McCulloch Alex

Alex McCulloch

 

Born in 1910, like his brother, Walter, Alex was also a Glasgow carpenter who came south looking for work. Alex joined the Communist Party aged 25.

He was first married to Nancy with whom he had three children before being widowed and remarrying to Noreen Lowe, a teacheractive in the Communist Party.

An Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers (later to become part of UCATT – today Unite) shop steward and delegate to the union’s conference, he twice won an election for a full-time officer’s position but found his victory snatched away from him on technicalities arising from the machination of the union’s right-wing.

Alex was a member of Birmingham Trades Council from 1938, later a member of its EC. A staunch Co-operator, he served on the Board of Directors of the local Co-op and was a delegated member of Birmingham City Council’s Education Committee from 1954.

In later life he became clerk of works for Sandwell Borough Council and performed the same function for the Party during the course of the building of its new premises, the Key Books and later also the Star Club in Essex Street, Birmingham.

Alex served on the Midlands Party District Committee and its Secretariat for 12 years and was a municipal candidate for the Party; the picture is from when he stood as a local election candidate for the City Council in Weoley ward. He died in July 1991.

Sources: Frank Watters’ speech on the occasion of MDCP celebration of Alex McColloch’s 65th birthday c. 1975; GS personal knowledge