View source for John Rickman (activist)

{{Short description|British communist activist who was killed during the Spanish Civil War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = John Rickman
| image              = John Pascal Rickman.jpg
| caption            = John Rickman's name on the [[Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial]]
| birth_name         = John Pascal Rickman
| birth_date         = 1910
| birth_place        = [[Powerstock]], England
| death_date         = 6 April 1937
| death_place        = Colmenar de Orejo Hospital, near [[Madrid]]
| death_cause        = Injuries sustained during the [[Battle of Jarama]]
| monuments          = [[Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial]]<br />Family memorial in [[Powerstock]] churchyard
| citizenship        = [[United Kingdom]]
| education          = [[Philosophy, politics and economics]] at [[Lincoln College, Oxford|Lincoln College]], [[Oxford University]] (dropped out)
| organization       = [[International Brigade]], [[British Battalion]].<br />Toc H.<br />Brothers of the Order of St Francis.
| known_for          = Anti-fascist activism.<br /> Communist activism
| party              = {{flagicon image|CPGB BANNER.png}} [[Communist Party of Great Britain|Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)]]
}}
'''John Pascal Rickman''' (1910–1937) was a British communist activist who was killed during the [[Spanish Civil War]]. Before the war, he dropped out from [[Lincoln College, Oxford|Lincoln College]] of the [[University of Oxford]], and became an expert on English church architecture, took part in the [[Battle of Cable Street]], and became involved in various religious and political organisations which aimed to better the conditions of the working class, including the [[Communist Party of Great Britain|Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)]].
In 1937 he was killed outside Madrid from injuries he sustained during the [[Battle of Jarama]]. In 2017 his name was included on the newly erected [[Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial]].
== Early life and political activism ==
Rickman was born in Powerstock, a small village near [[Melplash]] in [[Dorset]], [[England]]. He was the only son of Annie Maide Rickman and her husband William Francis Rickman who was the vicar of Powerstock church.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Farman|first1=Chris|title=No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936-39|last2=Rose|first2=Valery|last3=Woolley|first3=Liz|publisher=Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee|year=2015|isbn=|location=London|pages=90}}</ref>
In 1929 he enrolled onto a degree in [[Philosophy, politics and economics]] at [[Oxford University|Oxford University's]] [[Lincoln College, Oxford|Lincoln College]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=19 October 2015|title=Hopes rise over Spanish Civil War memorial|work=oxford mail|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/13878357.hopes-rise-spanish-civil-war-memorial/|access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref> however he dropped out in 1931 without completing his course, with his tutors commenting that he 'can hardly pass' and 'hopeless'.<ref name=":0" /> After leaving Oxford he returned to Dorset and settled in [[Sherborne]] where he worked with organisations involved in improving the conditions of [[Proletariat|working-class]] people such as Toc H, and the Brothers of the Order of St Francis.<ref name=":0" />
Rickman had a strong interest in church architecture, and was credited as having discovered a long-lost book of Dorset church drawings which "proved immensely useful in subsequent preservation work".<ref name=":0" />
In 1936, MI5 had created a file dedicated to John Rickman and began recording all of his activities. Historians believe this was likely a response to Rickman joining the [[Communist Party of Great Britain|Communist Party]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Farman|first1=Chris|title=No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936-39|last2=Rose|first2=Valery|last3=Woolley|first3=Liz|publisher=Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee|year=2015|isbn=|location=London|pages=91}}</ref> In October that same year, Rickman was present during the [[Battle of Cable Street]] where he fought alongside Jews, communists and trade union activists to block a demonstration held by the [[British Union of Fascists]].<ref name=":1" /> After the Battle of Cable Street, Rickman told his sister that he would be travelling to France to work for a humanitarian group called the Spanish Youth Foodship Committee, however, when he left Britain he decided to travel to Spain to join the [[International Brigades]] and fight for the [[Second Spanish Republic]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref name=":1" />
== Spanish Civil War and legacy ==
Arriving in Spain, Rickman reached the International Brigade's [[Albacete]] base in December 1936, and shortly afterwards joined the [[British Battalion]].<ref name=":1" /> After less than a month of training he was sent to the front line of the war.<ref name=":1" /> Records show that on 1 January 1937,  Rickman travelled on the same transport vehicle as [[Winston Churchill|Winston Churchill's]] nephew, [[Giles Romilly]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Farman|first1=Chris|title=No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936-39|last2=Rose|first2=Valery|last3=Woolley|first3=Liz|publisher=Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee|year=2015|isbn=|location=London|pages=92}}</ref> Rickman was badly injured in February 1937 during the [[Battle of Jarama]].<ref name=":1" />
Rickman died in 'Colmenar de Orejo Hospital', near [[Madrid]] in 1937, from injuries he sustained fighting at the Battle of Jarama. His death certificate, currently held by the [[Marx Memorial Library]], dates his death to 6 April 1937.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Death certificate for John Rickman|url=https://marx.soutron.net/Portal/Default/en-GB/recordview/index/69577|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=8 February 2021|website=marx.soutron.net}}</ref> A small memorial to Rickman in his home village was created shortly after his death,<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Powerstock|url=http://www.international-brigades.org.uk/content/powerstock|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208115645/http://www.international-brigades.org.uk/content/powerstock|archive-date=8 February 2021|access-date=8 February 2021|website=international-brigades.org.uk|url-status=dead}}</ref> with the inscription "He gave his life in the cause of freedom."<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Commonwealth War Grave St Mary Churchyard|url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/30719/Commonwealth-War-Grave-St-Mary-Churchyard.htm|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=8 February 2021|website=tracesofwar.com}}</ref> In 2017 a larger memorial dedicated to six International Brigade members with links to Oxfordshire was raised in east Oxford. This memorial became known as the [[Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial]], and contains John Rickman's name among five others.
== See also ==
* [[Lewis Clive]]
* [[Ralph Winston Fox]]
* [[Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial]]
* [[Giles Romilly]]
* [[Bill Alexander (British politician)|Bill Alexander]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickman, John}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:British activists]]
[[Category:British people of the Spanish Civil War]]
[[Category:British communists]]
[[Category:British military personnel killed in action]]
[[Category:English anti-fascists]]
[[Category:English communists]]
[[Category:People from Dorset]]
[[Category:International Brigades personnel killed in action]]