McDougall, William (anarchist, conscientious objector, and publisher)
Dates
- Existence: 1894 - 1981
Biography
William 'Willie' McDougall (1894-1981) was born in Partick, Glasgow. It is believed that he joined the Glasgow Anarchists in his late teens/early 20s. As a conscientious objector during WWI, McDougall was arrested in 1916, convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment, which he served at Wormwood Scrubs, then Denton Camp near Brighton, and finally at Dartmoor Prison. Absconding from the Dartmoor Prison work camp, McDougall returned to Glasgow and to his work as a propagandist, where he lectured on Economics at the Herald League rooms and spoke regularly at outdoor meetings. He later joined the Glasgow Communist Group, which became the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation (APCF), founded with Guy Aldred. He would subsequently publish and edit numerous papers and pamphlets concerned with the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, and the cause of Socialism. Such papers included Advance; The Fighting Call; Freedom; The Barcelona Bulletin; the Workers' Free Press; and Solidarity. With Dugald Mackay, he founded the Workers' Revolutionary League as a successor to APCF, and the Workers' Open Forum (of which he was Secretary until his retirement). He continued to write up until his death, writing for the Industrial Republic in the 1970s and Sense in 1980-1981. He also published many pamphlets in his later years, two of which are contained in his collection.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
William McDougall Collection., circa 1970s-1980s.
Collection consists of one folder which includes a photograph of McDougall as an older man (c.1970s-1980s); two of his self-penned pamphlets entitled 'Open Letter to Mr. Callaghan' (c.1970s) and 'Marxism Made Easy' (c.1970s); and a typewritten posthumous tribute to McDougall by Bob Jones (1981).