The October Club is an independent

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 ...

organisation made up of students at

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, founded in December 1931. Its stated aim is to 'be a political home for radical students at the university and channel enthusiasm into building a long-term base of student-worker-community power at Oxford'. Alongside

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

, it also stresses its commitment to

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: *Abolitionism, abolition of slavery *Capital punishment#Abolition of capital punishment, Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment *Abolitio ...

, trans-liberatory

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, and

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...

History

1930s

Founded with the object of ‘the study of communism in its world social, economic and cultural aspects’, within its first year it gained some 300 members out of a total population of approximately 5000 undergraduates. Amongst its founders were

Noel Carritt Noel Carritt (1910–1992) was a British communist activist, teacher, and volunteer for the International Brigades. He was born into the Carritt family, known for their Marxist and anti-fascist politics which heavily influenced him. As a young m ...

Frank Meyer Frank Meyer may refer to: *Frank Meyer (political philosopher) (1909–1972), American libertarian political philosopher *Sir Frank Meyer, 2nd Baronet (1886–1935), British businessman and Conservative Party Member of Parliament *Frank Nicholas Me ...

and Dick Freeman. Key early members were drawn from the university's small population of Indian students such as

Sajjad Zaheer Syed Sajjad Zaheer () (5 November 1905 – 13 September 1973) was a Pakistani-Indian Urdu political writer. He was a Marxist ideologue and a radical revolutionary who worked in both India and Pakistan. In the pre-independence era, he was a me ...

, B.P.L. Bedi and C.S. Subramanyam, who would go onto play notable roles in Indian communist and independence politics (along with fellow Club member

Freda Bedi Freda Bedi (born Freda Marie Houlston; 5 February 1911 – 26 March 1977), also known as Sister Palmo or Gelongma Karma Kechog Palmo, was an English-Indian social worker, writer, Indian nationalist and Buddhist nun. She was jailed in British In ...

). Initially, the Club was highly critical of the British Communist Party, but by the Spring of 1932, the Club's core activists (approximately ten) had joined the party. According to some contemporaries, it was largely a discussion group, attracting speakers such as

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

Ivor Montagu Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu (23 April 1904, in Kensington, London – 5 November 1984, in Watford) was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player, and Communist activist and spy in the 1930s. He help ...

, and

Shapurji Saklatvala Shapurji Dorabji Saklatvala (28 March 1874 – 16 January 1936) was a communist militant and British politician of Indian Parsi heritage. He was the first person of Indian heritage to become a British Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour P ...

. However, the Club did take part in a number of political actions including organising a delegation to meet hunger marchers passing through Oxford on their journey from Lancashire to London, and participating in violent protests in 1933 against the rise of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

in Oxford, both in the university and the city. Such was the violence of this period, that, in 1933, communist and socialist students from

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

founded the anti-fascist Red Shirts and volunteered to act as stewards to defend events held by the October Club. Nonetheless, by the autumn of 1933, the Club was the largest student organisation at the university. Later in 1933, the Club was banned by the university, ostensibly for its criticism of the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

, leading to student protests against the decision. The Club remained independently active until 1935, when it was officially dissolved itself into the Labour Club, forming a ' popular front'. The October Club continued as a group within the Labour Club for a number of years.

2020s

Trinity Term Universities Trinity term is the third and final term of the academic year at the University of Oxford,Student Union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

with the stated aim to 'be a political home for radical students at the university and channel enthusiasm into building a long-term base of student-worker-community power at Oxford'. Upon its refounding, it had no affiliation with any national communist or socialist organisation. In 2024, during

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against the University's ties to

Israel's war on Gaza The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts dating back to the 20th century, it follows the wars of 200 ...

, the Club claimed its members' involvement in violent confrontation with

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

Notable alumni

Heinz Arndt Heinz Wolfgang Arndt (26 February 1915 – 6 May 2002) was a German-born Australian economist. Biography Heinz Wolfgang Arndt was born in Breslau, Germany, in 1915, the eldest son of Fritz Georg Arndt (1885–1969) and Julia (née Heimann). A ...

(economist) *

(Indian nationalist) * B.P.L. Bedi (major contributor to the

Naya Kashmir ''Naya Kashmir'' (New kashmir) is the name given to the memorandum that Sheikh Abdullah the leader of Kashmir's leading political party the National Conference submitted to Maharaja Hari Singh the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state), Jammu ...

constitution) *

(

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

volunteer and member of the Carritt family) * Jack Dunman (writer and farm-worker unionist) * Bernard Floud ( Labour Party politician, and alleged spy) *David Floyd (journalist and spy) * Christopher Hill (historian) *

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the lo ...

( Labour Party politician) * Diana Hopkinson (memoirist) * François Lafitte (social researcher and abortion lobbyist) * Freya Marshall Payne (writer) *

(conservative political philosopher) *

Thora Silverthorne Thora Silverthorne (25 November 1910 – 17 January 1999), also known as "Red Silverthorne", was a Communist Party of Great Britain, British Communist, nurse and healthcare activist. She worked as a nanny for MP Somerville Hastings in her youth. ...

(co-founder of the rank-and-file nurses' union, the National Nurses Association) * Olive Shapley (radio producer and broadcaster) * R. W. Southern (historian) (non-member, but in regular attendance) * C.S. Subramanyam (founding member of the

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

in India's south) * Gywn Thomas (novelist) *

Philip Toynbee Theodore Philip Toynbee (25 June 1916 – 15 June 1981) was a British writer and communist. He wrote experimental novels, and distinctive verse novels, one of which was an epic called ''Pantaloon'', a work in several volumes, only some of whi ...

(writer, and first communist president of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

) * Donald Wheeler (alleged spy) *

(writer and founding member of the

Communist Party of Pakistan The Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP; Urdu: ) is a communist party in Pakistan founded in 1948 by Sajjad Zaheer. History The Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP) was founded in Calcutta, India, soon after the establishment of Pakistan on 6 March ...

) (graduated a few months prior to the founding of the Club and attended meetings as a non-student)

References

{{reflist Student organizations established in 1931 Student organizations established in 1935 Organizations disestablished in 1933 Organizations disestablished in 1935 Communist organisations in the United Kingdom Clubs and societies of the University of Oxford

History

1930s

2020s

Notable alumni

See also

References