close to death in field hospital. His 22 year old wife hearing that he had been injured took the remarkable decision to travel to France and search the hospitals in an effort to find him and transport him back to London. Eileen eventually found him and against medical advice, transported him back to England with the help of his old East London hospital tutor.

Wilfred Willetts must be one of the few Communists to receive a citation from Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War for "gallant and distinguished conduct in the field" but he treasured more a letter from the soldier for whom he risked his life.

Eileen nursed him slowly back to health, over the next five years his paralysis lessened slightly, however he never regained the use of his right arm and this forced him to give up his goal of becoming a surgeon. Instead Wilfred decided to turn his hand to his second passion ornithology, becoming a well known naturalist, writing numerous books on birds flora and fauna.

He became a convinced Communist and was the nature correspondent for the Communist parties daily newspaper, The Daily Worker and wrote regularly for the Communists rural journal the Country Standard, where he became chief fund raiser. He was also active in the National Union of Agricultural Workers in the Kent Weald, He was Branch Chairman at Matfield NUAW branch.

Wilfred Willett had three children and lived at The Rosery, Matfield, near Tunbridge in Kent. Willett died in 1961. His grandson is Anthony Seldon wrote a biography of Tony Blair.

The story of Wilfred's early life and Eileen's battle to save his life in France was made into a radio programme by Jonathan Smith and four part BBC TV series entitled "Wilfred and Eileen" in November 1981.

Work in the Countryside

By WILFRED WILLETT

"It goes without saying that we must utilize all the opportunities that present themselves to us to develop the class-consciousness of the agricultural wage workers, and. that we must pay attention to the urban workers who go into the country districts . . . ," wrote Lenin in April, 1901.

There are a million and a quarter people engaged in agriculture in Britain. And what is much to the point, the majority of them see the ruin of the land and are disillusioned of the promises made after the last war.

The workers are grossly underpaid at round about 34s.a week, and their livelihood depends on absolute subservience to their master, whatever .his whim or temper.

They are spied upon by church visitors. Out of work or in illness they can only exist on the charity doled out in half-pints of milk or sixpenny worths of meat from these people.

Now for a few hints as to how to help the Party in the countryside. Speak to the agricultural worker as you would to one of your fellows whom you want to win over. You will find he will be interested and, moreover, that you will find many things in common.

The best way to clinch a prospective convert is by getting him to take a paper. In towns you can get the Daily Worker, but it is not easy in the country. Yet every class conscious town worker should take at least one copy of the Country Standard in his pocket whenever he goes into the country on his half-day, and sell it to a farm worker. The country worker will soon see that it is a paper that gives expression to what he so urgently feels.

If this little paper were really circulated throughout the country districts regularly, it would win the majority of country workers' votes for Labour at the next election, votes that are now cast for reaction because of our neglect of these workers. If town comrades help, it would be so simple to get a circulation of fifty thousand a month, at least, by the end of the summer.

Already some Labour organisations in country districts know the worth of the Country Standard and organise its distribution.

No doubt you will have some failures which are not your fault; but, in most cases, you should be able to sell a penny Country Standard.

In the village pub, especially on Saturday night, are many kinds of rural workers: garage hands, small shopkeepers, smallholders, etc. Here, then, there is, besides the Country Standard, certainly also a sale for the Daily Worker and pamphlets.

Two quires of the "Worker" and two dozen "Austria" pamphlets were sold by two comrades in that way one Saturday night.

The help which can be given to the comparatively few of us in the countryside, by town workers carrying out a few of the above suggestions cannot be too heavily stressed.

It will increase our effectiveness a hundredfold. Lenin, in Left-Wing Communism, says again:

" Communist Parties must . . . canvass the cottages of the rural proletarians and peasants in the remote villages {fortunately there are not nearly so many remote villages in Europe as there are in Russia, and in England there are very few), they should go into the public-houses . . . where common people gather and talk to the people. . . ."

Literature to Use:

1. Country Standard. At all Workers' Bookshops, or c/o Maclaurin, Bookseller, 5, All Saints Passage, Cambridge. 10d. a dozen.

2. Plan for Britain's Agriculture. Communist Party of Great Britain, 1d. Obtainable from all Workers' bookshops at 9d. per dozen.

3. Special new Party leaflet on agriculture, obtainable at 9d. a hundred or 5/- a thousand, post free.

Party Organiser July 1938

NOTE

Wilfred Willetts a leading of the Communist Party in Kent,

Wilfred Willett

Wilfred Willett was severely injured in World War One and wrote numerous books and articles on birds and nature. He was a regular contributor to the Communist Party rural journal, the Country Standard, as well as the Daily Worker. He later became the chief fund raiser for the Country Standard. He had been was involved in the organisation into the NUAW of agricultural workers in the Weald area of South East England and lived at The Rosery, Matfield, near Tonbridge in Kent. Willett died in 1961. His granson is Anthony Seldon who wrote a biography of Tony Blair

Stanley Wilson

S.S. Wilson (Stanley Wilson) was a famous Left Wing Labour Councillor Mayor and County Councillor for Saffron Walden , Essex. Was heavily involved with the Rural Crusader (The Essex based rural journal of the Communist Party and Left Wing within the Essex Labour Party

Farm workers & Engineers Solidarity 1943

On March 4^th 1943 two National Union of Agricultural Workers (NUAW) N.U.A.W. branch secretaries in Kent were invited to attend a meeting of the shop stewards at Short's Seaplane Works (Rochester ?). These shop stewards represented 5,000 engineering workers.

It was a revelation how not only were issues concerning the interests of the workers in their factory dealt with in a crisp and efficient fashion, but also the wider issues intimately bound up with winning the war and the betterment of the whole working class—such as demands to the Government for the immediate opening of a second front in Europe, a new approach to the Indian peoples, affiliation of the Communist Party to the Labour Party, etc.

The N.U.A.W. representatives were called upon by the chairman to address the meeting. Mr. Wilfred Willett said how much it was "appreciated that these industrial workers should invite representatives of farm workers and so initiate a closer unity between industrial and agricultural workers. It was vital that there should be unity both in winning the war and if we were to have a better Britain afterwards.

The farm workers needed all the support and help the more organised industrial workers could give them, and he appealed to them to give that help and support as much as possible.

The farm workers were hindered from organising by vicious victimisation. It was not only a case of a farm worker joining his union being given the sack, but with it came the loss of his home. In the last few weeks a union member in Kent who was an appointed representative of the workers on a District W.A.C. had been given notice and now had an eviction order against him. It was medieval tyranny for an employer to have the power, and use it, of turning- a worker, his wife and little children out of their home at a week's notice.

That evening the question of holidays had been raised. He suggested that those who could should come into the country and help in getting in the harvest. There would be a shortage of labour to get the harvest in, and if this was not done we might very well be short of food.

If any industrial workers went on a farm, Mr. Willett appealed to them to do everything they could to help build Trade Unionism and working class unity.

The statement was greeted with appreciative applause. The chairman said the shop stewards would see that all workers were acquainted with what had been said and they would see that all the support they could give the farm workers should be given.

There was then a discussion and resolution proposed and passed unanimously demanding that the Minister of Agriculture take immediate steps that farm workers should be allowed to take advantage of Trade Union rights and practices without fear of victimisation on the farms.

A second resolution demanding the abolition of the tied cottage system was' also passed unanimously.

The chairman, on behalf of the meeting, expressed the hope that these visits of agricultural workers' representatives would continue from time to time and that some of their representatives would also be invited to attend N.U.A.W. meetings in order to cement this unity between industrial and farm workers.

The Country Standard.

Wilfred Willett

Willett was severely injured in World War One and wrote numerous books and articles on birds and nature.

He was a regular contributor to the Communist Party rural journal, the Country Standard, as well as the Daily Worker.

Wilfred Willett later became the chief fund raiser for the Country Standard. He had been was involved in the organisation into the NUAW of agricultural workers in the Weald area of south east England and lived at The Rosery, Matfield, near Tonbridge in Kent. Willett died in 1961

His daughter Marjorie Willett married the economist Arthur Seldon in 1948, moving to Orpington, where Marjorie organised demonstrations against the Suez invasion. Their son Anthony Seldon was Blair’s biographer,

Michael Walker