George Garrett (13 August 1896 – 28 May 1966) was a British labour activist, writer and actor. He was a member of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

, and notable working class writer.

Biography

Garrett was born in Seacombe, Cheshire, England, on 13 August 1896. His father, Samuel Garrett, was the son of Irish

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

migrants. His mother, Catherine McAndrew, was the daughter of Irish Catholic migrants. After marrying in Liverpool in 1891 his Liverpool-born parents moved to Seacombe. Garrett lived most of his life in Liverpool where he is remembered as a labour activist. Garrett was a merchant seaman, writer, playwright and founder member of the

Unity Theatre, Liverpool The Unity Theatre is a theatre in Liverpool, England. Formed by directors Gerry Dawson and Edgar Criddle as the Merseyside Left Theatre in the 1930s, the theatre became known as the Merseyside Unity Theatre in 1944. The company was known for b ...

. He was a radical activist who travelled the world and wrote a series of short stories, plays and pieces of reportage about hunger and unemployment in the 1930s. He was a

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

who joined the Industrial Workers of the World when he lived in New York for three years, and was influenced by the Irish American Playwright

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

. He died of throat cancer on 28 May 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, George 1896 births 1966 deaths Industrial Workers of the World members Proletarian literature Deaths from cancer in England Place of death missing Trade unionists from Liverpool

Biography

See also

Further reading

References