Ethel MacDonald: Difference between revisions
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==Early years== |
==Early years== |
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Camelia Ethel McDonald was born on 24 February 1909 in [[Bellshill]], Scotland, to Daisy Watts and Andrew McDonald, a coach painter.{{sfn|Reynolds|2006}} A native of [[North Lanarkshire]],<ref name="dolan 7">{{Harvnb|Dolan|2009|p=7}}</ref><ref name="gray 168">{{Harvnb|Gray|2008|p=168}}</ref><ref group="note">Dolan states [[Motherwell]], the [[Evening Times]] and Gray state [[Bellshill]].</ref> Ethel MacDonald, the fifth of nine children,<ref name="dolan 7" /> left home at |
Camelia Ethel McDonald was born on 24 February 1909 in [[Bellshill]], Scotland, to Daisy Watts and Andrew McDonald, a coach painter.{{sfn|Reynolds|2006}} A native of [[North Lanarkshire]],<ref name="dolan 7">{{Harvnb|Dolan|2009|p=7}}</ref><ref name="gray 168">{{Harvnb|Gray|2008|p=168}}</ref><ref group="note">Dolan states [[Motherwell]], the [[Evening Times]] and Gray state [[Bellshill]].</ref> Ethel MacDonald, the fifth of nine children,<ref name="dolan 7" /> left home at , joined the [[Independent Labour Party]] (ILP)<ref name="dolan 33">{{Harvnb|Dolan|2009|p=33}}</ref> and worked at various jobs. In 1925<ref name="gray 168" /> she met [[Guy Aldred]] and, with him, became politically active in the [[Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation]] (APCF). In 1933 she accepted his invitation to work as his secretary,<ref name="dolan 50">{{Harvnb|Dolan|2009|p=50}}</ref> and joined him in the June 1934<ref name="dolan 47">{{Harvnb|Dolan|2009|p=47}}</ref> formation of the [[United Socialist Movement]] (USM).{{sfn|Reynolds|2006}} |
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==Spanish Civil War== |
==Spanish Civil War== |
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After her return from Spain, Ethel MacDonald worked closely with Guy Aldred, Jenny Patrick, [[John Taylor Caldwell]] and other Glasgow anarchists on a shoestring publishing enterprise, ''[[The Strickland Press]]'', which published regular issues of the [[United Socialist Movement|USM]] organ, ''The Word''. They continued their activities through [[World War II]] and the 1950s [[peace movement]], with MacDonald considered as the unofficial manager, bookkeeper and printer of ''The Strickland Press''. |
After her return from Spain, Ethel MacDonald worked closely with Guy Aldred, Jenny Patrick, [[John Taylor Caldwell]] and other Glasgow anarchists on a shoestring publishing enterprise, ''[[The Strickland Press]]'', which published regular issues of the [[United Socialist Movement|USM]] organ, ''The Word''. They continued their activities through [[World War II]] and the 1950s [[peace movement]], with MacDonald considered as the unofficial manager, bookkeeper and printer of ''The Strickland Press''. |
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She and Guy Aldred donated their papers to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The collection numbers approximately 500 items consisting of Spanish newspapers, bulletins, newssheets, flyers, posters, pamphlets and photographs issued under the auspices of the CNT and the [[Iberian Anarchist Federation]] during 1936-1938. |
She and Guy Aldred donated their papers to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The collection numbers approximately 500 items consisting of Spanish newspapers, bulletins, newssheets, flyers, posters, pamphlets and photographs issued under the auspices of the CNT and the [[Iberian Anarchist Federation]] during 1936-1938. |
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Ethel MacDonald was diagnosed with [[multiple sclerosis]] in February 1958 and lost her ability to speak. Within three years she died in Glasgow's [[Knightswood]] Hospital at the age of 51. |
Ethel MacDonald was diagnosed with [[multiple sclerosis]] in February 1958 and lost her ability to speak. Within three years she died in Glasgow's [[Knightswood]] Hospital at the age of 51. |
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Revision as of 21:57, 4 January 2020
Ethel MacDonald | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 February 1909 Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | 1 December 1960 (aged 51)[1] Knightswood Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation(s) | Anarchist, activist, propagandist |
| Employer | The Strickland Press |
| Organization | Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation |
| Political party | Independent Labour Party |
| Part of a series on |
| Anarchism |
|---|
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Camelia Ethel MacDonald (24 February 1909 – 1 December 1960) was a Glasgow-based Scottish anarchist and activist and, in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, a propagandist on Barcelona Loyalist radio.
Early years
Camelia Ethel McDonald was born on 24 February 1909 in Bellshill, Scotland, to Daisy Watts and Andrew McDonald, a coach painter.[1] A native of North Lanarkshire,[2][3][note 1] Ethel MacDonald, the fifth of nine children,[2] left home at 16, joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP)[4] and worked at various jobs. In 1925[3] she met Guy Aldred and, with him, became politically active in the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation (APCF). In 1933 she accepted his invitation to work as his secretary,[5] and joined him in the June 1934[6] formation of the United Socialist Movement (USM).[1]
Spanish Civil War
In November 1936[7] MacDonald travelled to Barcelona with Guy Aldred's partner, Jenny Patrick, to represent and show the support of the Scottish anarchist movement for the Republican (Loyalist) side in the Spanish Civil War. In January 1937[8] she began to transmit regular English-language reports on the war on Barcelona's widely heard Anarchist radio station run by the National Confederation of Labor (CNT). In the crackdown following the events of May 1937 she assisted the escape of anarchists wanted by the Communist secret police and smuggled into prison letters and food for fellow anarchists held by regional authorities.[9]
Through her activities in helping anarchists escape Spain, she became renowned in the British press as the "Scots Scarlet Pimpernel".[9] Between July and November 1937, she was a national figure in the newspapers, with daily reports and inquiries as to her whereabouts and activities. Eventually she herself was arrested by a faction of the Loyalist forces, but later released. She returned to Glasgow that November, following speaking engagements in France and Amsterdam.[10]
Later years and death
After her return from Spain, Ethel MacDonald worked closely with Guy Aldred, Jenny Patrick, John Taylor Caldwell and other Glasgow anarchists on a shoestring publishing enterprise, The Strickland Press, which published regular issues of the USM organ, The Word. They continued their activities through World War II and the 1950s peace movement, with MacDonald considered as the unofficial manager, bookkeeper and printer of The Strickland Press.
She and Guy Aldred donated their papers to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The collection numbers approximately 500 items consisting of Spanish newspapers, bulletins, newssheets, flyers, posters, pamphlets and photographs issued under the auspices of the CNT and the Iberian Anarchist Federation during 1936-1938.
Ethel MacDonald was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in February 1958 and lost her ability to speak. Within three years she died in Glasgow's Knightswood Hospital at the age of 51.
References
Notes
- ^ Dolan states Motherwell, the Evening Times and Gray state Bellshill.
Citations
- ^ a b c Reynolds 2006.
- ^ a b Dolan 2009, p. 7
- ^ a b Gray 2008, p. 168
- ^ Dolan 2009, p. 33
- ^ Dolan 2009, p. 50
- ^ Dolan 2009, p. 47
- ^ Gray 2008, p. 167
- ^ Gray 2008, p. 169
- ^ a b Gray 2008, pp. 171–172
- ^ Gray 2008, p. 176
Sources
- Caldwell, John Taylor (1988). Come dungeons dark: the life and times of Guy Aldred, Glasgow anarchist. Edinburgh: Luath Press. ISBN 0-946487-19-7.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Caldwell, John Taylor (1999). With fate conspire: memoirs of a Glasgow seafarer and anarchist. Bradford: Northern Herald. ISBN 0-9523167-1-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Hodgart, Rhona M. Ethel MacDonald: Glasgow Woman Anarchist. Kate Sharpley Library. ISBN 1-873605-28-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dolan, Chris (2009). An anarchist's story: the life of Ethel MacDonald. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-84158-685-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Gray, Daniel (2008). Homage to Caledonia. Luath Press. ISBN 978-1-906817-16-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Reynolds, Siân (2006). "McDonald, Camelia Ethel". In Ewan, Elizabeth; Innes, Sue; Reynolds, Siân (eds.). The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Edinburgh University Press. p. 218. ISBN 9781474436298. OCLC 1057237368.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
Film
- Ethel MacDonald - An Anarchist Story by Mark Littlewood
External links
- Biography by John Couzin: "Life story of one of Glasgow's women anarchists that I feel very strongly is worth remembering."
- The Volunteer Ban - speech given by Ethel MacDonald on Radio Barcelona and subsequently published in Regeneración (1937).
- Ethel MacDonald Entry in the Daily Bleed
- Ethel MacDonald Collection at Mitchell Library, Glasgow
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