Phil Mitchinson’s funeral arrangements

Phil Mitichinson's funeral will take place on Friday 1st December at 11.30am at Hillview Cemetery, Wickham Street, Welling, Kent. Assemble outside the Green Man pub, 168 Wickham Street, Welling at 11.15am. There will be some words at the graveside and then a room is available in the pub for a short meeting.

Please let us know if you are intending to come by contacting contact [at] socialist.net

Remembering Phil Mitchinson

Towards the end of the Hands off Venezuela conference in London on November 4th, Phil came up to me and said, "I know you know the score, but don't tell me! I'm recording it at home so I can watch it later". He was referring to the rugby match taking place that afternoon in Cardiff between Wales and Australia which Wales had a good chance of winning. Phil and I were making a great sacrifice by putting the cause of the Venezuelan revolution before the religion of Wales, rugby.

In the evening at the social after the conference Phil came up to me again and said, "Don't tell me the score but will I be disappointed?" My reply was no....and yes. He looked at me perplexed by the contradictory answer and then guessed that it had been a draw, and a very good game.

That was the last time that I saw Phil, yet the conversation between us on rugby reflected so much about Phil's character and especially his passion for everything that he was involved in. Phil was a consummate Marxist, an excellent orator, a superb writer, a voracious reader, a meticulous researcher, a very cultured man, a devoted father and perhaps more than everything he was a very rounded out person with a wide variety of interests, a very witty human being, a real Mensch! He had devoted his life to Marxism yet he could speak on such an immense array of topics that I often wondered where he found the time to sleep!

I shall miss Phil personally and politically, as will all those who had the pleasure of his company. My thoughts go out to his family and comrades.

Darrall Cozens,

Coventry

Message of Condolence for Phil Mitchinson

I have been in a daze since I heard the news. It has been very difficult to grasp and for me, will take a long time to come to terms with. Phil was a comrade, but was also my closest friend.

Phil recruited me to the Labour Party Young Socialists when he was the Caerphilly YS Secretary at the age of 16 and I was 24. Already, he was far wiser than I and had a grasp of theory astonishing for one so young. This was combined with a revolutionary fervour, but at the same time a cool head, which curbed the enthusiasm of wilder young comrades.

From those days in 1985 to today, Phil was my political inspiration. Alongside Ted and Alan, the combination of personal qualities and constantly questioning understanding of Marxist theory made him every bit a leader of historical significance.His daunting ability to speak to a small or large meeting and concvince all that socialist revolution is not just possible but inevitable was amazing. His speeches had the agitational power of a socialist from solidly working class stock - it was never just theory with Phil - but more than that, he had the exceptional ability of the best of Marxists to make complex nuances of political, economic and philosphical theory easily understood by workers. His huge appetite for culture meant that his speeches were always peppered with colourful qoutes and illustrations. In personal conversations he could always make a comrade feel that their views were not as stupid as they sometimes believed, whilst carefully steering misguided opinions in the right direction- always straight- never patronising or condescending.

When "the Turn" was announced in the early nineties, I felt isolated in meetings in South East Wales when questioning this disastrous new direction. Fortunately, I heard that there was someone in Swansea who felt the same way, Phil. I phoned Phil and was relieved to know that he was of the same view. It confirmed that my "gut" reaction was correct, since Phil was seldom wrong on political matters.

From that time on, Phil and I became friends as much as we were comrades, although invariably we independently came to the same conclusions in the arguments and debates which occurred within our tendency over the next decade and more.

I spoke to Phil nearly every day, even if I did not see him from month to month in the last year or so. I sought his advice on political matters, trade union matters and confided in him on personal matters- his advice there was always as spot on as the political stuff. His sense of humour and his positive attitude never failed to help me and many others.

His tragic death is a cruel loss, not just to me as a friend, but to the movement and to the working class internationally. It will be very difficult to bridge the gap he has left. But one thing is certain. Phil would have dedicated the rest of his life to the movement and would have achieved great things. His last act, that of an untimely death, must be the springboard for all those who knew him and loved him, to channel the anger we all feel into making those great things happen.

Phil may no longer be with us, but his life must inspire those who could have, should have done more, to make the revolution reality.

My condolences to Mandy, Phil's family and the Comrades who worked with Phil.

There will be a Memorial Meeting on January 13th at 12-00pm till 5-00pm at the Sports Centre For Wales, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

Mark Turner