Skip to main content
NEU job vacancy
The power couple of Teesside communism
George and Phyllis Short were working-class heroes, facing down all enemies to fight the class struggle — especially the British Union of Fascists. We should remember them better, argues local TONY FOX

I WAS saddened to see recently that the Battle of Stockton memorial unveiled in 2018 was partly obscured by a market stall, laying dirty and neglected at the foot of Stockton’s Market Cross.

The Battle of Stockton was the first and most significant action against the British Union of Fascists (BUF) on Teesside. It was a humiliating blow, so expertly delivered that the BUF never recovered nor developed locally thereafter.

The anti-fascist campaign on Teesside was led and organised by two people: George Short and his wife Phyllis. Short, the founding father of Teesside communism, was born in Chopwell in 1900 and so too Phyllis, in 1903. Short took up the only employment available, mining.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
ANTI-FASCIST ART: The stained glass window in Belfast City Hall
Features / 29 September 2025
29 September 2025

JIM JUMP looks forward to the International Brigade Memorial Trust AGM taking place in Belfast later this week where the spirit of solidarity will be rekindled

ALEXANDER FOOTE
Features / 24 September 2025
24 September 2025

TONY FOX invites readers to come and hear the story of the remarkable Liverpudlian International Brigader Alexander Foote

TORPEDOED: The SS Arandora Star, and (below) a memorial to  those killed
Commemoration / 25 April 2025
25 April 2025

The annual commemoration of anti-fascist volunteers who fought fascism in Spain now includes a key contribution from Italian comrades

REMEMBRANCE: Tony Fox addresses the crowd
Features / 14 November 2024
14 November 2024
TONY FOX reports from a Hartlepool event to commemorate those from the area who went and fought for liberty in Spain