Bill Carritt | |
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| Born | Gabriel Carritt 9 May 1908 |
| Died | 7 May 1999 (aged 90) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Dragon School Sedbergh School Christ Church, Oxford Columbia University |
| Occupation(s) | Secretary of the league of nations youth, british soldier, communist journalist, & lecturer at the london college of printing |
| Known for | Anti-fascism, support for black civil rights, communist activism |
| Notable work | The Negro Student in the U.S.A. |
| Political party | Communist Party of Great Britain |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Noel Carritt (brother) Michael Carritt (brother) Anthony Carritt (half-brother) |
| Family | Carritt family |
Bill Carritt (1908–1999) was a British communist activist known for his anti-racist and anti-fascist activities.[1] He belonged to the Oxford based Carritt family, known for their dedication to Marxism, anti-fascist politics, and academic achievements. He travelled the United States and campaigned for the Scottsboro Boys.[1][2] After a trip to the Pyrenees, he helped create the British Youth Foodship Committee which helped collect food and clothing for republican forces during the Spanish Civil War. During the war in Spain his brother Anthony Carritt was killed and his brother Noel Carritt was injured.[1] While serving as a Secretary of the League of Nations Youth, he broke into a secret trial in Nazi Germany to protest against members of the Bündische Jugend being imprisoned for years without charges.[1][2]
Despite his life-long anti-fascism and having completed an Officer training course, he was denied a commission by the British military due to his membership of the Communist Party of Great Britain.[2] He later fought in Mandalay during WWII and later became a councillor for Westminster.[1] In 1946 he was imprisoned alongside four fellow communists for running a campaign that sought to house homeless people in luxury flats. During the 1950s he worked full-time for the Communist Party of Great Britain and once served as the foreign editor of the Daily Worker. He then began working for the London College of Printing as a liberal studies lecturer.[2]