Fred Copeman

Fred Copeman OBE (1907 - 1983) was an English volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, commanding the British Battalion. He is also notable for organising London's air raid defences during the Second World War, an achievement which earned him the OBE.

Childhood

Fred Copeman was born in the Wangford Union Workhouse near Beccles in East Suffolk, England, in 1907. His mother and brother, George, were also residents. Initially, the Copeman brothers were the only children in the workhouse but, in 1916, Fred (aged nine) and George were moved from the workhouse to the Children's Home in Ravensmere Road, Beccles. It was here that Copeman befriended his first dog, a stray he called "Bonnie" ["Reason in Revolt", p 16] . Shortly, afterwards, George was sent to Canada to make a fresh start by the children's charity, Barnardo's, and Fred "never saw nor heard of him [again] ". ["Reason in Revolt", p 20.]

Training

The focus of care at the time was to make boys swiftly self-sufficient and so, aged 12, Copeman was sent to Watts Naval School at North Elmham, Norfolk, to prepare for a life at sea. After two years, he was duly enlisted in the Royal Navy and was sent to HMS Ganges, an onshore naval training base near Shotley in Suffolk. HMS Ganges had "a mixed reputation in the Royal Navy, both for its reputed harsh methods of training boys in order to turn out professionally able, self-reliant ratings and for the professionalism of its former trainees" [RNTE_Shotley] . From HMS Ganges, Copeman was sent to the Mediterranean Fleet, which was based in Malta. The poverty of the Maltese had a profound impression on him. It was here that he learned to box, earning money as a heavyweight prizefighter. He also narrowly missed the chance to become an officer, spending three weeks in Malta's Corradina prison for "a practical joke" ["Reason in Revolt", p37] that went wrong.

Invergordon Mutiny, September 1931

:"Main article on the mutiny: Invergordon Mutiny"

In September 1931, as part of its attempts to deal with the Great Depression, the new National Government launched cuts to public spending. Navy spending cuts were translated into a 10% pay cut (matching 10% cuts across the board for public sector workers). However, the cuts were not applied equally to all ranks. Sailors of the Atlantic Fleet, arriving at Invergordon (on the Cromarty Firth in Scotland) in the afternoon of Friday 11th September, learned about the cuts from newspaper reports. Copeman - then a 24-year-old able seaman serving on the HMS Norfolk - succinctly describes the causes of the mutiny.

The mutiny lasted two days (15-16 September 1931). Copeman, with another able seaman - Len Wincott - became a member of the "Norfolk"'s strike committee. Although the mutiny was entirely peaceful, the Royal Navy imprisoned dozens of the ringleaders and dismissed hundreds more, Copeman among them. [ [http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=9794 Socialist Worker: Retrospective article on Invergordon] ]

Union activist

Shortly after being discharged from the Royal Navy, Copeman became a member of the National Unemployed Workers Movement. He organised pickets and demonstrations at Employment Exchanges and elsewhere. In 1933, he was imprisoned in Wandsworth Prison for two months for breaking a government ban on marches. He repeated the offence on being re-released, for which he was sentenced to a further three months, in Brixton Prison. A few months later, he was again arrested and imprisoned for four months, in Wormwood Scrubs, this time at hard labour.

panish Civil War, 1936-1939

:"Main articles: Spanish Civil War; International Brigades, British Battalion

Along with many other Communist Party members, Copeman decided to join the defence of the Second Spanish Republic. He left for Spain on 26 November 1936, where he joined the British Battalion of the International Brigades. At the Battle of Jarama, in February 1936, Copeman was wounded in the arm and head:

Copeman made what appeared to be a complete recovery and, on his return to the battalion, became commander. Later, just before the Battle of Teruel, he nearly died of complications from his wound (a small piece of unremoved shrapnel became infected) and was invalided home permanently.

World War II and after

The first thing Copeman did on return was to marry. This took place at Lewisham Registry Office on 21 May 1938 and "some eleven hundred people" ["Reason in Revolt", p152] gathered for the wedding reception that night at St Pancras Town Hall.

However, in common with many returned volunteers, Copeman was disenchanted by what he had seen in Spain. As a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist Party, he was invited to visit the Kremlin, where he met Dolores Ibárruri, better known as "La Pasionara". He was disillusioned by what he saw and, following a fist-fight, left the Communist Party shortly afterwards.

Copeman was closely monitored by the British Security Service "MI5" for years [ [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk Copeman's MI5 file Ref Frederick Copeman (KV 2/2322-2324)] ] . cquote|One note in the file, written by his commander, describes Copeman as "one of these fiery people, who will shout about everything". The officer draws special attention to the fact that Copeman was once heard "singing the Red Flag in the streets of Devonport". [ [http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=9795 Socialist Worker: Article on Copeman's MI5 file] ] Nevertheless, when the Second World War came "he was to play a significant role in organising civilian protection against German air-raids in London and was decorated ["The Invergordon Mutiny", p167] ". In this capacity, he gave several lectures to the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace ["Reason in Revolt", p183] . In November 1948, he was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to London. Shortly afterwards, he was received into the Roman Catholic church.

He remained active in politics, though over the years he mellowed. He became a "popular Trades Union organiser" ["The Invergordon Mutiny", pp 165-166] and a Labour Party councillor on Lewisham Borough Council. He and his wife, Kitty, had four children. Copeman died in London in 1983.

Trivia

*He was a friend of Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia.
*In later life, he applied for visas for both the United States and the Soviet Union. Both were turned down: by the United States because he had been a Communist, and the Soviet Union because he was no longer one. [Conversations with the writer, 1971]
*He always kept a dog, always named in memory of his first one, "Bonnie".

ources and references

*Fred Copeman, "Reason in Revolt", Blandford Press, London, 1948 - autobiography
*Jason Gurney, "Crusade in Spain", Faber & Faber, London 1974 - memoirs of the Spanish Civil War
*Alan Ereira, "The Invergordon Mutiny", Routledge, London 1981 - popular account of the mutiny by a BBC producer.
*Len Wincott, "Invergordon Mutineer", Weidenfeld, London 1974 - memoirs.