It is impossible to write a retrospective of Rowland without mentioning the International Marxist Group or IMG for short. This was a Trotskyist political party that was part of the Fourth International. It was formed in 1964 and enjoyed some success at the time with around a thousand members in the late 1970s. Rowland was one of them.
By the time I got to know Rowland he was no longer directly involved in the party but throughout his life he remained faithful to its ideas and retained an admiration for many of its more notable influences such as Tariq Ali whom he knew personally, and the author Ernest Mandel.
The slide shows three of the more important newspapers produced by the party at the time, all of which were assiduously flogged by Rowland at the many committee meetings which he attended.
Ever since I knew him Rowland had the picture of Trotsky shown below above his desk in 17 Bruce Street. He still had it with him on the day he died.