Walter Thomas Leo Tapsell (19 August 1904 – 31 March 1938) 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, known as a leading figure in the

British Battalion The British Battalion (1936–1938; officially the Shapurji Saklatvala, Saklatvala Battalion) was the 16th (from November 1937 the 57th) battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during t ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Early life and activism

Born in the East End of London, Tapsell joined 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 ...

(CPGB) at the age of sixteen, and also became prominent in the

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name ''YCL of ountry' originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of YCLs includ ...

(YCL). Harry Wicks, ''Keeping My Head'', p.201 He studied at the Lenin School in

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 ...

, taking his wife Esther, and co-ordinated the passing of documents between Moscow and the CPGB. At the 1929 general election, Tapsell stood against future Leader of the Labour Party and

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

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. However, he took only 245 votes, and was not elected. When the result was announced, he gave a speech complaining about the system of deposits, which, he claimed, made it difficult for representatives of the working class to stand. By 1929, Tapsell was the secretary of the YCL, and he had been noticed by the international

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 ...

leadership as a promising talent, alongside William Rust, Robin Page Arnot and Robbie Robson, and the group enthusiastically embraced the new "Class Against Class" line. However, each member of the group was associated with a failed project; in Tapsell's case, it was that he had performed poorly when organising the party's support of textile workers locked out in West Yorkshire in 1930. Tapsell was declared bankrupt in 1934, at which time he described his trades as "journalist", probably due to his role as circulation manager of the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...

'' newspaper. In his spare time, Tapsell was also a keen jazz drummer, and was interested in sports, sitting on the National Committee of the British Workers' Sports Federation.

Spanish Civil War

Tapsell volunteered to serve in the

. His friend Harry Young was concerned that he was sent by the CPGB leadership because he was viewed as an opposition figure. He arrived in Spain on 1 March 1937, and enlisted with the British Battalion on 10 March. Initially, he was made Political Commissar of the British base at Albacete,British Battalion
, XV International Brigade in Spain and in this role, he was asked to investigate the

May Days The May Days (, ), sometimes also called May Events (, ), were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in str ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

; he placed responsibility for the events on the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

. Tapsell soon saw action at the

Battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...

. With supplies and support limited, the battalion was reduced from 600 men to only 185. Tapsell led a delegation to General János Gálicz to ask for relief. Gálicz rejected the request, at which point Tapsell declared that he was "not fit to command a troop of Brownies, let alone a People's Army". Gálicz had Tapsell arrested for insubordination and threatened with execution. Although battalion commander Fred Copeman managed to get him released, after the battle, both were recalled to London alongside Jock Cunningham and George Aitken to explain the events. Cunningham and Aitken were prevented from returning, but Tapsell went back to the front line later in the year, and in November, he was made Political Commissar of the whole British Battalion. In his role as commissar, Tapsell was generally well respected. Walter Gregory claimed that he was "surely the greatest of all those who served as political commissars" and noted that he was the first to advance and last to retreat. When they returned to Spain, Copeman told Tapsell that he would not accept his political authority, and Tapsell responded by picking up a rifle and focused on his role as a rifleman. Tapsell fought in the Battle of Belchite, but shortly afterwards, the battalion was ambushed by Italian forces at

Calaceite Calaceite () or ''Calaceit'' () is a municipality located in the Matarraña comarca, in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 1,145 inhabitants. There are many ancient bui ...

, and he died in battle. Although he had time to crawl out of the line of fire, he was never seen again. This prompted Copeman later to claim that Tapsell had survived the battle and been liquidated by "agents of Stalin" because he had his "teeth in something which was rotten and they weren't bloody well letting go". However, James K. Hopkins notes that there is no evidence to support this theory.James K. Hopkins, ''Into the Heart of the Fire: The British in the Spanish Civil War'', pp.288, 422

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapsell, Wally 1904 births 1938 deaths British people of the Spanish Civil War British military personnel killed in action Communist Party of Great Britain members Young Communist League of Britain members International Brigades personnel killed in action