Noreen Branson was a communist activist, and historian of the Communist Party of Great Britain

Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...

. She worked for the Labour Research Department

Labour Research Department

The Labour Research Department is an independent trade union based research organisation, based in London, that provides information to support trade union activity and campaigns. LRD's publications Labour Research, Bargaining Report, Fact Service and LRD Booklets, along with an Enquiry Service...

 from 1938, until her death, editing its magazine for 28 years.

She was daughter of Lord Alfred Browne, son of Henry Ulick Browne

Henry Ulick Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo

Henry Ulick Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo , styled Lord Henry Browne until 1903, was an Irish peer.Browne was the fourth son of Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo, and Lady Hester Catherine de Burgh, daughter of John de Burgh, 13th Earl of Clanricarde...

, fifth Marquess of Sligo

Marquess of Sligo

Marquess of Sligo is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Mount Eagle, of Westport in the County of Mayo , Viscount Westport, of Westport in the County of Mayo , Earl of Altamont, in the...

, and she came out as a debutante

Debutante

A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...

. She married the artist Clive Branson

Clive Branson

Clive Ali Chimmo Branson was an English artist and poet, and an active communist in the 1930s. A number of his paintings are in the Tate Gallery....

, with whom she joined the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

 and then the Communist Party.

After the death of James Klugmann

James Klugmann

Norman John Klugmann , generally known as James Klugmann, was a leading British Communist writer who became the official historian of the Communist Party of Great Britain-Background and Early Career:...

, Noreen Branson took over the authorship of the official History of the Communist Party of Great Britain, adding volumes for the years 1927-1945 and 1945-1951.

Works

• The British State (1958) as Katherine Hood, with Roger Simon as James Harvey
• Room At The Bottom: National Insurance in the Welfare State (1960) as Katherine Hood
• Britain In The Nineteen Thirties (1971) with Margot Heinemann
  Margot Heinemann
  Margot Claire Heinemann was a British Marxist writer, drama scholar, and leading member of the Communist Party of Great Britain ....
  
  
• Britain in the Nineteen Twenties (1977)
• Poplarism, 1919-1925: George Lansbury and the Councillors' Revolt (1979)
• History of the Communist Party of Great Britain 1927-1941 (1985)
• Labour-Communist Relations, 1920-51 (1990/1) pamphlets with Bill Moore
• History of the Communist Party in Britain 1941-1951 (1997)

External links