H. J. Gillespie

H. J. Gillespie (died 1950) was a British socialist activist who was also prominent in the women's suffrage movement.

Gillespie joined the Fabian Society in 1911 and soon came to prominence, serving as honorary secretary of its Research Department in 1913. That year, he was also elected to the executives of the Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisement and the Railway Nationalisation Society.[1] He was a founder member of the United Suffragists, along with Agnes Harben and her husband, serving as its treasurer in 1914.[2] Gillespie then joined the Royal Field Artillery to fight in the First World War, rising to become a major,[3] and receiving the Distinguished Service Order.[4]

Gillespie was still supportive of the labour movement immediately after the war, writing a testimonial for the Daily Herald,[5] but he later drifted away, and wrote a book, Why I Gave Up Socialism.[6] In the 1930s, he became the secretary of the Mining Association of Great Britain.[4]

References
  1. "Biographies of new candidates". Fabian News. April 1914.
  2. Crawford, Elizabeth (2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. Routledge. p. 694. ISBN 1135434026.
  3. Eustace, Claire; John, Angela V. (2013). The Men's Share?. Routledge. p. 28. ISBN 113618144X.
  4. Whitaker's Almanack (1950), p.583
  5. Beers, Laura (2000). Your Britain: Media and the Making of the Labour Party. Harvard University Press. pp. 145–146. ISBN 0674050029.
  6. Annual Report of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations (1927), p.16
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