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Concept
Vic Allen
Summary
Vic Allen (1923–2014) was a British communist, human rights activist, political prisoner, sociologist, historian, economist and emeritus professor at the University of Leeds who worked closely with British trade unions, and was considered a key player in the resistance against Apartheid in South African. He was also known for being a key activist within the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and for spending his life supporting the South African National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
Allen was the mentor of British trade union leader Arthur Scargill, and also a brief acquaintance of Nelson Mandela. During attempts to establish trade unions in Nigeria, he was accused of conspiring to overthrow the Nigerian government and spent 6 months in jail. He was also involved in a successful mission to smuggle £100,000 into Apartheid South Africa to fund trade unions, and in 1988 was present at secret talks in Cuba between Fidel Castro and black South African union leaders.
In 2010 Allen was awarded the Kgao ya Bahale award, the highest honour awarded by the South African NUM. After his death he was widely commendated by his fellow academics and activists for his lifelong commitment to worker's rights and racial equality.
Son of Jane (née Fletcher) and Samuel Leonard (Len) Allen, Victor Leonard Allen was born in Shotton, Flintshire and raised in Connah's Quay, Flintshire. Vic Allen left school at fourteen with no qualifications and became an apprentice bricklayer. During his time as a bricklayer, he was lent books by a fellow construction worker which inspired him to pursue an education at the London School of Economics where he was taught by Harold Laski. He worked as a bricklayer before and after service in the RAF during World War II. During this time, he became an accomplished amateur boxer competing at a national level. Allen originally took up boxing in response to being bullied at school. While working as a bricklayer, he began to be educated in Marxism and socialism by fellow workers.
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