Albert E. Jacomb
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Jacomb, Albert E West Ham, later Becontree branch. Originally with his brother Josiah, Jacomb ran a printing shop in Stratford where he produced much early Party literature, including the Socialist Standard from 1904-14, as well as doing work for trade unions. In the early years Jacomb was involved in a ‘scandal’. In 1906 the Jacomb Brothers printed and sold Womanhood. Although this book probably dealt with contraception and the like, it was deemed obscene. The brothers were arrested and charged with selling indecent literature (The Times, 4th October 1906). Jacomb wrote two Party pamphlets, Socialism (1920) and The Socialist Party: Its Principles and Policies (1934), and was a prolific writer for Socialist Standard. He was an Executive Committee member 1909-19 and was also on the Editorial Committee. At a local level he was branch secretary for East London in 1905 and East Ham in 1906. Around 1930 Jacomb took a poultry farm in Essex. Towards the end of the Thirties he came into conflict with the Party, primarily over the Spanish Civil War. Essentially Jacomb thought the Party should support the Republican side in a ‘war for democracy’. During the Second World War his differences became stronger, and in a letter of 25th April 1942 stated that he intended to publicly attack the SPGB as “a hindrance to the revolution”. This was too much and on 30th June he was charged with action detrimental. The results of the Party Poll on his expulsion (207 votes in favour, 1 against) were announced on 15th December 1942. Subsequently he produced two pamphlets, AE Jacomb’s case against the Socialist Party and Jacomb Again. He died in 1946 aged 73 (obituary in the Socialist Standard of November 1946).