Vittorio Taborelli

Another Italian friend of freedom died earlier this year, in London. He was Vittorio Taborelli, who came to London probably in 1922 or 1923 as a political refugee, and was over 80 years of age when he died. Though he was sceptical as to the effectiveness of our kind of propaganda (he belonged to the old propaganda-by-the-deed tradition), he was always among the first to support any new initiative of ours. During the inter-war years, when all but a few socialists and anarchists among the Italian colony in London were rabid fascists, Taborelli was always in trouble, always involved in discussions, which not infrequently ended in his being assaulted by Mussolini’s supporters. When war was declared Taborelli remained faithful to his anti-militarist principles and supported the anarchists in this country in their anti-war stand and was always generous with help for comrades who were ‘on the run’.

From ‘Friends of Freedom’ (the others being Osvaldo Maraviglia, Charles Duff and Laurie Hislam) Freedom 1966-11-26