Herbie Bell

1895-1978

A Tribute

I knew Herbie Bell from my days in the Independent Labour Party. We joined the Revolutionary Communist Party in the North East at about the same time. I was proud to be his election agent in 1945, when he stood as an RCP candidate in a local election.

Herbie Bell did not need to make an academic study of Dialectical Materialism and Socialism to be the kind of man he was. His humanity and sensitivity to the injustice perpetrated upon the working class fused into his very being. Totally committed to the eventual emancipation of the people internationally, Herbie patiently but relentlessly committed himself to their cause. It was not easy, particularly during the years of the Second World War, to sell the journal and propagate Trotskyism during the domination of Stalinism in its heyday.

Nevertheless, Herbie Bell never wavered nor lost his faith and his always cheerful demeanour inspired those of us around him. To have basked in the glow of such a sincere comrade was a privilege and by his example we had the conviction to maintain our own loyalty to our own class.

Thank you comrade Herbie Bell.

Bill Landles