Rab Smith
A miner in Lochgelly, he served in the army in World War One. A member of ILP until 1921, when joined the Communist Party, Smith became driver to Willie Gallagher, when he was MP for Fife, and a key part of the Party’s election campaign team in the constituency.
Rab Smith held the Lumphinnans seat on Lochelly District Council for ten years, as a Communist and was one of nine Communist councillors elected to Fife County Council in 1944. In common with all but one, he lost his seat in 1949 during the height of the Cold War but won it back again in 1954 and held it for 20 years until local government reorganisation forced retirement.
His 30 years of almost continuous representation of the red belt of Fife led to Lumphinnans being dubbed `Little Moscow’; to this day a street in the area remains called `Gagarin Way’ in honour of the first manned exploration of space by a Soviet sputnik.
Smith died aged 90 in 1989.
Sources: supplement to “Scottish Miner” 1981; Morning Star 15th? November 1989
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