Kevin Gately

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kevin Gately (1954 — June 15 1974) was a second year student of mathematics at Warwick University who died as a result of injuries received in the Red Lion Square disorders of 15 June 1974. He was the first person to be killed in politically related disturbances in Britain since the 1930s.

Gately was born in England to parents of Irish background. He was unusually tall, well over six foot, and this led left-wing newspapers of the time to allege that his death may have been the result of a blow from a mounted police truncheon.^{[citation needed]} Neither a coroner's inquest nor a public inquiry headed by Lord Scarman were able to find conclusive evidence to prove or disprove this claim. However, fellow students who were with Gately said that he was injured after several charges and counter charges involving mounted police and demonstrators.^{[citation needed]} Contemporary photos show Kevin standing out above the crowd because of his exceptional height.

The Red Lion Square demonstration was an unusually violent attempt to stop the National Front holding a meeting in London. The primary organisers were the London Area Council of Liberation with participation from the International Marxist Group and the International Socialists (later the Socialist Workers Party). Gately was not a member of any political group or party. An assertion in the 22 June 2004 edition of the student union newspaper, the Warwick Boar, that he was a member of the International Marxist Group is mistaken.^{[citation needed]}

Gately had no experience of demonstrations before Red Lion Square, though he was aware of the nature of the demonstration against the National Front and wished to take part. His death led to a silent march of protest, and a major campaign by Warwick students against the National Front.

A Kevin Gately Memorial Painting hangs in the Warwick University Student Union, and was restored in 2004. The painting is symbolic of the anti-fascist struggle and contains neither a representation of Kevin nor of the actual events of June 1974.