William Peyton Coates

William Peyton "Pat" Coates (1883, Kinsale - 8 August 1963) was an Irish labour activist and Stalinist apologist who was active in the sphere of Anglo-Soviet relations.[1]

In 1901 he took a clerical position on the railways in 1901 and by 1903 was a member of the Railway Clerks Association and subsequently its successor, the Transport Salaries Staffs Association. He joined Social Democratic Federation, later joining the British Socialist Party.[1]

In 1913 he married Zelda Kahan

He became their National Organiser in March 1919and was involved in founding te Communist Party of Great Britain.

In September 1919 when the National Hands off Russia Committee was formed at a conference in Manchester, Coates became its secretary. He filled this post until the Ramsay McDonald government established diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. The committee was then transformed into the Anglo-Russian Parliamentary Committee.[1] Coates retained the position of secretary of this organisation until his death.[1]

In 1923 he visited Russia.[2]

Works

with Zelda Kahan

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Stevenson, Graham. "Coates WP (Pat)". Graham Stevenson. Graham Stevenson. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  2. Berlin, Isaiah (1946). Why the Soviet Union chooses to insulate itself. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
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