First, a reminder of how Commonweal began…
As many of Commonweal’s supporters know, our founder, David Hoggett, began the Commonweal Collection after having a serious accident while volunteering overseas.
It left him paralysed from the chest down, and it was after this, in 1958, with help from his family and friends, that he began to channel his formidable energy into extending and sharing his collection of books and pamphlets on peace and social justice.
He continued this work until he died in 1975, by which time the Collection contained around 3,000 volumes.

David Hoggett
Introducing Matthew Hoggett

Matthew Hoggett
Matthew is David’s nephew. He kindly took the time to speak to us this week and share some of his memories of his uncle and of volunteering in the Commonweal Collection as a teenager in Cheltenham in the early 1970s.
Continue reading An interview with Matthew Hoggett, nephew of Commonweal founder David Hoggett