LONDON RECRUITS

Almost 50 years ago a group of British seafarers embarked on an extraordinary secret mission in support of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. The men – members of RMT’s forerunner, the National Union of Seamen – were recruited to crew a ship returning exiled activists of the banned African National Congress to their country. Internal resistance to South Africa’s racist regime had been smashed by the capture of Nelson Mandela and the ANC leadership in 1963. What remained of the organisation had regrouped abroad, based mainly in London. The plan was to sail a ship from Somalia and secretly land the ANC members at a remote spot on South Africa’s coast. Once arrived, they would help re-establish underground resistance to apartheid within the country. The crew – Eric Caddick, George Cartwright, Jimmy Hopwood and Pat Newman – were all seafarers from Merseyside. They were NUS activists who had been recruited for the dangerous task through links which the London ANC had made with British leftists. Among the reception party awaiting them in South Africa was another Mersey seafarer Bill McCaig and Bob Newland, who would later become a rail worker in Britain and serve on the London District Council of the National Union of Railwaymen. Posing as tourists, they had already arrived in the country. It was their responsibility to select the landing spot and prepare the ground for the safe infiltration of the returning South Africans. An entirely separate mission was carried out single-handedly by yet another Liverpool seafarer, Gerry Wan. His ship regularly docked in South Africa and Gerry was tasked with smuggling anti-apartheid propaganda. During shore leave he would distribute the material, along with cash and passports, to contacts in the ANC underground. The selfless bravery of these men went largely unknown for many years. A rare combination of modesty, self-discipline and political maturity kept them from speaking of their exploits until recently. It was only with the publication of the book London Recruits in 2012 that many details emerged. It recounted how dozens of non-South Africans undertook secret missions for the ANC during the 1960s and 1970s. After decades of silence they could at last tell their dramatic stories. A documentary, inspired by the book and also entitled London Recruits, is currently in production. Many of those involved in the various missions will feature, including the surviving Mersey seafarers and the ANC leader who directed the operations. Liverpool’s mayor Joe Anderson, who recently unveiled a plaque in honour of the group, said: “I am so proud that, when confronted by the horrors of persecution and apartheid, these men did all they could to fight for the rights and freedoms of the South African people. This RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: february 2016 :: RMTnews 22 LONDON RECRUITS New film tells the untold story of union members’ secret missions against apartheid South Africa