Wal Hannington

Walter "Wal" Hannington (1896–1966) was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and National Organiser of the National Unemployed Workers' Movement, from its formation in 1921 to its end in 1939, when he became National Organiser of the Amalgamated Engineering Union.

Walter Hannington, best known by his nickname of "Wal," was born 17 June 1896 in Camden Town, London. His father was a bricklayer with a large family. He himself was apprenticed to a toolmaker at 14 and joined the Toolmakers' Society during the 1914-18 War, and married his wife, Winnie, in 1917. He joined the British Socialist Party during this period. He became a member of the Amalgamated Toolmakers' London committee. He went over to the Amalgamated Engineering Union in the 1920 merger.

In 1920, Hannington was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.

From the time of its formation in 1921 until its termination in 1939, Hannington was the head of the National Unemployed Workers' Movement, an offshoot of the CPGB.

Hannington was a delegate to the founding conference of the National Minority Movement (NMM) in August 1924. The National Minority Movement, headed by Harry Pollitt, was a radical pressure-group formed by the CPGB to work within the established trade union movement. With only one or two exceptions, the members of the Executive Committee of the NMM were members of the Communist Party. Wal Hannington was one of the inner circle of the executive which controlled the organization, working as a full-time leader of the section dedicated to the metal workers.

In 1925 he was one of 12 members of the Communist Party convicted at the Old Bailey under the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797, and one of the five defendants sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

In 1936, he wrote a book about his experiences as leader of the NUWM, called " Unemployed struggles 1919-1936: my life and struggles amongst the unemployed". In the book he talks about his numerous incarcerations for his political stance and activities, and how the government had him and fellow members of the NUWM under surveillance.

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