A former member of the Canadian Army in World War I, he joined the Communist Party in El Salvador in 1928.
[3] According to biographer Rina Villars, Wainwright spent much of his youth years in Manchester living with his aunt and uncle.
After returning to Central America, he set up a business in El Salvador selling fire extinguishers and Smith Corona typewriters.
[3][5] An article in a Guatemalan newspaper labelled him as one of the foremost communist agitators in Central America, accusing him of seeking to establish a Soviet federation in the region.
[6] Apart from politics, he also set up a business in San Pedro Sula, selling tobacco, sweets and soft drinks.
[7] In January 1932 he was jailed in Guatemala, accused of preparing a revolt in the country on the lines of the insurgency in El Salvador.
[8] The death of Wainwright contributed to the emerging vacuum of leadership of the labour movement on the Honduran north coast.