Biography

Bill Bailey, described by Harry Hakam "as the biggest guy in the battalion," was renowned before his involvement in the Spanish Civil War for removing the Nazi flag, in 1935, from the S.S. Bremen while it was in port in New York City.

Bill Bailey, the son of Irish immigrants, was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1909. He became a sailor and the bad conditions he endured encouraged him to join the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). In 1930 he joined the Marine Workers' Industrial Union and the American Communist Party.

In 1934 Bailey became an organizer of the longshoreman for the party but became bored and in 1935 returned to work as a sailor. While in Italy he observed the reality of fascism and returned to the United States with a desire to become more actively involved in the struggle against what he believed was an evil philosophy.

In July 1935 Bailey was arrested and beaten after he boarded the German ship Bremen and attempted to destroy the swastika flag that was flying. With the support of the radical congressmen Vito Marcantonio, Bailey was acquitted of all charges.

On the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Bailey joined the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, a unit that volunteered to defend the Popular Front government against the Nationalist Army. Bailey fought at Belchite where he managed to capture a red and yellow fascist banner that he sent to the Maritime Federation of the Pacific in San Francisco.

By the time he began his correspondence with Marjorie Polon, a New York City teenager, he had been in Spain nearly a year as a member of the seamen's machine-gun company. Bailey met Polon, and continued to correspond with her after his return from Spain.

After the outbreak of the Korean War, Bailey, as a member of the American Communist Party, was blacklisted and unable to work as a seaman. In 1953 he began work as a longshoreman, retiring in 1975.

Bailey featured in several documentary films including Seeing Red, The Good Fight, Growing Up in the Depression, Between the Wars, The Spanish Civil War and The UnAmericans. He eventually became disillusioned with the policies of Joseph Stalin and left the party. He remained a socialist.

Bailey wrote his autobiography, The Kid From Hoboken in 1993. He died in San Francisco on 22nd February 1995.

- Biography courtesy of Tamiment Library, NYU and Spartacus Educational.  To view the finding aid to the Marjorie Polon papers which include letters from Bill Bailey, click here. Also see the ALBA Digital Library.

ALB Archival Materials

References

Historical Commission of the International Brigades - Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion August 1937 Questionnaire; Brigade Roster dated February 1938, Auto Park; Good Fight B, C, E, F, H & G. Harriman Video Archive

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