77 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
77 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
'''Patrick Joseph Read '''(1899 - 1947) was an
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[anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink"), [soldier](Military "wikilink"),
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military technician, [journalist](Indepedent_Media "wikilink") and
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[IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink") activist.
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## Life
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### Early Life
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Patrick was the son of Christopher Patrick Read and Emma McKay, both
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originally from Dublin, Ireland. In 1898, they emigrated to England,
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where they settled in London before moving to Liverpool. Patrick was
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born on the ship they took to Liverpool.
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In 1912, the family emigrated to [Canada](Canada "wikilink"). When the
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family returned to England in 1915, Patrick remained in Canada. He
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quickly joined the Canadian Army.\[1\]
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### World War I
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Patrick served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during [World War
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I](World_War_I "wikilink") in a transmission unit. His unit's role was
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to lay telephone lines between the different army units as radio units
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were not generally available.
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Read joined around 1915 and served for three years, including time on
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the Western Front. It is speculated in his obituary, which was published
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in the *Industrial Worker* newspaper, that he married while in France
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and had a child \[who is thought to have died in [World War
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II](World_War_II "wikilink")\] During his time in France, he was likely
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introduced to the ideas of
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[Anarcho-Syndicalism](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink").\[2\]
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### Interwar Period
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After the war, Patrick returned to Canada and moved to the
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[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink"), joining the IWW in 1919. In
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1921, he returned to [Ireland](Republic_of_Ireland "wikilink") as a
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freelance journalist. He became involved in the Communist Party of
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Ireland and fought in the Irish Civil War, strongly supporting James
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Connolly's ideas for a future Ireland and clashing with Roddy Connolly,
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James' son, as Patrick believed Roddy had contributed to the downfall of
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Irish Socialism. Eventually leading to his expulsion from the party,
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leaving him to move to England in 1924, where he remained until 1932,
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and then returning to the USA. In the USA, he became an editor for the
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Industrial Worker and founded the Council for Union Democracy,
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attempting to combat corruption and violence within many American trade
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unions.\[3\]
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### Spanish Civil War
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Patrick was one of the first Americans to sneak over the French border
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into Spain to join the [Spanish Civil
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War](Spanish_Civil_War "wikilink"), he was offered a leadership position
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in the [Abraham Lincoln Brigade](Abraham_Lincoln_Brigade "wikilink"),
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but refused, citing his anarchist beliefs. He was incredibly critical of
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[Stalin's](Joseph_Stalin "wikilink") influence on the Republican faction
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of the war, and joined the [National Confederation of
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Labour](National_Confederation_of_Labour_\(Spain\) "wikilink"). He later
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fleed on the 5th of December, 1938 back to the USA.\[4\]
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### Later Life
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After the Spanish Civil War, he remained an editor for the Industrial
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Worker, and died at age 48 on the 16th of November, 1947 after a
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cerebral haemorrhage.\[5\]
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## References
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<references />
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1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Read>
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5. |