Communist Party of Great Britain archive

Catalogue record

Notes

Communism was one of the defining movements of the 20th century and one unique in its international scope and political ambitions. Britain was no exception; and, from its formation as a section of the Moscow-based Communist International in 1920, the British communist party provided a pole of attraction for tens of thousands of activists on the British left.
For decades, the party's archives were a closed book to researchers, and the full story of its activities proved impossible to tell. With the dissolution of the party in 1991, however, the decision was taken to deposit the archives alongside those of the Labour Party in Manchester's People's History Museum. Catalogued in 1993-1994, these turned out to be one of the outstanding national collections for the political history of the British left and have since aroused considerable scholarly interest. For the period from the 1940s, records of the party's central leading bodies have been meticulously preserved and include notes taken at meetings by leading party officials. In addition there are extensive records of central departments like the industrial department, which dealt with the trade union activities which were the most visible and controversial sign of the party's influence, and the international department, which maintained links with communist parties overseas.
The archive also comprises a number of priceless personal collections. These include papers of its best known leader and general secretary, Harry Pollitt; its leading theoretician, R. Palme Dutt; and the organiser of the inter-war unemployed, Wal Hannington. There are also papers relating to the legendary labour agitator Tom Mann, who in his final years became a leading communist; and of professional groups like the party historians, through which historians of the stature of Eric Hobsbawm and Christopher Hill first made their names.
With a very few exceptions (e.g. the congress series CP/CENT/CONG from 1920), the institutional papers of the CPGB now held at the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester, date from 1943, when the early archives were transferred to Moscow, to 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Insofar as copyright and data protection legislation allows, the papers of all the main committees together with those of selected individual members are reproduced, including:
Agendas, minutes and supporting papers of the two main committees, the Executive Committee and the Political Committee, together with selected regional and sub-committees including the National Cultural Committee with its subsidiary bodies (e.g. the History Group, through which historians of the stature of Eric Hobsbawm and Christopher Hill first made their names); YCL; Women's Dept; London District Committee; Industrial Dept; International Committee; Organisation Dept;
Donated papers of notable members, including: the CPGB's best known leader and general secretary, Harry Pollitt; its leading theoretician, R. Palme Dutt; Ivor Montagu; the legendary labour agitator, Tom Mann / Dona Torr; the organiser of the inter-war unemployed, Wal Hannington; Ben Bradley; John Gollan; William Gallacher;
Selected Regional & Sub-Committees including: National Cultural Committee with its subsidiary bodies (e.g. the History Group); YCL; Women's Dept; London District Committee; Industrial Dept; International Committee; Organisation Dept (excl. personal & disciplinary files); and,
Associated papers, incl.: British Peace Committee; miscellaneous additional personal and historical files.
Selected and introduced by Kevin Morgan, University of Manchester. (The contents of this fonds are listed on the Access 2 Archives website (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/). Select the LHASC as the location/repository and search for "CPGB".)