Clifford Harper

Who is Clifford Harper?

Clifford Harper is a worker, illustrator and militant anarchist. He was born in Chiswick, West London - at that time within Middlesex - on 13 July 1949. His father was a postman and his mother a cook. Expelled from school at 13 and placed on 2 years probation at 14, he then worked in a series of "menial jobs" before 'turning on, tuning in and dropping out' in 1967. After living in a commune in Cumberland, he started a commune on Eel Pie Island in the River Thames near Richmond, Surrey, in 1969. In 1971 he took part in the All London Squatters organization, squatting in Camden, North London, then Stepney Green, East London, and Peckham in South East London, while being very active in anarchist circles. In 1978 he settled in Camberwell where he has lived ever since. After contracting TB in France in 1969 Harper was hospitalised for 3 months in 1971, which left his heart badly damaged and led to heart failure in 2002. In early 2006 he survived heart attacks and in 2008 was diagnosed as diabetic.