RW Robson

THE weather-beaten grave of one of the founding fathers of the Communist Party of Great Britain has been discovered by his descendants, sparking a family campaign to restore it.

The granddaughter of Eirene and Robert “RW” Robson, who lived in Parliament Hill, had been researching her family history when she discovered details of the plot in Hampstead Cemetery.

Natasha Shillingworth, 43, said: “My dad had sort of mentioned in the past that his parents were buried in London, but he had mentioned a couple of different cemeteries.

“I actually found what was listed as my grandmother’s grave on the internet, a site called findagrave.com. It was quite surreal; there was even a photo of it there. It makes you realise the power of digital archives. It also makes you realise that family history is not all lost in the past.”

She added: “So my husband and I went down. I was expecting a small parish cemetery, so when we walked in and saw the size of it, I thought: ‘You know what, we’ve made a bit of an error here’.”

The couple searched the large burial ground in Fortune Green Road, using a tree in the photo as a pointer.

“It was there, very damaged,” Ms Shillingworth said. “It was very hard to read and the surface of it is very damaged. It’s leaning askew. If you weren’t looking for what’s on it, it would be hard to make out what it is now.”

The grave is marked simply: “In loving memory of Eirene Mary Robson, beloved wife of RW Robson, Born 22nd Jan 1910, Died 26th Nov 1962, RIP.”

But Ms Shillingworth said she had discovered in her father Alec’s paperwork that her grandfather RW is buried in the same grave, but had not wanted the stone engraving altered.

She said: “There are very limited bits of family history, but there is correspondence from Granddad to Dad about the grave and his wishes. It seemed like he was a no-nonsense, no-fuss person. That might explain why he didn’t want his name on there.

“It was very evident from the correspondence that he adored Grandmother. He wouldn’t have wanted to change her headstone; that is how I interpreted it. But it is very damaged and I wouldn’t have known that he was buried there without this information. It seems fitting that we restore it in some way.”

Rob Wilson and Natasha Shillingworth

She said that her father had been separated from Mr Robson after he was sent out of London to recuperate from tuberculosis. “Dad says my grandmother was a quiet, intelligent woman who worked as Harry Pollitt’s private secretary for several years,” she added.

Ms Shillingworth said she did not know much about her relatives until a batch of MI5 files was released in 2004.

She said: “Unfortunately, Robbie and Eirene died many years before I was born. I started to get more interested when I was away at university. When you are young, you take these things for granted. But then a lot of things started clicking into place.”

SEE ALSO HOW MI5 RECRUITED VICAR TO TRY AND ‘TURN’ COMMUNIST PARTY ORGANISER OVER TEA AND BISCUITS

She found correspondence that “really brought them to life”, she said, adding: “I felt very privileged to be related to them, from reading a lot of things. It was different from the MI5 files, which perhaps are not the most complimentary.”

Mr Robson, born in Yorkshire, was among a handful of founding members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) who were appointed London district organisers during the General Strike more than 100 years ago.

The grave in Hampstead Cemetery

He vetted comrade volunteers to join the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. At all times, he was closely monitored by the security services.

The New Journal reported on the release of the MI5 files which focused on a bizarre recruitment attempt involving a vicar who was tasked with trying to “turn” the Communist Party organiser over tea and biscuits.

Eirene Mary Robson

Ms Shillingworth has been working with an expert in Communist Party history and the North East, Tony Fox, who is hoping to erect permanent memorials to RW Robson in the capital and Middlesbrough, Teesside.

In an article in the Morning Star, he wrote: “I think that it is tragic that there is no physical memorial to RW Robson, an activist who played a significant role in a number of momentous events.”

To get involved in raising funds to restore the grave and build a monument, contact Mr Fox on nevolunteersforliberty@gmail.com.