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Blackshirts in Leicester before World War Two |
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This raw audio recording is compiled from unedited location recordings, ans is a view of the growth of the "Blackshirts" in Leicester during the 1930s from a contributor who was an active member of the British Union of Fascists in Leicester.
This material serves mainly as an insight into the rise of British fascism in the pre-war period. His views and recollections are not balanced by differering accounts from his contemporaries, and therefore, users of the material might wish to set it in a more critical context.
The main contribution comes from a man who joined the BUF and went on to form the Leicester branch. He describes the national and local organisation of the movement between 1934 - 1938, their public meetings and planned participation in elections.
The interviewee recounts how support for the BUF came largely from young unemployed men and older servicemen from the 1914-18 war. At its peak he claims the movement had three strong local branches with around 150 men and women. In addition the BUF had a great deal of business support, which preferred to stay in the background. Businessmen joined largely on the basis of the Blackshirts simple economic policy, no imports of any goods that could be produced in this country. He accepts that Jewish businessmen did not join the BUF but denies any personal anti-Semitism.
The contributor remains convinced that any violence surrounding their meetings came from outside the movement. He claims the Blackshirts were provoked and were simply trying to preserve freedom of speech.
During one section the interviewee reads from his own detailed account of a mass rally held at the Granby Hall in Leicester in 1935. He says that over 5,000 people attended and were entertained by a parade with union jacks and fascist flags, before being addressed by Oswald Mosley. He describes the "brilliant oratory of Oswald Mosley" and goes on to recall how he himself attended a blackshirt training camp in Warwickshire where William Joyce, the BUF Director of Propaganda, taught the art of political speaking.
The effects of the Spanish Civil War and the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany on the British Blackshirts are also discussedThe original recording is held by the East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA ref: 404, LO/024/C24), at http://www.le.ac.uk/emoha/ This recording lasts for 40 minutes and 36 seconds. |
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| Creators: |
Interviewee - Gough, W.E.
Interviewee - Hammond, W.
Interviewee - Hollis, L.
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Subject: |
Politics
Oral History
History
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| Contributors: |
East Midlands Oral History Archive - Other
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Date created:
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01 / 01 / 1989
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Language:
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English
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Country:
Region:
City:
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United Kingdom
Leicester
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Rights:
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Community Media Association has non exclusive rights for the use of the work in The Showcase, but the overall copyright rests with East Midlands Oral History Archive. Copyright East Midlands Oral History Archive
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If your browser can’t display the graphical link above to the translator, you may translate this page by going to the Babelfish website and pasting the address for this page into the box marked “Translate a web page”. |
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