The 1980,s saw an explosion of ‘Anarcho – punk’ fanzines, and Tyneside was no exception, with many a fine publication being produced DIY style during this period. With over 300 in our collection we will post some of the better local ones during the following months..
We start with GUERNICA, produced by an old friend of ours. Four issues released between 1987 & 1989.
Seven surviving stickers in the archive, must be the only ones left anywhere out of the thousands upon thousands printed.
“” Early March 1990, two of us hitch-hiked down to the Class War Federations regional delegates meeting at a house in Moss side, Manchester. After much discussion on various things, it was decided to do a sticker for the forthcoming anti poll tax march ( which turned into the ‘poll tax riot’). Getting bored of the meeting by this stage and wanting to get to the local pub ( the Whalley i think) the discussion on what to put on sticker was going around and around the room, at which point, and having not said much else at the meeting, i piped up in a loud broad geordie accent… ‘hear man..FUCK THE POLL TAX’… ha ha it was like them cartoons when you see the lightbulb above the heads light up in a communal YES !””
ex Tyneside Class War activist
PAY NO POLL TAX – THEY CANT IMPRISON US ALL
Tyneside anarchists / Tyneside Class War with their banner at anti poll tax demonstration, Edinburgh.
The poll tax was to be introduced a year before in Scotland (testing ground) 1st April 1989. Always having close ties with our ‘friends up north’ our number were always present at demonstrations etc, in the above case..late 1988 i believe. Our banner was also quite prevailant on that evenings BBC news.
ps . “we were glad to get rid of them horrible orange curtains”
EARTHWORKS – issue 2. Newcastle Upon Tyne. 1984.
The only issue we have of this fine magazine (if anybody has any other copies please let us know).
Articles on – miners strike + north east. 1910-1912 workers strike back – miners. Social control in schools. Labour scabs. Joseph Cowan a Tyneside radical. Soldier mutinees.
THE VOICE OF RESPECTABLE MODERATION
ATTACK INTERNATIONAL – Free Newspaper London 1987.
Our copy is slightly tattered, and having only an a4 scanner at the moment it was great to see a comrade recently upload the pdf. One of the favorite and highly influential papers in our collection….
and the PDF file for you……….. AttackAttackAttack
“the Labour Party is incapable of acting in the interests of the working class. It is an obstacle in our struggle for liberation and must be smashed along with the system it wants to manage”
Newcastle 8th May 1989. Newcastle Anarchist Communist Federation public meeting and talk. We have the full typed talk given at meeting but haven’t re-produced it here as its about 7 a4 pages of faint type, so instead we have another little gem from the archive by Thames Valley Anarchists, written 1986 in a similar vain (see below)….
And the stolen PDF for you….. vote-labour-TVA
Treason No 1. Sunderland, November 1981.
Not all papers withstand the test of time, so we were pleased to re-discover this little gem on the Spirit Of Revolt archive. PDF file of the paper below…..
PDF…….. Treason one enjoy …..
July 1986, the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Revolution. To commemorate the occasion members of the Tyneside Revolutionary Syndicalists met with Miguel Rico to carry out a small interview, which was then published in the July 1986 special supplement of The Syndicalist number 7 (picture below).
Reflecting on the period and Miguel Rico, a good friend of the archive tells us……
“The 19th July, as you will all obviously know, is the Anniversary of The Spanish Revolution, a revolution I believe was far more reaching both socially and politically than the other great revolution of our times, the Russian Revolution.
What the below article fails to point out is that Miguel Rico, along with his wife set up residence in Middlesbrough immediately after the end of WW2, where he remained until his death several years ago.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Miguel on a several occasions when I visited Middlesbrough, to meet with comrades and attend demonstrations. The last occasion I met with Miguel was in Barcelona in 1997, where we were commemorating the life of Albert Meltzer. We scattered his ashes on the grave of Durruti. Of the eight comrades who attended the commemoration from the UK four were from Middlesbrough.
Miguel was also making his annual pilgrimage to the land of his birth in order to pay his annual CNT dues and using the occasion to meet with comrades from his youth.
Middlesbrough comrades may wish to refer to Albert Meltzer’s autobiography for further references to Middlesbrough, as it became his adopted second home outside of London.”
It was during the Spanish revolution that the ideas of Anarcho-Syndicalism were not just political theory but a practical reality. In many areas of Spain the CNT was faced with the problems of fighting the civil war but also with restructuring the whole of society based on the ideas of libertarian communism.
During the post civil war years under the dictatorship of Franco the CNT and libertarian communist influence was almost smashed. Since the death of Franco the Anarcho-Syndicalist movement has come out of hiding and is again beginning to grow, though at this point in time it is obviously a shadow of its former self.
For the first time documents, reports and eye witness accounts of problems the CNT faced and the solutions arrived at are becoming available. Unfortunately no real attempt has been made to translate these documents and make them accessible to the English reader – that is until now.
Currently in the North East a small group of people are working at this task with the view of publishing some of this material.
We interviewed Miguel Rico who witnessed these events first hand about some of his experiences.
Syndicalist– When and where were you born and how did you become involved with the anarchist movement?
Miguel– I was born in the Hospitalet area of Barcelona on the 1st October 1919 but when I was very young my father found work at a cement quarry in a place called Villanueva y Getru. It was there that I was raised and educated. When I was 16 I joined the FIJL (Federation of Libertarian Youth).
Syndicalist– Was that the average age of the members of the federation?
Miguel– Some were younger but most were 17, 18 and 19 years of age.
Syndicalist– How did you become involved?
Miguel– You did not just join, things were not done like that. At that time the police were trying to infiltrate the movement at all levels and there were many informers everywhere. In our town you became a member of the Libertarian Youth on the recommendation of an already respected member. This is what happened to me. I was recommended by an older person who knew my views and beliefs and knew I was to be trusted. I then joined. My brother who was two years younger than me joined by the same method.
Syndicalist– How many were in the Libertarian Youth, and what activities did you engage in?
Miguel– At one time there was as many as 200 in the Libertarian Youth in our small town. Our activities were mainly propaganda, getting our ideas across to the workers but also raising funds for the movement. We would also hold a meeting, as I said we had to be very careful so although the secretary and committee could meet in safe cafes and bars our full meetings were always held outside of town. You see at that time it was very common for people to go on picnics in large groups at weekends, this was what we would do.
Syndicalist– In 1936 the revolution broke out. How did this affect the Libertarian Youth in Villanueva y Getru?
Miguel– The first affect that it had was that the older members joined the militia and went to the battle front. We who were left knew that the work of the Federation had to go on, the fight against the fascists was not just at the front but also at home, a rearguard was needed. A new committee was elected and the work went on. At one time I held the position of local secretary. Once I was delegated to attend a conference in Barcelona it was at the time that the anarchists controlled the city. It was then that I saw what was really possible, how things could be organised with true equality and freedom. We as delegates were booked into one of the biggest hotels in Barcelona. The dining room provided free meals to the delegates. It was here that I met a fellow anarchist nicknamed ‘Zupa’. He was once one of the best pickpockets in Barcelona. I’ll always remember the time that a group of us went to a restaurant that before the revolution was considered very posh, a place that only the rich could afford to eat in, but now it was run by the workers it provided cheap meals to the people of Barcelona as well as the militias who were passing through. The restaurant still used the silver cutlery that it had used before the revolution. While we were eating our meal we noticed that the knives, forks and spoons began to go missing one by one. We all knew it was ‘Zupa’ but we could not catch him in the act. When we got outside ‘Zupa’ put his hand in his pocket and took out all the missing cutlery “‘Zupa,’ we all said “‘you don’t need to steal anymore.” “I know” ‘Zupa’ said after he had taken them back “I was just practising.”
Syndicalist– How long were you secretary of the local Libertarian Youth?
Miguel– About four months and then I joined the militia. I did not tell my mother that I was going to join because I knew that this would upset her.
Syndicalist– What was the name of the militia you joined?
Miguel– I joined the Hortiz Column which was sent to Caspe in Aragon. After that we were sent to help in the battle for Belchite but in order to do this we had first to take a small town called Fuen de Todos. As we entered the town a machine gun started to cut down our comrades. The firing came from a priest who had mounted a machine gun on top of the bell tower of his church. We had to send for a Republican plane to bomb the church, it was the only way that we could take the town. It was during the battle for Belchite that I was wounded, we lost many comrades there.
Syndicalist– You were wounded more than once. Is that right?
Miguel– Yes, after I recovered from the wound I received in the Battle for Belchite I rejoined my Column but was wounded again. I was taken to the hospital and the doctor told me that I was being sent to a recuperation centre and then on to the army barracks at Olot. This was at the time that the Communists were trying to militarize the militias. I told the doctor that I would go home until I was fully recovered and then report to the barracks at Olot. After about three weeks I went to report and was arrested for collaboration with the fascists. I was taken before a court martial and found guilty. I just could not understand it, but later I found out that the communists were doing this to anarchists everywhere. I was put in a cell to await sentence. Eventually I heard the keys in the door and was convinced that I would be taken out and shot. This was the first time that I was really scared. Everyone is scared when going into battle but you tell yourself that somehow you’ll survive but this time I was convinced that I was about to die. The door of the cell opened and there stood a Colonel who said ‘release this man’. I then recognised him as a Colonel who we had fought beside in Aragon. He was only there to inspect the new recruits but had heard that a prisoner was being held and had insisted on seeing me. On his word I was released. There was no doubt about it this man saved my life. Under the communist advisers from Russia the militarization went on and I ended up in a communist led brigade.
Syndicalist– Do you remember the name of the brigade?
Miguel– If I remember rightly I was sent to the 134 Brigade 10th Division First Company.
Syndicalist– What were your experiences there as an anarchist in a communist dominated brigade?
Miguel– Well I kept myself to myself after my experiences at the barracks in Olot. I thought the best thing to do was keep very quiet. By my actions it was clear to everyone that I was not a communist member. One day I was approached by a captain (who I found out later had been a centurion delegate in an anarchist column), he explained that it was not safe for anarchists and that I should be careful what I said and did. I stayed with this captain as his assistant. The collapse of the Republic was soon to follow and I managed to cross the border into France.
Syndicalist– How were the refugees treated by the French Government?
Miguel– The refugee camp that I was in was just like a concentration camp. People there starved. There was food in the camp but the guards made people barter for it with any possessions they might have left. There was no medical treatment so disease spread through the camp. Many of the very old and very young died.
Miguel went on to fight against the Nazis in the French army and eventually with the British troops in North Africa. We finally asked Miguel if he would one day write a book about his life, he replied, “maybe one day I will but at the moment there are more important things to do like translating as much material a possible.”
