Rose Kerrigan (née Klasko) was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.
Rose Kerrigan | |
|---|---|
Rose Kerrigan c. 1925. Image from Spartacus Educational. | |
| Born | 11 February 1903 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 10 July 1995 (aged 92)[1] London, England |
| Known for | Scottish communist |
Early life
editRose Klasko was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1903. Her Jewish parents were born in Russia, and moved to Glasgow via Dublin.[2] She was one of five children and had a large extended family that had settled in Glasgow. Her father worked as a tailor[3] and had socialist, anti-war, political views. He supported the cause of the Suffragettes.
Rose attended the Stow Practice Normal School, which was on the site of the old Stow College in Cowcaddens, Glasgow. She then attended the Hebrew School in Garnethill. She attended the Socialist Sunday School in Glasgow and was involved in the Glasgow rent strikes 1915.[2][4] She was involved in the anti-war movement in World War I and World War II, and was sacked from her first job for speaking out against the war.[4][5] She was influenced by many activists during her political life, including James Maxton, Philip Snowden, Ethel Snowden, Thomas Hastie Bell, and Helen Crawfurd.[4] She was also an active Trade Unionist and had served her apprenticeship in activism throughout the Red Clydeside movement.[6]
Later life
editRose joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1923. She married Peter Kerrigan, an engineering worker, who was also a member, in 1926. He helped to lead the General Strike in Glasgow.[6] Her husband was a representative to the Comintern, and became a political commissar during the Spanish Civil War. Rose raised money for the cause.[2][3]
Her campaign continued throughout her life, she fought for Nuclear Disarmament. She still fought for the rights of individuals even throughout her retirement, in particular that of old age pensioners.[6]
References
edit- ^ Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women
- ^ a b c Rafeek, Neil C (2008). Communist Women in Scotland: Red Clydeside from the Russian Revolution to the end of the Soviet Union. Taurus Academic Studies. ISBN 9781845116248.
- ^ a b Simkin, John. "Rose Kerrigan". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ a b c Kerrigan, Rose. "Oral History". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ [unreliable source?] Stevenson, Graham. "Rose Kerrigan". Graham Stevenson. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "Clydeside's very own Red Rose". HeraldScotland. 20 July 1995. Retrieved 30 May 2023.