Percy Redfern (1875 – 11 February 1958) was a British co-operative movement writer and journalist and an advocate for consumer co-operation.

Biography

Redfern was born the illegitimate son of a housekeeper in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in 1875. He was raised by his father, Francis Redfern, who was an architect and by his stepmother. He went to seven different schools, including Nottingham Grammar School, before becoming an apprentice to a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. He disliked the harsh conditions and corrupt practices of the

retail industry Retail is the sale of goods In economics, goods are anything that is good, usually in the sense that it provides welfare or utility to someone. Alan V. Deardorff, 2006. ''Terms Of Trade: Glossary of International Economics'', World Sci ...

and began to take an interest in

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. He joined 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 ...

, contributed to the Federation's paper ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'' and became an active member of 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 ...

. Redfern was a pacificist and vegetarian. He had a succession of jobs including working for a

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

and as a storekeeper for the Manchester Vegetarian Society. In 1899 he began working in a clerical job in Manchester for the

Co-operative Wholesale Society A cooperative wholesale society (CWS) is a form of cooperative federation (that is, a cooperative in which all the members are cooperatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. The theory, practice and history of th ...

(CWS) and subsequently began editing the CWS's monthly magazine the ''Wheatsheaf'' and its annual, the ''People's Year Book''. In his 1920 manifesto ''The Consumers' Place in Society'' he advocated for consumer co-operation, arguing that the consumer has a key role to play in bringing about a new social order through voluntary collectivism. He ascribed central importance to the book

Looking Backward ''Looking Backward: 2000–1887'' is a utopian time travel science fiction novel by the American journalist and writer Edward Bellamy first published in 1888. The book was translated into several languages, and in short order "sold a million ...

at the time of the rise of the 'New Socialism.' In his autobiography he testified that 'to grasp at every means of radical change I read more industrial history, more of the opposite socialist futures pictured by Bellamy." In 1913 he wrote his first history of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, ''The Story of the C.W.S.'', followed in 1938 by ''The New History of the C.W.S.'' He retired from the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1938 but continued his work as a writer, with his autobiography ''Journey to Understanding'' published in 1946. He died in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

on 11 February 1958 and was buried at the Southern Cemetery in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redfern, Percy 1875 births 1958 deaths British cooperative organizers English vegetarianism activists English journalists Independent Labour Party members Social Democratic Federation members Writers from Leicester Writers from Nottingham