Oxford researchers are warmly invited to trial Notable Individuals of British Communism, 1886-1997 via SOLO. This collection is drawn from the personal papers of a multitude of Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) activists throughout the twentieth century. This includes those at the heart of party (such as full-time “national organisers”), “full-time” CPGB activists such as Mariam Ramelson and Jack Dunman, and peripheral figures who supported the communist cause (such as Labour MP Dennis Nowell Pritt).

The works of trade unionists are featured extensively, and the papers of Peter Kerrigan and Arthur Horner shed light on the activities and campaigns of the Amalgamated Engineering Union and the Welsh Miners Federation, respectively.

The collection houses material from regions ranging from colonial Africa to war-torn Northeast Asia. The collection also hosts material related to militant activism, with biographical material concerning British volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, as well as accounts of those who fought against fascism in the Second World War.

See also the History Faculty Library Blog post. The trial ends 4 April 2026. Please send feedback to Isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.