Douglas Gordon Wolton (1898–1988) 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 ...

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activist, best known for leading the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). Born in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

in England, Wolton moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1921, and he joined the CPSA in 1925. He met a fellow party member named Molly, who had been born in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and were married by the end of the year.Les Switzer, ''South Africa's Alternative Press: Voices of Protest and Resistance, 1880-1960'', pp.366-367 From about 1928, the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

proposed a policy in which the CPSA would first campaign for a "native republic", in which black South Africans would assume leading roles, with this being a stepping stone to socialism. Party leader Sydney Bunting strongly opposed the approach, but the Woltons supported it. By the start of 1929, they had won the debate in the party, which adopted the policy, and Douglas was elected as general secretary of the CPSA and editor of its newspaper, the ''South African Worker''.Les Switzer, ''South Africa's Alternative Press: Voices of Protest and Resistance, 1880-1960'', p.334 He also stood in the

1929 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa on 12 June 1929. The National Party (South Africa), National Party under J. B. M. Hertzog won an outright majority in the House of Assembly (South Africa), House of Assembly. Hertzog had the opportuni ...

in Cape Flats as an independent. Although he held some large meetings, he was heavily defeated. In July 1929, the couple went on a trip to England, and Douglas stood down from his positions. Douglas began working for 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 ...

's (CPGB) Colonial Department, then in 1930 the couple went to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where they attended the Fifth Congress of the

Red International of Labour Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern (), was an international body established by the Communist International (Comintern) with the aim of coordinating communist activities within trade unions. Formally ...

. Douglas was made a consultative delegate on behalf of the CPGB, and he took part in discussions about the situation in South Africa, helping the Comintern draft directives on how their policies should be applied in the country. He was ordered to return to South Africa in September, although Molly remained in Moscow, studying at the Lenin School.Matthew Worley, ''In Search of Revolution: International Communist Parties in the Third Period'', pp.345-356 Douglas arrived back in South Africa in November 1930, and immediately began circulating the Comintern's directives. He was soon elected as chair of the party, effectively its leader. On the request of the Comintern, he expelled members who had opposed the "native republic" policy, describing them as "rightists". This created an atmosphere of confusion and sectarianism, and many other members resigned, the party membership falling to only 350. Molly soon joined him, and the couple worked closely with Lazar Bach to run the party. They were targeted by the South African government; in 1932, Douglas was sentenced to

hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

, while early in 1933 he was convicted of encouraging transport workers in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

to strike and was imprisoned. By 1933, Molly was suffering with a heart condition and her mental and physical health collapsed. She believed that she would benefit from more advanced healthcare available in England, and Douglas' brother wrote to him with details of a job at the ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

''. In response, the couple left the country without the authorisation of the Comintern, to which Douglas wrote a letter, giving the reasons for their departure and justifying his performance as party leader. They settled in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, where Douglas attempted to start a newspaper, but the enterprise was unsuccessful, and he instead found work selling industrial paint. Molly died in 1945, and Douglas remarried, living until 1988. In 1947, Wolton published a book, ''Whither, South Africa?''Ed. Thomas Karis and G. M. Gerhat, ''From Protest to Challenge: Vol 4: Political profiles, 1882-1964'', p.163

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolton, Douglas 1898 births 1988 deaths British communists Members of the South African Communist Party People from Doncaster