Robert Hunt Cooney (November 1907[a] – 15 August 1984) was a Scottish communist activist, political commissar and poet.
Biography
editRobert Hunt Cooney[1] was born in Sunderland in November 1907 to Sandy, a barrel maker, and Jean, a former cotton spinner, and moved to Aberdeen shortly afterwards following his father's death in 1909.[2] He later worked as a clerk in a pawn shop.[3]
He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1928.[4] and regularly engaged in counterprotests against fascist rallies, including by the British Union of Fascists. Following an arrest for one of these demonstrations, for which he was sent to Craiginches Prison,[5] he fought for the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and became a political commissar of the British Battalion.[6][7]
He stood as a candidate for Aberdeen North in the 1950 general election,[6] finishing last of four candidates with 1,391 votes, representing 2.7% of the total.
In 1955, he moved to Birmingham, following difficulties finding employment in Aberdeen, and worked as a heavy equipment operator.[2] During this time, he lived with Ian Campbell's family[4] and was a member of the Amalgamated Engineering Union.[8] Upon retiring in 1973, he returned to Aberdeen.[2]
In 1982, Cooney published a poetry collection, When of Heroes We Sing, consisting of songs and poems he had written throughout his life. On the subject, he said "I've always been interested in folk singing. A lot of the old songs are stories of the working people over the ages".[6]
Death and legacy
edit
Bob Cooney died in Aberdeen on 15 August 1984 at the age of 76.[3][9] and a concert was held in his honour at Aberdeen Arts Centre on 16 August 1986, with Ian Campbell and Dick Gaughan among the performers.[10][11] He has a gold plaque in Castlegate and, in 1997, the residential area Bob Cooney Court in Berryden was named in his honour.[12][13] A posthumous autobiography, Proud Journey: a Spanish Civil War memoir, was published by the Marx Memorial Library in October 2015.[14]
Awards
editHe was awarded the Hans Beimler Medal in July 1966 for his role in the Spanish Civil War.[8]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Aberdeen North Constituency of the County of the City of Aberdeen". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. 4 April 1950. p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Neil Cooney (4 September 2024). "The life of Bob Cooney". International Brigade Memorial Trust. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Aberdeen Activist Dies". Evening Express. Aberdeen. 16 August 1984. p. 1.
- ^ a b "Bob's back in town". Evening Express. Aberdeen. 26 June 1973. p. 7.
- ^ James Hunter (10 September 1976). "The Freedom Fighter". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. p. 10.
- ^ a b c Andrew Knight (25 November 1982). "A proud folk memory". Evening Express. Aberdeen. p. 10.
- ^ a b "Why we went to fight in Spain". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. 23 November 1983. p. 10.
- ^ a b David King (23 July 1966). "Why – it's Bob Cooney!". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. p. 1.
- ^ "Deaths". Evening Express. Aberdeen. 17 August 1984. p. 8.
- ^ "Music tribute to a veteran freedom fighter". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. 14 August 1986. p. 5.
- ^ "Diary / a guide to events throughout August". Evening Express. Aberdeen. 5 August 1986.
- ^ "War hero Bob saved kids from nuns' 'boot camp'". Evening Express. Aberdeen. 12 June 1997. p. 3.
- ^ Neil Drysdale (17 July 2021). "No pasaran! Bob Cooney was among the Scots who fought fascists in Spain and in Second World War". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ "Bob Cooney memoir now in print". International Brigade Memorial Trust. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ "Robert 'Bob' Cooney". International Brigade Memorial Trust. Retrieved 7 October 2024.