Charles Wilfred Mowbray (1857 – December 1910) was an English

anarcho-communist Anarchist communism is a far-left political ideology and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private real property but retention of personal property and collectively-owned items, goods, and ser ...

agitator, tailor, trade unionist and public speaker. Mowbray was an active orator and agitator in the Labour Emancipation League, and then the Socialist League, becoming the publisher of the Socialist League's newspaper ''Commonweal'' in 1890. At this time he began describing himself as an anarcho-communist. He was arrested in 1892 and charged with conspiracy to murder in a high-profile trial but was acquitted. At this time he reportedly worked as a police informant. From 1894 he lived and worked in the United States where he went on speaker tours before being deported in the wake of the assassination of

President McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party, he led a realignment that made Republicans largely do ...

. Back in England he moved away from anarchism and began lecturing on

tariff reform Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

(protectionism) and was funded by the

National Union of Conservative Associations National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Biography

Mowbray was born in

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

in 1857. In his youth he served in the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

which resulted in him being firmly

anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...

. Mowbray became a tailor by trade. In 1878, he married Mary Benoit whose father Joseph Benoit had been a well known

communard The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards we ...

. Mowbray and Mary went on to have five children.

Political agitation

In the early 1880s Mowbray was living in a notorious London slum, the

Old Nichol The Boundary Estate is a housing development in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. The estate, constructed from 1890, was one of the earliest social housing schemes built by a local government authority. It was b ...

, and was active in the Labour Emancipation League alongside

Frank Kitz Frank Kitz (1849 – 8 January 1923) was an English people, English anarchist. Life Born in the Kentish Town area of London as Francis Platt, he was illegitimate and grew up in poverty.E. P. Thompson and Peter Linebaugh, ''William Morris: ...

. In 1885 they both joined the newly forming Socialist League. Mowbray became known for his public speaking at a time of increasing police repression of open-air meetings. In September 1885 Mowbray was prosecuted and fined alongside another socialist for "obstructing a public thoroughfare", namely Dod Street in

Limehouse, London Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

, after the police attacked a large outdoor protest meeting. In June 1886 he was arrested at a rally in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

and fined £1. Later that year he moved to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

and began political agitating there. On 14 January 1887, Mowbray and writer Fred Henderson addressed a public meeting of unemployed workers in Norwich in what became known as the "Battle of Ham Run". After the meeting the crowd marched on the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

to lobby the mayor, and began smashing the windows of a bank and several shops. Mowbray and Henderson were both arrested. Mowbray was sentenced to nine months hard labour at

Norwich Castle Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England. The castle was used as a ...

for "riot with force, injuring buildings and assault". Henderson was sentenced to four months imprisonment.

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

wrote a play, ''The Tables Turned; or, Nupkins Awakened'', satirising the trial and judiciary. A committee was formed to support Mowbray's wife and five children while he was in prison. Prison further politicised Mowbray, and after his release he began openly advocating for the use of dynamite and

propaganda by the deed Propaganda of the deed, or propaganda by the deed, is a type of direct action intended to influence public opinion. The action itself is meant to serve as an example for others to follow, acting as a catalyst for social revolution. It is primari ...

. However, according to

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

ledgers at this time he also worked for Melville as a

police informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

, "organising secret shadowers of anarchists". In 1889 he was elected onto the strike committee for the successful three-week long tailors strike, developing a close relationship with the Jewish anarchist movement. He became an active member of the Labour Emancipation League. Mowbray was antagonistic towards anarchism until the late 1880s. Differences within the League sharpened, particularly over the use of violence in the immediate struggle. At the 1890 annual conference of the Socialist League, William Morris was ousted as editor of ''

Commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Catholic-oriented magazin ...

'' and was replaced by David Nicoll and

with Mowbray as publisher. Morris left the League later in the same year, but the removal of his moderating influence and substantial funding shook morale. There was also an increase in violent rhetoric in ''Commonweal'' under Nicoll's editorship, with him arguing that "Individual assaults on the system will lead to riots, riots to revolts, revolts to insurrection, insurrection to revolution."

''Commonweal'' trial

In an article in ''Commonweal'' in April 1892 David Nicoll criticised Justice Henry Hawkins, who had presided over the Walsall anarchist trial, and asked whether Hawkins, the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

Henry Matthews or Inspector

William Melville William Melville (25 April 1850 – 1 February 1918) was an Irish law enforcement officer and the first chief of the British Secret Service Bureau. Birth William Melville was born into a Roman Catholic family in Direenaclaurig Cross, Sneem, ...

were "fit to live". On the morning of the 19th April Mowbray's wife, Mary, died at home of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Four hours later the police arrested Mowbray at his home for incitement to murder Matthews, Hawkins and Melville. His young children were left alone in the house with their dead mother. William Morris paid £500 for Mowbray's bail so he could attend the funeral without a police escort. The funeral was attended by several thousand people. Nicoll denied any intention to incite murder, stating that the article had been written in "hot blood". Mowbray argued that he had not been involved in producing the paper as he had been caring for his wife. Mowbray was acquitted while Nicoll was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour. In 1893 Mowbray was a delegate at the Zürich Anarchist Congress.

The United States

In 1894, Mowbray travelled to the United States to do a speaking tour in cities on the East Coast. On 28 December 1894 Mowbray gave a lecture to the Ladies' Liberal League in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

after which he was arrested and charged with inciting riot and sedition. His host,

Voltairine de Cleyre Voltairine de Cleyre (; November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) was an American anarchist, feminist writer and public speaker. Born into extreme poverty in Michigan, de Cleyre taught herself how to read and write, and became a lover of poetry. ...

, formed a defence committee which succeeded in getting him released. In early 1894, Mowbray settled in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and began working as a tailor. That same year Mowbray was used as an example during debates in Congress on the government's inability to stop anarchists from entering the United States. Mowbray moved his family to Boston in April 1895 with the help of

Josef Peukert Josef Peukert (22 January 1855 – 3 March 1910) was an anarchist known for his autobiographical book ''Memoirs from the proletarian revolutionary labour movement'' (). The book provided a glimpse into the early days of the radical labour moveme ...

. Later that year he did another speaking tour. In Boston Mowbray's public speaking helped inspire printer Harry Kelly into becoming an anarchist. In September 1895 Mowbray and Kelly helped launch and edited a short-lived anarcho-communist newspaper, ''The Rebel''. Mowbray later moved to New York, then

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

. In Hoboken he opened a saloon and became a heavy drinker. Following the

assassination of President McKinley William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was shot on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901, six months into his second term. He was shaking hands with th ...

in 1901 Mowbray was one of a number of anarchists deported from the US.

Later life

Mowbray returned to London where he joined the Industrial Union of Direct Actionists which had been founded by

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposit ...

and Charles Lahr and returned to public speaking in support of anarchism. However, Mowbray then appeared to have abandoned his anarchist beliefs and began lecturing on

(protectionism). This included touring the country for the

. In December 1910, Mowbray died in bed from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at a hotel in

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He had been in the area speaking in support of Conservative Party candidate

Mark Sykes Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 – 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician, and diplomatic advisor, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First ...

who was running against the incumbent Liberal MP Luke White. White was also the district coroner and presided over the inquest into Mowbray's death. He was buried in London.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowbray, Charles Wilfred 1857 births 1910 deaths 20th-century anarchists Anarcho-communists English anarchists English tailors English trade unionists People deported from the United States People from Bishop Auckland Police informants Socialist League (UK, 1885) members