Benjamin Francis Bradley
Ben Bradley | |
|---|---|
Photograph of Benjamin Francis Bradley, also known as Ben Bradley, taken in 1943 | |
| Born | Benjamin Francis Bradley January 1898 London, England |
| Died | 1957 |
| Organization(s) | Amalgamated Engineering Union. All India Trade Union Congress. League Against Imperialism. Britain-China Friendship Association |
| Known for | Support for Indian independence. Convicted in the Meerut Conspiracy Trial. Communist and anti-imperialist beliefs. |
| Notable work | India: What we must do (1942) |
| Political party | Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Workers and Peasants Party. |
| Criminal charges | Conspiracy to overthrow British colonialism in India (found guilty in a juryless trial) |
| Criminal penalty | 10 year prison sentence (released early) |
| Spouse | Joy (wife) |
| Children | Josephine (daughter, born 1944) |
Benjamin Francis Bradley (1898–1957) was a leading British communist and trade unionist who was accused of attempting to overthrow the British colonial rule in India, leading to him being sentenced in the Meerut Conspiracy Trial in 1933. His imprisonment in that case in 1929 provoked an enormous outcry, and in Britain, according to Stephen Howe, "probably inspired more left-wing pamphlet literature than any other colonial issue between the wars". He was also a key member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).