Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

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The Communist Party on Trial, 1926

William Gallacher's Defence and Judge Rigby Swift's Summing Up

by William Gallacher

Pamphlet containing the speech for the defence by William Gallacher at his trial in November 1925. William Gallacher was one of the 12 members of the central committee of the Communist Party of Great Britain put on trial for sedition and incitement to mutiny in 1925 after a police raid on the head offices of the Communist Party, the Young Communist League, and the Minority Movement.

The pamphlet was published by the Communist Party of Great Britain, ostensibly to counter the demonisation of British communists by the government, the judiciary and the right-wing press.

The pamphlets also served as propaganda literature and helped to raise funds for the legal costs of defending the 12 members of the central committee at their trial.

Source: Gallacher Memorial Library, Glasgow Caledonian University Special Collections and Archives