A cause worth giving your life for

Sep 5 2008 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

On returning to his native Liverpool, one of Britain’s greatest trade unionists and a Spanish Civil War veteran revealed his undying passion for humanity. David Charters reports

THE night finished in the old style with comrades linking arms to sing the Internationale, just as they had done all those years ago, when he reached for justice with hardened hands, a young heart and a mountain of faith.

“Arise, ye workers from your slumber, arise, ye prisoners of want, for reason in revolt now thunders, and at last ends the age of cant!”

But hours before that came a simple moment, which revealed the spirit of this gracious old man with a badge glowing on his lapel, who had, in his time, trembled the souls of prime ministers.

“You first, ladies,” he said. For he had reached the big door at the same moment as two women carrying plates of sandwiches from the opposite direction.

They paused and said, “Good morning, sir.”

He gestured ever so slightly with one hand and the ladies walked on, smiling. The other hand of this fine, broad-shouldered fellow then leaned a little more heavily on his walking-stick and he entered the room.

It was not a gesture of courtly manners, but one human-being’s fervent belief that you should respect your fellow kind.

That is why he was treated with near reverence by admirers, including the two women, when he opened an exhibition at the People’s Centre on Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, dedicated to the part played by local men in the Spanish Civil War.

“All right, mate,” he said in the true Liver-pudlian way – if he liked you.

He is, of course, Jack Jones, an ordinary name for a man of extra-ordinary talents, most of which have been dedicated to improving the conditions of Britain’s working-class and oppressed people, wherever they should be.

Yes, the sun shines freely over us all, but some people still dwell in the shadows – hungry, cold, untutored and often unfed.

Such conditions were normal around Jack’s childhood home in York Street, when Liverpool was the second port of the British Empire, which ruled a quarter of the world. Water drummed on the tin baths, tubercular coughs chorused through the night and candles paled in the windows of homes infested by rats and cockroaches.

Children cut and bruised their feet on glass and stones. Nearly everyone sought an escape. The older boys had found it in the Great War. Many were left in the fields of Belgium and France. Others turned to drink. A few found that excellence in sport or learning offered a way out. Most persevered.

For James Larkin (Jack) Jones, the answer lay in true democracy, which reached into the poor communities, encouraging people to realise their ambitions. This also required organised labour – the representatives of working men and women negotiating with employers for decent pay and conditions. Jack dedicated himself to the cause.

And his opinions toughened still more, as he worked in miserable conditions for five shillings (25p) a week as an engineering apprentice, and then as a docker – watching men waiting in pens to be picked for a day’s work – or sent home, humiliated.

Although his formal education had ended at 14, Jack possessed a fine, penetrative intellect, which had been fed by the loquacious and passionate debates that he had heard in Liverpool.

He joined the Transport and General Workers’ Union, quickly becoming a shop steward. With hunger marches staged in the north of England, he was elected a Labour member for the Croxteth ward of Liverpool City Council.

British politics was in turmoil with Communists fighting in the streets against the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley, an aristocratic maverick, who had adopted the absurd mannerisms of Italy’s Benito Mussolini and Germany’s Adolf Hitler,

But in 1936 the attention shifted to Spain. A Popular Front of left-wing parties contested the February election. Against it was the National Front of right-wing parties.

WITH 263 seats out of 473, the Popular Front formed a government. It released all left-wing political prisoners and introduced agrarian reforms which penalised the landed aristocracy. Other measures included transferring right-wing military leaders, such as Francisco Franco, to posts outside Spain, outlawing fascists and granting Catalonia autonomy.

Franco was among army officers, who moved to overthrow the elected government. The Spanish Civil War began on July 17.

Outraged by this action, trade unionists, intellectuals, artists and general sympathisers in Britain and elsewhere moved to support the Republicans. The International Brigades were formed.

At home, sympathy for the Republicans persuaded Liverpool dockers to “black” the Spanish ship, Linaria, because they feared the fascists would use its cargo of nitrate to make bombs. Their action was later upheld in the courts.

About 160 people from Merseyside, including young Jack, a TA soldier, went to Spain. Thirty were killed. Their names are inscribed in a memorial board at the People’s Centre.

Jack was shot in the right shoulder attacking a heavily defended position on Hill 481 during campaigning near the River Ebro. He was sent home.

During the war, Jack met Evelyn, widow of George Brown, a brave Communist from Manchester, who had been killed at the Battle of Brunette.

Later, Jack and Evelyn married, having two sons, Jack (junior), now a Labour councillor in Plymouth, and Mick, an artist and designer.

While they were growing up, their father rose to be one of the most powerful men in the land, as General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (1969-78), which had two million members. In the long nights of beer and sandwiches, when he negotiated for dockers, car workers and others, Jack dealt with prime ministers, such as Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Ted Heath, occasionally bringing British industry to a near standstill. Now he is honorary life president of the National Pensioners’ Convention and president of the International Brigades’ Trust.

Guiding him into the room this week was his son Mick, 64. There was no doubting that they were father and son, even wearing similar glasses, with the bridging bar over the nose and, though he is from London, you could see a little of old Liverpools in the brown of Mick’s eyes.

“The cause was so worthy,” says Jack, 95, as he settles back to recall the Spanish Civil War. “Of course, the conditions were adverse. The power was in the hands of Hitler and Mussolini and they were sweeping Europe with their forces. They had to be resisted. Just as here in Britain we had to make sure that people like Mosley made no progress. One felt that it was absolutely essential even to the point of sacrificing your life.

“The idealism came from the fight against fascism which represented absolute reaction. It would have destroyed trade unionism as we knew it – the idea of liberty and opportunities for working people. They wanted domination by wealth and power for just a few at the top, at all costs.

“It is vital that it should be remembered because the dangers of fascism and autocracy are always there, underlying the attitudes of the wealthy in a country – at the expense of ordinary working people. We want better opportunities and a better future for the working people. To make sure that is the case, we have to resist all forces of reaction.

“Liverpool should be proud of the men who went so Spain because it was a bigger proportion than most towns and their bravery was very evident.”

DID he know that a new statue of his old compatriot the late Bessie Braddock (long-serving Labour MP for Liverpool Exchange) has been commissioned for Lime Street Station? The old Liverpool wit surfaces. “Does her husband know about it,” says Jack. “It wouldn’t be so bad if they put one up for her mother, Mary Bamber (another devout socialist).”

We venture into the modern age? What does he think of Gordon Brown. “He’s a good friend of mine,” replies Jack. “I like him very much. I think he is a good man, he is honest. He is not in it for wealth and power. He believes in the principle of better circumstances for working folk. He is honest and determined. I have great admiration for Gordon Brown. We are always very pleased to see each other and have a talk about things.”

Here Jack is at home in Liverpool in his International Brigaders’ badge. “I am always pleased to be back here because it reminds me of old battles. The causes I remember very well and they were justified. Many of the friends who went with me to Spain were from Liverpool,” he says. “Some of them were killed. This is a city which produces citizens, who are prepared to battle for causes which they think are right. People wear their feelings openly in Liverpool.

“In my life I have always believed that everybody is equal and that you should respect those who have done you a service.”

And as night fell, a strong Liverpool voice was heard heard singing those sentiments to the melody of the Internationale.

THE exhibition runs for a month at the People’s Centre, 50/54 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. Details: 0151 709 3995.

SEE David’s interview with Jack Jones at www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/video