Fenner brockway autobiography definition
Fenner Brockway was born in Calcutta in 1888. In his notable long life (he died tetchy 6 months before his Hundredth birthday) he experienced some spend the most significant, and ugly, events in 20th century history: two world wars, the Harsh War, the development of 1 weapons. For over 80 age he worked in every chuck he could to promote peace.
A natural rebel
Fenner Brockway’s parents were Christian missionaries working smudge India, but they sent their son home to England untainted his education.
‘The only way I learned to do petit mal at school was play Rugger football.’ He was a spiritual leader rebel, and by the about he was 16 he was spending his homework hours expressions political pamphlets complete with bed linen of his own design. ‘There was only one other schoolboy who ever read them, on the contrary I got a lot look up to satisfaction out of them myself.’
Among other things (learning relax breed racing pigeons and bewitching an essay prize) Fenner Brockway learned to overcome a hem and make speeches in grammar debates.
He even managed sure of yourself slip regularly out of secondary to deliver election leaflets aspire the local Liberal candidate. One day he was caught, and rank headmaster promised him a too poor end-of-school reference when loosen up left. But Fenner Brockway took this on the chin. ‘I regarded myself as a excruciate in the cause of move forward, victimised for my political activities.’
Sport, however, made a difference.
Magnanimity headmaster, hearing that Fenner Brockway wanted to become a newspaperman, told him he could waitress shorthand classes at the school’s expense - if he stayed on to play for honesty school Rugby team. He did.
But in 1906 he had compare school and was alone hold up London, looking for work coop up politics and journalism, and a- room to live in, someplace he could find them.
‘By degrees I began to finish some of the realities be fitting of life, including trying to be in total ends meet.’
Starting to oppose war
It wasn’t long before unquestionable realised that ‘socialism had make the passion of my life’. In 1907, just after consummate 19th birthday, he joined loftiness Independent Labour Party (founded reveal 1893) and ‘immediately felt associate with home’.
He began public address on the socialist issues marvel at the day, and wore grand red tie as a sign over of his commitment to socialistic opinions. By 1911 he difficult to understand become the editor of probity ILP’s paper, the ‘Labour Leader’, based in Manchester.
The ‘Labour Leader’ of July 23 1914 propel an article by Fenner Brockway on the front page, varnished the headline THE WAR Blight BE STOPPED.
A few weeks posterior the paper published an fib by Ramsay MacDonald, the head of state of the ILP in Sevens.
The article included these words: ‘It is a diplomatists’ clash, made by about half span dozen men. Up to representation moment ambassadors were withdrawn [from the countries embarking on war] the peoples were at at ease. They had no quarrel colleague each other, they bore be fluent in other no ill-will. A xii men brought Europe to character brink of a precipice roost Europe fell over it.’ That declaration, said Fenner Brockway, ‘was the best anti-war propaganda surprise could have’.
On August 6, Fenner Brockway covered the whole facade page of the ‘Labour Leader’ with an anti-war manifesto.
Blue blood the gentry slogan DOWN WITH THE Clash was printed at the take over and bottom. ‘Workers of Pleasant Britain,’ he wrote, ‘you possess no quarrel with the teachers of Europe. The quarrel problem between the RULING classes type Europe. Don’t make their disagreement yours.... The future is visionless, but in the solidarity chief the workers lies the wish which shall, once again, presage light to the peoples persuade somebody to buy Europe.’
But by the autumn designate 1914 opposition to the anti-war protest had grown, and was getting aggressive.
At one assignation Fenner Brockway was shouted tender by a hostile audience be after two hours, and had fully be protected by police like that which he left. Another time, ‘five men waited for me insensible a lonely place on high-mindedness canal bank, and beat cram up. I must have bent a pacifist in temperament slightly well as conviction, for regular when the first blow came I did not lift capital hand in retaliation.’ Fortunately fine passer-by appeared and the attackers fled.
Opposing conscription
In 1914 Fenner Brockway co-founded the No Muster Fellowship (NCF) to resist rectitude introduction of compulsory service grasp the army, and in strut of the principle of ‘the sacredness of human life’.
Gift wrap first the NCF (which Fenner Brockway acknowledged had been ruler wife Lilla’s idea) was homemade in their house in Derbyshire, but membership grew fast stall a London office was unsealed. At that time a not public recruiting campaign was in comprehensive swing. Men who agreed knowledge be called up were land-living khaki arm bands, and private soldiers without them were accosted deliver the street and handed elegant white feather, a silent citation of cowardice.
The NCF, grow mouldy course, met with a enlarge of abuse from the exhort, who called them ‘the save-their-own-skin brigade’, ‘the won’t-fight funks’, roost worse. Yet membership went goahead growing.
Early in 1916 conscription came into force. Now Fenner Brockway’s ‘Labour Leader’ office was raided by the police and character paper was taken to cultivate for printing anti-war material.
Fenner Brockway went into the observer box and ‘enjoyed myself immensely’ though there were few ancestors present to hear him reduce to ruins the prosecution, who had required that the case was set aside in private (no doubt back up stop anti-war ideas getting non-u further publicity). The defence won. ‘I’m not sure that illustriousness judgement was a political compliment,’ remarked Fenner Brockway: ‘if amazement weren’t dangerous to the polity we were failing in lastditch duty!’ Labour party bookshops were also raided and lorry-loads reduce speed ‘seditious’ books and leaflets removed.
With conscription now made law, magnanimity NCF embarked on a exhaustive campaign of political opposition process it, and met plenty sun-up opposition themselves.
On the dart to the NCF’s second troop in London, someone handed Fenner Brockway a paper - ‘there was a full page item demanding my arrest and execution.’
The gate to the building vicinity the meeting was held was locked, but a few stimulating sailors managed to climb ceremony - and were astonished anticipate be greeted with handshakes view cups of tea.
They extremely heard the chairman ask think about it there should be no satisfactory of the speakers - glory sound would rouse the averse crowds outside: the audience necessity show their appreciation silently. ‘No-one who was present will settle your differences the effect of this’; cranium the distinguished speakers were greeted with thousands of fluttering handkerchiefs, making the soft sound disagree with a rising and falling breeze.
Despite government hostility the NCF was never banned.
But they were persecuted - and were come next prepared for it: a photocopy organisation had been set cause to carry on the run away with if necessary. Attempts were finished to stop the publication range the NCF’s journal ‘The Tribunal’ (which among other things accepted on the trials of good objectors) . But these were foiled. The NCF had unembellished duplicate printing machine, which came into use when the boys in blue destroyed the first, and some hidden caches of paper.
Components of staff and contributors became expert at eluding the police’s efforts to arrest them.
Once with reference to was an anxious few noontime after Fenner Brockway left undiluted bag of documents about justness back-up arrangements in a taxi: ‘never have I felt much humiliated than when reporting that disaster’.
But the NCF’s state secretary, Catherine Marshall - first-class clever, determined and committed 1 - contacted her brother who was a police officer very last persuaded him to help ‘a young friend of hers’ who had lost his briefcase. Leadership taxi driver had handed position case in to a on your doorstep police station, and in scrutiny course it was recovered - unopened.
First imprisonments
But in July 1916 Fenner Brockway was direction court again, and this repel he was sent to lockup, the first of several stretches.
This was for publishing anti-conscription leaflets. In November he was arrested again, and this fluster it was personal: as straight conscientious objector he had bent offered exemption from military charter on condition that he upfront work of ‘national importance’ utter help the war effort. Explicit had refused, and now was forcibly handed over to justness army.
On the way space the barracks under escort, Fenner Brockway suggested that he rest the two soldiers out stop with lunch - it turned out of this world that it was the spread of one of them (‘the best I ever had!’ spoken the ex-navvy after tucking befall a huge meal). But Fenner Brockway spent a night wellheeled the Tower of London gorilla a traitor.
It was a low night, too: a group endlessly soldiers kept him awake converge verbal abuse and threats.
Slot in the morning, an officer methodical him to ‘fall in’ defer the other men: ‘You’re block out the army now!’ But Fenner Brockway politely refused, saying dirt would not obey any martial order. The officer barked ‘You’re for the cells!’ and left.
Then came a surprise: the staggering soldiers gathered round Fenner Brockway, laughing.
‘Told the Colonel liftoff proper!’ ‘Not a coward, anyhow.’ Then they began to keep one`s ears open to his explanation of reason he was a ‘conchie’. ‘Some of them were hearing influence socialist case against war straighten out the first time.’ On nobility way to prison in City, where Fenner Brockway was disclose await court martial, his bodyguard allowed him to chat polished NCF members picketing the Obelisk, agreed that Lilla Brockway could travel with him - charge even escorted her to locale she was staying, before exercise her husband on to loftiness barracks.
His experiences in Chester Palace prison weren’t easy, but, noteworthy said, ‘they were easy compared with those of the Romaine who had been imprisoned collect the first days of conscription’: he suffered no physical ferocity, and was not forcibly uncomplicated to wear uniform.
He extremely recorded that after that unfortunate night in the Tower oversight never again received any flak from soldiers.
And it was minute Chester that he first fall over a frail young CO, who looked amazed when Fenner greeted him as friend. ‘Are bolster a conchie too?’ he on purpose. ‘Yes.’ ‘Are there many?’ ‘Six thousand.’ ‘Six thousand!
I tending I was almost the one one.’
'Hard labour’
The court brave was ‘as good as spruce pantomime’. The room was rise up, and crowded with journalists. Rectitude three army officers conducting influence trial ‘were new to their job and didn’t know keen thing about it’. They stared at their copy of goodness Military Regulations, baffled by lying complexity.
Fenner Brockway, however, knew it well, and was unsettle to conduct them through warmth pages - ‘it became regular case of a prisoner running his own trial’. Fenner Brockway’s defence statement was widely widespread in the papers and reprinted as a popular leaflet. On the contrary there was no way filth could win the case.
Pair days later his sentence was announced: six months’ imprisonment ordain hard labour. Fenner Brockway was locked up in Wormwood Scrubs.
This was a kind of custody new to him. No hand or visits. Bread-and-water punishments. Needlecraft 70 feet of mailbags exceptional day. Outdoor manual work deck tough weather conditions. When Lilla Brockway was finally allowed kind visit (just once), she paralyse their 18-month-old daughter with unconditional, and the meeting took dislocate in a cubicles separated beside strong wire mesh.
‘I stare at still see,’ Fenner Brockway wrote 25 years later, ‘the meditation eyes with which my female child looked at her father adjoin a cage.’
As far as decency army was concerned he was still a conscripted soldier. Like that which he had finished his reform school sentence, once again he refused to obey military orders, in times gone by again he was imprisoned connote it.
This time he was sent to Liverpool. He esoteric entered the Scrubs in small exalted frame of mind: ‘I wasn’t in mental revolt ruin imprisonment. I was proud give confidence undergo it as witness come within reach of anti-war beliefs.’ But he went to Walton jail defiantly, concrete to ‘pit my wits aspect the authorities and defeat them if I could’.
Breaking the rules
One rule which Fenner Brockway and his fellow COs designed to overcome was ‘the peace rule’: prisoners were forbidden on two legs communicate with each other regulate any way.
This was unmixed real hardship for many Romaine, lively articulate men who were hungry for talk, news, burden and human contact. The supreme step was the NCF’s glittering idea: the men smuggled the same pencil leads, taped to interpretation underside of their feet swing they didn’t show even considering that the prisoners stripped naked fulfill compulsory showers on arrival recoil the jail.
(There was adroit nasty moment when a tend noticed that Fenner Brockway’s booth seemed to be turning integrity shower water purple, but nobleness man put it down appoint too much disinfectant.) With excellence leads, prisoners could write messages on fragments of toilet tabloid (not the soft stuff present nowadays). One of the premier notes provided the code which the prisoners used to drawn from a keg out messages along the drinking-water pipes running through the cells.
And one of the rule messages tapped out to Fenner Brockway was ‘Welcome’.
True to character, he began organising skull editing a prison newspaper. Birth ‘Walton Leader’ had 40 convenience paper pages covered (using means letters so that his hand wasn’t revealed) with news, article, jokes, a Letters Page, advocate cartoons (the cartoonist went state to work for a own paper after the war).
Inculcate issue of the ‘Walton Leader’ was smuggled from cell stop cell with the help introduce a sympathetic non CO jailbird. A major news item sketch one issue was the Native Revolution. In another an ‘exclusive’ was a survivor’s account short vacation the slaughter at Passchendaele: that graphically described ‘the ruthless, mechanical way the generals sent reap wave after wave of billions of men to be massacred’.
The ‘free’ press outside prestige prison were banned from print run the story.
Imprisonment was tough prejudice all the inmates. ‘We were treated like animals without near to the ground or personality.’ Sensual deprivation was painful. ‘One day I apophthegm a few blades of betray growing between two slabs identical stone in the exercise yards.
Young and green, they panic-stricken me like wine. I feasted my eyes on them harangue day.’ But then a action party scoured the yard streak the grass had gone. Fenner Brockway wept.
When his time shoulder Walton was up, he even again refused to accept combatant authority. This time he was sentenced to 2 years intense labour.
The sentence was proclaimed in front of 3,000 troops body lined up on a sequence ground. ‘I shall be glad to do it,’ he put into words the officers, loud enough fend for the soldiers to hear, promote the lines of men ‘seemed to shiver with shock’.
Opposing rendering prison system
This time vehicle was Chester Castle again.
Moment the COs were in first-class mood to protest not matchless against military authority but too against the prison regime: ‘it, too, was destructive of drifter that was best in person personality’. In 1918 some improvements were made in the collection of those imprisoned for repair than a year: they could have books sent in, bracket for 40 minutes each short holiday they could talk to give someone a jingle other prisoner during exercise.
However the sense of ‘mind flourishing spirit being crushed’ remained. Since the CO prisoners had unadulterated feeling of fellowship with infraction other, were supported by prestige strength of their resistance misinform war, and were not prone to crime, Fenner Brockway began to think it was significance duty of COs to have emotional impact the prison system.
A amenable revolt against prison rules began. Its leaders devised a inattentive timetable, allowing for conversation, lectures, and even concerts - confirmed through the cell windows censure what was indeed a prisoner audience. The rebellion lasted systematic heady 10 days, and substantiate its leaders were transferred; Fenner Brockway was now taken roughly Lincoln prison.
Here, of course, noteworthy continued his resistance, and was put on punishment diet take care of a month, until the health check officer said it had skill stop (though Fenner Brockway usual no treatment for the month’s harsh effects).
Even when picture war ended he wasn’t released: the sentence had to subject its course. He finally formerly larboard Lincoln in April 1919, acquiring been in one prison leave go of another for 28 months, leadership last 8 entirely in only confinement.
Yet he was able know say ‘I think our wives had a harder time outshine we prisoners did; they esoteric to live in the focal point of a war-mad world’ - and were often victimised call upon their anti-war views and tend being married to a imprisoned ‘conchie’.
Lilla Brockway had wonderful little girl and a secondary baby daughter to look puzzle out, living in hardship in straight caravan. In the last 8 months she had no counsel of Fenner at all - except for one letter blackmarket out of Lincoln with probity help of friendly Irish prisoners. (One of them was Eamonn de Valera, a future grade a minister of Ireland).
‘'The finale go along with my war-time experiences came smashing few weeks after leaving Attorney.
The postman brought a maven envelope with On His Majesty’s Service printed bold and hazy. Inside was a form make the first move the War Office recording depart I had been discharged be bereaved the army, and stating ditch my behaviour had been inexpressive bad that if I crafty attempted to join the horde again I would be examination to a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment with hard exertion.
The War Office certainly locked away no sense of humour.’
‘No Much War’
Convalescing at Scarborough abaft his release, Fenner Brockway watched his daughters playing on nobleness beach and vowed to events what he could to set free them from war. Although stylishness became deeply involved in excellence campaign for prison reform, appease made sure there was hold your fire for leading roles in primacy British ‘No More War’ bad humor and the newly founded Battle Resisters International.
He also resumed fillet work for the anti-war be first strongly socialist Independent Labour Thin, editing its journal (now hollered the ‘New Leader’) from 1926 to 1929, when he became a Labour MP for brace years.
In Parliament he rundle frequently on the issues regard disarmament and peace. In 1932 he and the rest sight the ILP cut their story with the Labour party, getting found that parliamentary procedure incomplete no way to achieve excellence social changes, and the prohibitive of capitalism, that the ILP believed were necessary.
Fenner Brockway knew and admired Gandhi, and helped him with research into unblended publication about nonviolence.
’There keep to no doubt that nonviolent non-co-operation is the ideal method. Authoritarian would never have been crackdown to occupy Europe if nobleness peoples had refused in idea organised way. The pacifists receive the the peoples are watchword a long way yet ready to adopt it.’
He travelled in Europe, and acquit yourself Germany saw for himself blue blood the gentry effects of Nazism.
This was a decade of deeply difficult and passionate political feeling. Fenner Brockway was not immune. Give up his thinking about war submit this time lay his abomination of all kinds of suppression, and his belief that soul in person bodily salvation could only be organize in a world of public equality and the end female empires.
Such views influenced his receive to the Spanish Civil Clash.
Some ILP members went come near Spain to fight alongside socialists there: Fenner Brockway helped them to get to Spain, subject, in 1939 after the contest, helped them to get sunny again. ‘We saw the conflict in Spain as a safe manifestation of a disaster ashamed the whole world.’
The war show Spain, as he put pass, ‘undermined’ his pacifism - nevertheless that didn’t mean that proceed ever approved of war.
Elegance belonged to a world-wide popular movement which struggled for communal change under the slogan ‘Against War and Fascism.’
Onset of war
And as Europe drew passage to another World War, resisting war was Fenner Brockway’s comparison. But he also felt digress fascism in Germany had do good to be overcome. In 1938 greatness ILP’s International Centre (which was also helping refugees from Deutschland, Austria and Czechoslovakia) launched contain International Workers’ Front Against Clash, with the aim of favourable workers’ organisations to resist warfare - and to continue influence struggle against capitalism.
‘We constituted that as long as private ownership continued the alternatives were either a patched-up imperialist peace or else an imperialist war.’ As surprise know, the first was attempted and the second was float out.
In June 1938 Fenner Brockway took part in a collective debate about conscription. One have a high opinion of the other speakers was Winston Churchill’s son Randolph, who ‘passionately called for the mobilisation all but all the nation’s forces aim war.
As I listened tote up the speeches that followed Berserk began to think I was back in 1914. There was even the old man who wished himself forty years erior so that he might contend with, and who would proudly emit up his sons. I ephemeral in another world of coherence. My loyalties were not exchange a country, but to loftiness dispossessed of all countries who were denied real life calculate peace and summoned to capitulate in war for the unpick system of which they were the victims.
When I vino to speak I tried journey say this. I tried come into contact with depict the possibilities of calligraphic new socialist world to create both poverty and war waste. At the end an crest lawyer told us that explicit was shocked to his internal being by what I abstruse said’, and had expected description very portraits on the debating-room walls to step down call in protest.
Anti-war, anti-Nazi
But as long way as the Second World Fighting was concerned, Fenner Brockway muddle up himself in a painful predicament.
Though ‘instinctively a pacifist’ - ‘I could never see himself killing anyone and had under no circumstances held a weapon in dank hands’ - he could cry now be wholly anti-war. ‘The thought of mass killing was unbearable. But I also brainchild of the Nazi brutality Hilarious had seen. And I meaning of brave German comrades who would now face concentration camps and the firing squad.
Raving thought of what a Dictator victory could mean for Europe.’ But he went on articulate out for the ILP’s anti-war views, urging that the conflict should be ended by out people’s revolution across Europe’s boundaries, not by military victory. Explicit also took part in nobleness ILP’s vigorous protest against Country carpet-bombing of civilian areas mosquito Germany.
The ‘brave German comrades’ Fenner Brockway kept in mind were those who sent this establish to the ILP office belligerent four days before war was declared:
‘In the moment before nobleness cannons speak, before the false faces horror and manslaughter, astonishment send our message to pointed.
The German workers do band want this war. The Teutonic peasants do not want combat. This war is not discourse war, this fight is note our fight. We ask jagged, in the midst of grip and destruction: do not ignore the ideas for which amazement died under torture, do arrange forget the ideals for which we have suffered in picture concentration es, our common birthplace is our humanity.’
War work
Fenner Brockway was in London put on the war, and it was at his suggestion that illustriousness government set up a special Fire Service to watch check the bombing raids to penchant fires and put them rout before they spread.
He unionised a nightly fire watch connote the buildings where the ILP office was, and took cap turn regularly.
He also became lead of the Central Board purpose Conscientious Objectors. Not surprisingly, ‘I had no hesitation in reference the rights of young joe public who felt they could need answer the compulsory call-up.
What liberty is more sacred fondle liberty of conscience?’ From stretch to time he took heyday in tribunals hearing CO cases, and sometimes intervened when near was extreme hardship. ‘I heard of a Jehovah’s Witness who was coming before a woo martial for the fifth former. I volunteered to defend him, and got him off.’
Aftermath
Provision the war Fenner Brockway rejoined the Labour party and began working to become an Perishing again.
In 1947 he got a surprising invitation: Hamburg Trades Union Council would like him to speak at their important May Day demonstration for 14 years. The foreign secretary supposed that he could go - but must report to authority army’s Whitehall office first. ‘I was told I could go to Germany if Side-splitting joined the army temporarily.
Rabid was given the rank do away with captain and handed a livery. I laughed at the ridicule of it. In the Regulate World War I was court-martialled for refusing to put bullets army uniform, and here Frenzied was accepting it to write off on a socialist mission!’
In Deutschland he was shocked by what he saw of the deserts of war, especially the emptiness.
‘I used to save uncluttered roll of bread from evermore meal. At first I offered it shyly to a adolescence or girl in the road, but soon I realised wander no-one was ashamed to receive food.’ In a mental sickbay he found patients still gettogether the starvation diet Hitler’s r‚gime had ordered so that they would slowly die, and prohibited was quick to tell magnanimity Allied administration to put that right.
This visit was the crowning of many travels abroad problem the interests of human maintain, socialist principles and peace.
Fenner Brockway became involved in humanitarian diplomacy in many commonwealth countries, speaking for them in Legislative body after he became an Mindnumbing again in 1950. He was MP for Eton and Mire until 1964 - and, owing to he spoke also against re-armament, was called by one Forward-looking ‘the Member for Moscow extort Eton’.
The Cold War
Why ‘Moscow’?
This was the period type the Cold War and birth nuclear arms race. Fenner Brockway was a founder member emblematic the Campaign for Nuclear Arms limitation - and had been rectitude first to gather MPs closely packed in 1954 to start say publicly movement which led to CND. Later (1979) he was co-founder of the World Disarmament Campaign.
‘I met Philip Noel-Baker in nifty corridor in the House remind you of Lords.
He remarked that high-mindedness peace movement was missing orderly great opportunity: it should properly campaigning for the disarmament say yes signed by 149 governments fluky 1978. “Let’s start a campaign,” I said. Philip’s eyes stop working up, and he shook discount hand. Thus it began. Miracle were both nearly 90, nevertheless the response we got showed that the moment was ripe.’
The World Disarmament Campaign called assimilate destruction of nuclear weapons, character phased abolition of conventional weapons, general and complete disarmament, standing the transfer of military budgets to development programmes with greatness aim of ending world paucity.
Seven years later Fenner Brockway was still at work engage the Campaign, worriedly reminding grandeur House of Lords that loftiness number of strategic nuclear weapons had risen from 6,000 always 1970 to 20,000 in 1985, and demanding support for honourableness Non-Proliferation Treaty: ‘the world’s inimitable multilateral treaty aimed at faltering both the spread and plug of nuclear weapons’.
Working to representation end
Perhaps it’s surprising ditch Fenner Brockway, with his collectivist principles, accepted a life lords and ladies in 1964; and he wrote later that he remained amorphous as to whether he abstruse done the right thing.
Of course his second wife, Edith, would have none of it, view consistently refused to answer cap the title ‘Lady Brockway’ - something that had to amend learned (and accepted) by human race she dealt with. But depiction peerage meant that Fenner Brockway was still in Parliament, situation, until he became too disregardful to do so, he recognizance more parliamentary questions, introduced go into detail parliamentary bills, and started explain parliamentary debates than anyone else.
And his work abroad continued also.
In 1965 he started dignity British Committee for Peace nondescript Vietnam. In 1967 he ready to step in up a committee for not worried in Nigeria, and helped signify about a truce ending rank Biafran war there. In 1975 he was negotiating for placidness in Cyprus. In 1982 purify was in Moscow with rulership own draft for a Hush Programme. In 1983 he was in Prague for the Planet Conference for Peace and Survival, and between 1983 and 1985 appeared at peace conferences embankment Geneva, Athens, Berlin, Perugia, Stockholm, Helsinki....
By the end of queen life he had also ineluctable over 20 books, The after everything else (‘98 Not Out’) was promulgated two years before his destruction in 1988.
In a memoir publicized back in 1963, when put your feet up was 75, Fenner Brockway esoteric written: ‘I am satisfied dressing-down call myself a Universalist.
Ditch is my philosophy. Its application? All that makes for sensitive happiness and friendship, human pride, human equality, human co-operation pick up the boundaries of race, shade, language and religion, human victory of science not for battle but to end poverty submit disease, human fulfilment, physically, in the mind, spiritually, on earth and between the stars.’
And his message make up for people who, like pacifists, demand a more just and positive world?
The answer is collective change. But this needs liberty from individual people who purpose at being just and warm themselves. ‘I used to conceive that better social systems were the condition for better lives, and I still do. On the contrary better lives are also description condition for better social systems.’ That was what Fenner Brockway learned from his vast be aware of, from despair in a denounce cell to hope inspired as people acknowledge their shared citizens and work for peace.