Debate and Division on the British Left, 1917-1964

John Thomas (J.T.) Murphy and Molly Murphy (née Morris) were a married couple who were prominent members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) during its formative years. J.T. was expelled from the party in 1932, while Molly resigned shortly thereafter.

This collection contains J.T.’s personal and political papers, which cover a wide range of subjects, from his imprisonment in 1925 and campaign to become a Member of Parliament to his travels in post-revolutionary Russia and disagreements with the CPGB leadership. Documents detailing Molly's time as a nurse on the frontlines of the Spanish Civil War are also included. Together, these materials provide an invaluable insight into the internal debates that plagued the British and European left during the 1920s and 1930s.

The collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan, a senior academic at the University of Manchester.

The [CPGB] archives contain by far the most important collection of personal papers relating to British communism.

Professor Kevin Morgan, University of Manchester

Insights

J.T. was a leading member of one of the CPGB's precursory organisations, the Socialist Labour Party. He took part in unity discussions between various British revolutionary groups which led to the formation of the CPGB in 1920.

J.T. held several important posts in the party throughout the 1920s. From 1926 to 1928, he even acted as its representative in the Communist International (Comintern), which was based in Moscow.

This provided J.T. and his wife Molly with unprecedented access to everyday Soviet life, which they recorded through photographs.

Molly joined the CPGB having become disillusioned by the bourgeois sensibilities of the suffragette movement. She met J.T. through the party and stuck by him when its leaders voted to expel him. Much of the material relating to Molly centres on her experience as a volunteer nurse on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War.

J.T.'s expulsion resulted from a disagreement over the Soviet Union's trade credits with Britain. Although a seemingly obscure and innocuous issue, J.T. made it clear that he did not want to subordinate himself to a policy he did not "consciously accept." This schism highlights a wider tension within the party regarding its willingness to accept every Soviet action as a sacred diktat. That said, J.T. himself remained "a loyal follower of Stalin, whose hagiography he later published."

After parting ways with the CPGB, J.T. dedicated a great deal of his time to writing. He penned a number of books and articles, including some that were biographical in nature and others that were concerned with Marxist philosophy.

Highlights

Document

Soviet communist life in photographs, 1917–1927.

Document

J.T. Murphy's expulsion from the CPGB, 1932.

Document

The Spanish Civil War: nursing admission and letters home, 1936–1939.

Document

Molly Murphy: a prospective autobiography, 1960s.

The Archives of the Communist Party Of Great Britain: An Introduction

The Departments of the Communist Party of Great Britain: A Detailed Guide

Notable Individuals of the Communist Party of Great Britain

Editorial Board

Professor Kevin Morgan Professor of Politics and Contemporary History https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/kevin.morgan.html Kevin Morgan is the Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Manchester and recipient of an AHRC Fellowship for the project ‘Communism and the cult of the leader’. Professor Morgan is also the editor of the journal 'Twentieth Century Communism' and a trustee of the Communist Party of Great Britain Archives Trust and the Working Class Movement Library.