Obituary from the Independent Newspaper , Wednesday 16/2/1994,by George Matthews.

'Arthur Duckering Clegg, political activist, journalist andlecturer: born 28 April 1914; married Nel Reidel (died 1966; oneson, one daughter), 1967 Joan Kirkpatrick; died Ripon, NorthYorkshire 8 February 1994. ARTHUR CLEGG, national organiser ofthe China Campaign Committee in the 1930's, epitomised to VictorGollancz, its chairman, both the campaign and "the quiet,unpretentious Clegg was, but also determined, devoted and afirst-class organiser, who built up a powerful movement insupport of Chinese resistance to Japanese aggresion.''Fifty years later he gave his account of it, Aid China (1989),the subtitle "a memoir of a forgotten campaign". But the Chinesedid not forget. When he was unable to find a British publisherthey published it in Peking.''Clegg set out to convince a somewhat Eurocentric anti-Fascistmovement of the importance of the Chinese struggle. He succeededin winning the support of a wide range of publicfigures,including the Archbishop of York, Bertrand Russell,J.B.Priestley, Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, Harold Laski, EricGill, Herbert Morrison, Ellen Wilkinson, Tom Mann and BenTillett.''But for Clegg one of the highspots was the action of dockers atMiddlesborough on 21 January 1938, when they refused to load acargo of scrap iron and steel on to the Japanese boat HarunaMaru.'
'The boat was sent on to London, and the cargo by rail. Hugesums were offered to unemployed Chinese dockers to load itthere. But Clegg went to see a number of Chinese leaders, endingup with "one more Chinese behind a table". He was, said Clegg,"older and had an air of authority. I repeated my tale. Hepaused a moment and just gave a nod, saying nothing. But I wentdown the stairs with the conviction we had won. And we had. NoChinese was found to sign on the Haruna Maru, whatever bribe wasoffered."
'Ill-hjealth compelled him to give up the post of nationalorganiser of the CCC in 1939, and two years later he becameeditor of the Communist Party journal World News and Views,going from there to the Daily Worker, where he was successivelyFar Eastern adviser, diplomatic correspondent and foreigneditor. He wrote two other books on China and published severalsmall volumes of poetry. His anti-imperialist activities led tohis arrest and imprisonment for two months in 1940 for speakingat an Empire Day meeting in favour of Indian independence. ''From 1958 to 1977 Clegg was a lecturer in the history ofscience and economics at City University, London, and a vigorouscampaigner for the extension of non-elitist higher education.Many of his friends disagreed with his often uncritical supportof the policy of the Chinese and Kampuchean leaders, but noneever questioned his devotion to the people of those countriesand his political commitment.'