J. R. Campbell (communist)

John Ross Campbell MM (15 October 1894 – 18 September 1969), best known as J. R. Campbell and also as Johnny Campbell, was a British communist activist and newspaper editor. Campbell is best remembered as the principal in the so-called Campbell Case. In 1924, Campbell was charged under the Incitement to Mutiny Act for an article published in the paper Workers' Weekly. Campbell called on British soldiers to "let it be known that, neither in the class war nor in a military war, will you turn your guns on your fellow workers."

The decision by the Labour government of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald to withdraw prosecution of Campbell lead to the loss of a confidence vote in the House of Commons, forcing the elections which ended the first Labour government in October 1924. Campbell remained a top leader and leading public figure associated with the British Communist Party from the 1920s through the 1960s.

J.R. Campbell was born 15 October 1894 in Paisley, Scotland. Campbell joined the British Socialist Party in 1912. During World War I he served in the Royal Naval Division and was wounded in active service. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in battle.

Following the war, Campbell returned to Scotland and was active in the Clyde Workers' Committee. From 1921 to 1924 he edited its newspaper, The Worker. He followed the British Socialist Party into the newly formed Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), of which he was a foundation member, and frequently served on its Central Committee beginning with its reorganisation in August 1923.

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