Arthur George Field (13 July 1869 – 6 December 1944) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade unionist and socialist activist.

Early life

Born in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

(then

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

), Field grew up in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He joined the National Secular Society, and at one of its local meetings learned of the Democratic Federation. He joined the organisation, remained a largely inactive member for many years, and joined its successor, the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

. He became involved in debating societies, and in 1888 was the founding secretary of the town's Central Debating Society, which he launched with two debates on

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Political career

In the run-up to the 1888 Maidstone by-election, Field worked with George Bateman, Will Parnell and

Henry Hyde Champion Henry Hyde Champion (22 January 1859 – 30 April 1928) was a socialist journalist and activist, regarded as a leading figure in the early political organisations of the British labour movement. From a middle-class background, he was an early ...

to found the Maidstone Labour Electoral Association (LEA). The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate, John Barker, agreed to support a maximum eight hour working day, and on this basis, Field and the LEA supported him. The organisation remained active, and supported a Liberal candidate in the 1889 town council election. Field worked as a photographer, and decided to found a union for the trade. He took advice from Tom Mann, and launched the union at a meeting in London in 1890, but it attracted only fifty members, and was dissolved the following year. Field instead encouraged photographers to join the Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Artists, but the union would not agree to take on only qualified photographers, and Field later suggested that photographers join the National Union of Shop Assistants. Having worked with Mann and Champion, Field was active in the London dock strike of 1889, and was elected to the executive of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union, representing the Medway area. Field took little part in the local branches of the union, and by mid-1892, they had all closed. In 1890, Field organised a conference to found a Kent Independent Labour Party, which was affiliated with the Legal Eight Hours and International League, and was chaired by Edward Aveling. It sponsored W. C. Steadman as a Liberal-Labour candidate in Mid Kent at the 1892 UK general election, although he was not elected. Field also helped Joseph Burgess found a Labour Club in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Field attended the 1893 Congress of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...

as a representative of the party. In 1893, he attended the founding conference of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP), representing both Bromley and Leicester. While the Leicester branch had no activity, and Field had no ongoing relationship with it, he was elected to the ILP's first

National Administrative Council The National Administrative Council (NAC) was the executive council of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), a British socialist party which was active from 1893 until 1975. Creation The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was founded at a conference in ...

, as a representative of the Midlands. On the council, Field was a lone voice in support of Champion, and lost his seat at the 1894 conference. He remained active in the ILP, as secretary of otherwise unorganised areas of Kent. In 1896, he was a delegate from the Chatham Branch of the ILP and attended the London International Congress (27 July to 1 August). He was a photographer of the 1897 conference, but remained a supporter of Champion and therefore marginalised in the party. Field served as secretary of the Maidstone and District Trades Council for much of the 1890s until 1902, when he was elected as president. In his new role, he led it to back independent labour candidates, but was accused of working with the Conservative Party to do so, and he resigned in protest in 1903. Instead, he moved to Battersea, where he became the secretary of the South and East of England Trades and Labour Councils. He tried to affiliate this organisation to the Labour Representation Committee, and soon faced a rival in the form of the Federation of Metropolitan Trades and Labour Councils, leading Field to abandon his federation. Inspired by the Young Turks, in 1908 Field became interested in

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and by 1914 he was the founding secretary of the Anglo-Ottoman Society. He was invited to speak on the subject by the City of London ILP, and this inspired him to rejoin the party. Along with other leaders of the Anglo-Ottoman Society, in 1917 he founded the Workers' Welfare League of India. This support for the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

led him to become the London representative of the Free Press of India and Indian National Newspapers, and he developed a friendship with Shapurji Saklatvala. Field supported the British Socialist Party's formation of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

(CPGB), becoming a founder member. Within the party, he worked with Saklatvala and Mann, along with S. A. Dange and M. N. Roy. However, in 1927, the CPGB criticised Saklatvala for initiating his children as Parsis, and Field resigned in sympathy, thereafter writing

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

articles for the Indian press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Arthur 1869 births 1944 deaths British Socialist Party members Communist Party of Great Britain members Trade unionists from Kent Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Social Democratic Federation members People from Maidstone