Clive Ali Chimmo Branson (1907 – 25 February 1944) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

artist and poet, and an active communist in the 1930s. A number of his paintings are in the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

. His wife was

Noreen Branson Noreen Branson (16 May 1910 – 25 October 2003) was a British communist activist, historian, founder of ''Revolt'' newspaper, and a life-long member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). In 1931 she married fellow communist and Inte ...

(16 May 1910 – 25 October 2003). Their daughter is the artist

Rosa Branson Rosa Branson (born 1933) is a British painter and fabric designer, living in Highgate, London. She is the daughter of Clive Branson and Noreen Branson, and a second cousin of Richard Branson. Early life and education Rosa graduated from t ...

(born 1933).

Life

He was an active recruiter for the

International Brigade The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existe ...

, and himself fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

from January 1938, being captured at Calaceite on 31 March 1938. As a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

at the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

camp of San Pedro de Cardeña, he painted and sketched the camp and many of its inmates, at the request of the authorities; some of this work survives in th
Marx Memorial Library
in London. He married Noreen Browne in 1931. Their daughter

was born in 1933. He died in action in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

on 25 February 1944, where he was serving as a Sergeant in the British Army, as part of the 54th Training Regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps. Branson was killed commanding an M3 Lee tank of B Squadron,

25th Dragoons The 25th Dragoons was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1941 to 1947. Previous regiments bearing the number have been: * De La Bouchetiere's Regiment of Dragoons was re-formed in 1716 as the 25th D ...

. He was hit a glancing but fatal blow on the back of the head by a Japanese anti-tank shell near Point 315 at the end of the Battle of the Admin Box. Branson was a popular man in the unit and his crew "were inconsolable".Holland, James (2016). ''Burma '44''. London: Corgi. pp. 359–60.

Sources

*''British Soldier in India: The Letters of Clive Branson'' (1945), with introduction by

Harry Pollitt Harry Pollitt (22 November 1890 – 27 June 1960) was a British communist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from 1929 to September 1939 and again from 1941 until his death in 1960. Pollitt spent ...

. * Richard Baxell. '' Unlikely Warriors: The British in the Spanish Civil War and the Struggle Against Fascism'' (London: Aurum, 2012) *Richard Knott: ''The Secret War Against the Arts'' (Pen & Sword, 2020).

Notes

External links

* Clive Branson works at the Tate galler

* Feature on Clive and Rosa Branso

1907 births 1944 deaths English communists 20th-century English painters English male painters British people of the Spanish Civil War Spanish Civil War prisoners of war Royal Armoured Corps soldiers British prisoners of war International Brigades personnel 20th-century English poets British Army personnel killed in World War II Tank commanders 20th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub