Edwin Charles Fairchild (1874–1955) was a socialist activist and

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Biography

A long-term member of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

(SDF), Fairchild was a member of its radical Central Hackney branch, alongside

Zelda Kahan Zelda Kahan (1886 – 1969) was a British communist. Born into a Jewish family in Russia in 1886, Kahan's family were forced to emigrate, and she moved to Britain at an early age. The Kahans lived at 6 Clapton Square in Hackney, London. She ...

and Theodore Rothstein. As early as 1909, he was a signatory to a resolution denouncing party leader

H. M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 22 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first socialist p ...

's anti-German rhetoric. He supported closer links with 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 ...

and other socialists, and worked with

Alf Purcell Albert Arthur "Alf" Purcell (3 November 1872, Hoxton – 24 December 1935) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and later President of the International Fede ...

and

Victor Grayson Albert Victor Grayson (born 5 September 1881, disappeared 28 September 1920) was an English socialist politician of the early 20th century. An Independent Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1907 to 1910, Grayson is most notable for his sens ...

on the Provisional Committee for the Promotion of Common Ground Among the Socialists. This was opposed by the right-wing of the SDF, but proved successful, as it constituted 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 ...

(BSP), and the SDF merged itself into the new party. Fairchild was elected to the BSP's first standing orders committee, alongside Duncan Carmichael,

Peter Petroff Peter Petroff (; 21 October 1919 – 27 February 2003
''The New York Times'': Peter D. Petroff Dies at 83. Re ...

and C. T. Douthwaite. The four worked together to ensure voices in the party opposing British rearmament were heard.David Howell, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XII, pp.72-76 He was also elected to the party's executive, representing the party's left-wing. At the

1913 London County Council election An election to the London County Council, County Council of London took place on 5 March 1913. It was the ninth triennial election of the whole Council. The size of the council was 118 councillors and 19 aldermen. The councillors were elected f ...

, Fairchild stood for the BSP in Bow and Bromley. He took 1,609 votes, but was not elected. In 1915, the party selected him as its delegate to the

Zimmerwald Conference The Zimmerwald Conference, held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 to 8, 1915, was the first of three international conferences convened by anti-militarist socialists in response to the outbreak of World War I and the resulting virtu ...

, but he was refused a passport and could not attend. During this period, Fairchild was close to John Maclean. When Maclean's newspaper, ''Vanguard'', was suppressed, Fairchild launched ''The Call'' as a replacement.Martin Crick, ''The History of the Social-Democratic Federation'', pp.273-274 The BSP was divided over British entry to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; although the majority of the party opposed it, much of the leadership was in favour. Fairchild was an opponent of the war, although he was considered a centrist within the party, as he also argued against action which would endanger "national defence". The party's right-wing were defeated at its conference in 1916 and walked out; following this, Fairchild was elected as the party's chairman, and ''The Call'' became the party's official newspaper. The BSP affiliated to the Labour Party, and Fairchild was selected by the Rochdale Trades and Labour Council as the party's candidate for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

the

1918 UK general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

. However, a dispute over his support for

conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during

led to his replacement by R. H. Tawney.Jay M. Winter, ''Socialism and the Challenge of War'', p.176 Like the majority of his party, Fairchild welcomed the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and he spoke at the launch of the

Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates The Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates was established on 3 June 1917 at the Leeds Convention held in Leeds, England. The founding conference was attended by 1,150 delegates. It was inspired by the events of the Russian February Revoluti ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. However, he remained committed to

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

even when many in his party preferred setting up

workers' councils A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of poli ...

. He and Henry Alexander resigned from the BSP in 1919, after it voted to seek affiliation to the

Third International 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 Internation ...

.Ian Bullock, ''Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left'', pp.135-145

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairchild, Edwin C. 1874 births 1955 deaths British Socialist Party members Social Democratic Federation members