Dr. Alistair Wilson

Alistair Wilson was born in 1913 and was the son of a doctor in Aberdare. He went to Cambridge and it was there that he began to become politically active, joining the Communist Party. He met and medically cared for the Hunger Marchers of 1932 and 1934 on their journey to London. Alistair returned to Aberdare and took over his father's practice there.

He married Olive Greening, whose brother Edwin fought in the Spanish Civil War for the International Brigades. Dr Alistair Wilson won a seat on the Aberdare Urban District Council for the Communist Party in 1938 and held the seat until 1950. He continued to contest local and parliamentary elections as the Communist candidate until 1978.

He was very active in many campaigns and founded democratic initiatives and patients' committees within the Health Service, lectured in Marxism and Welsh History and was also involved in the peace movement and anti-racism campaigns. Alistair founded and edited the bilingual journal 'Cyffro', which was a combination of current politics, debate, history and poetry. He was an honorary life member of the Aberdare and Cynon Valley Trades Council.

In 1981, Dr. Alistair Wilson accompanied the Welsh section of the 'Peoples March for Jobs' for a week as its medical officer. On the last stage from Cardiff to Newport he suffered a severe heart attack and was unconscious for 19 days before dying on May 22nd.

Alan Jones