Douglas Hyde (author)

Douglas Arnold Hyde
Born	8 April 1911 Sussex
Died	19 September 1996

Douglas Arnold Hyde (8 April 1911, Worthing, Sussex — 19 September 1996, Kingston upon Thames) was an English political journalist and writer. A Communist, he was the news editor of the Daily Worker until 1948, when he converted to Catholicism and resigned.

Hyde grew up in Bristol and was brought up as a Methodist. In his youth he was active in a number of political organisations which brought him into contact with Communists. He became a Methodist lay preacher and continued this work for some time in parallel with membership of the Communist party. He was an early convert to Communism, at age 17 in 1928.

After a period working in North Wales he moved to London in 1938 and became the news editor of the Daily Worker. After his resignation, he published an autobiography, I Believed. The Autobiography of a Former British Communist. He also wrote a book, Dedication and Leadership, about his experiences and the specific tactics of the Communists especially in the way that they recruited their members and built them into leaders. On his death he had allegedly become an agnostic, having had difficulties pursuing social justice and economic equality issues within the Catholic Church.

On November 8, 1953, The Observer shared in its "Table Talk" column by Pendennis a short article called "Old Comrades," which claimed that Douglas Hyde had called on ex-Communist Whittaker Chambers, chief witness in United States vs. Alger Hiss and reported that: "most of his farmlands had been sold off," "Chambers was not a MacCarthyite [sic]," and "he is convinced there are still party members in the Administration."

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