Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe
Encyclopedia
Roger Simon, 2nd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe (16 October 1913 – 14 October 2002) was a British
solicitor and left wing journalist and political activist. He was one of the founders of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
.
The elder son of Ernest, first Lord Simon
and Shena
, Lady Simon, he inherited the title on his father's death in 1960. Although he never renounced the title, he did not use it, either.
After Gresham's School
, Holt, Norfolk
, where he was a contemporary of Benjamin Britten
and Donald Maclean
, Simon read economics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
. While there he was invited to join the Political Economy Club run by John Maynard Keynes
. At one of the club's meetings, Piero Sraffa
, a friend of Antonio Gramsci
, advised him to read Karl Marx
, and Simon soon joined the Communist Party
, as his brother Brian Simon
had done a year before.
In 1935, he qualified as a solicitor, and from 1942 to 1945 he served in the Royal Signals. He went for officer training at Catterick
, where he met the Marxist Arnold Kettle, later a close friend.
From 1945 to 1946, he taught law at Welbeck Abbey
, where soldiers with three years' service could have a month's free education. At Welbeck he met Edmund Penning-Rowsell
, another communist who became a lifelong friend.
From 1946 to 1958, he worked for Ealing Borough Council as a solicitor. In 1958 he joined the Labour Research Department, becoming secretary from 1965 to 1977. He published many pamphlets and articles on economic issues. His last ten years were devoted to green politics.
He was a member of the William Morris Society
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
solicitor and left wing journalist and political activist. He was one of the founders of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
.
The elder son of Ernest, first Lord Simon
Ernest Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe
Ernest Emil Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe was an industrialist and politician in the United Kingdom....
and Shena
Shena Simon
Shena Dorothy Simon was a politician and educational reformer in Manchester, England.-Early years:Shena Dorothy Potter was born on 21 October 1883, daughter of John Wilson Potter and Jane Boyd Potter....
, Lady Simon, he inherited the title on his father's death in 1960. Although he never renounced the title, he did not use it, either.
After Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt, Norfolk
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, where he was a contemporary of Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
and Donald Maclean
Donald Duart Maclean
Donald Duart Maclean was a British diplomat and member of the Cambridge Five who were members of MI5, MI6 or the diplomatic service who acted as spies for the Soviet Union in the Second World War and beyond. He was recruited as a "straight penetration agent" while an undergraduate at Cambridge by...
, Simon read economics at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
. While there he was invited to join the Political Economy Club run by John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
. At one of the club's meetings, Piero Sraffa
Piero Sraffa
Piero Sraffa was an influential Italian economist whose book Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities is taken as founding the Neo-Ricardian school of Economics.- Early life :...
, a friend of Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
, advised him to read Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, and Simon soon joined the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, as his brother Brian Simon
Brian Simon
Professor the Hon. Brian Simon , was an English educationist and historian.-Background and early life:The younger son of Ernest Darwin Simon, 1st Baron Simon of Wythenshawe and Shena, Lady Simon, he was the brother of the second Baron Simon of Wythenshawe, Roger Simon, the solicitor and writer on...
had done a year before.
In 1935, he qualified as a solicitor, and from 1942 to 1945 he served in the Royal Signals. He went for officer training at Catterick
Catterick Garrison
Catterick Garrison is a major Army base located in Northern England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world with a population of around 12,000, plus a large temporary population of soldiers, and is larger than its older neighbour...
, where he met the Marxist Arnold Kettle, later a close friend.
From 1945 to 1946, he taught law at Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck College
Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College is a selective sixth form college in Woodhouse, Leicestershire, England, providing A-Level education for candidates to the technical branches of the British Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence civil service and privately funded students.Welbeck is located near...
, where soldiers with three years' service could have a month's free education. At Welbeck he met Edmund Penning-Rowsell
Edmund Penning-Rowsell
For the geographer, click Edmund Lionel Penning-Rowsell was a British journalist considered the doyen of Britain's writers on wine, and possibly the world's longest-serving wine correspondent.-Biography:...
, another communist who became a lifelong friend.
From 1946 to 1958, he worked for Ealing Borough Council as a solicitor. In 1958 he joined the Labour Research Department, becoming secretary from 1965 to 1977. He published many pamphlets and articles on economic issues. His last ten years were devoted to green politics.
He was a member of the William Morris Society
William Morris Society
The William Morris Society was founded in 1955 in London, England.The Society aims to make more well-known the life and work of the Victorian designer, artist, writer, and socialist, William Morris and his associates. The Society's programmes involve branches in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the...
.
Publications
- Local Councils and the Citizen, Stevens & Sons (1948)
- The British State, Lawrence & Wishart (1958) (co-authored, under the pseudonyms James Harvey & Katherine Hood)
- Light on the City, LRD Publications (1962)
- An Introduction To Gramsci's Political Thought (1982)
- Introducing Marxism, Communist Party (1986)