Ben Cohen, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, has died at the age of 101. He was born into a family of poor Jewish immigrants who settled in the Glasgow Gorbals before the First World War. His father was a militant socialist and fled from Vitebsk to avoid both political and religious persecution under the Tsar. The son grew up in the political culture of ‘red Clydeside’, attended Socialist Sunday School, and accompanied his father to many meetings where he heard Jimmy Maxton and John Maclean speak of social injustice, early experiences which left a lasting impression on his political sympathies.… Read the rest