''Candour'' is a British
far-right political magazine founded by
A. K. Chesterton
Arthur Kenneth Chesterton (1 May 1899 – 16 August 1973) was a British far-right journalist and political activist. From 1933 to 1938, he was a member of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). Disillusioned with Oswald Mosley, he left th ...
, appearing weekly from 1953 to 1960, and in to eight to ten issues per year by 1999. The magazine displayed a "stolidly conservative" stance under the leadership of Chesterton, who feared that open
racial hatred
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees.
There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...
would tarnish the magazine's reputation and tried to cultivate a more respectable, conservative image.
[LeCras, Luke (2017)]
A.K. Chesterton and the Problem of British Fascism, 1915-1973
p. 9: "The LEL (along with Candour's readership) spread beyond England, with local chapters and supporters as far afield as Australia, Rhodesia and New Zealand. Despite its fairly stolid and conservative orientation, the LEL served as a springboard for younger activists who would propel Britain’s extreme right after Chesterton’s death."; see also pp. 213–214: "Chesterton was wary of tarnishing his movement’s reputation with accusations of violence or racial hatred following the riots at Notting Hill in April 1958. .Candour and the LEL were both beset by accusations of harbouring fascist tendencies despite Chesterton and his supporters' efforts to cultivate a more respectable, conservative image." After Chesterton's death in 1973, ''Candour'' was edited by Rosine de Bounevialle until her own death in 1999. Since that year, the magazine has appeared intermittently under editor-in-chief Colin Todd, with an associated website.
History
Background
''Candour'' was founded by journalist
Arthur K. Chesterton as the successor to
''Truth''. Following the 1953 takeover of ''Truth'' by the Staples Press, which insisted on adopting a new mainstream Conservative editorial policy and dropping the openly anti-Jewish content, Chesterton promptly resigned as deputy editor, along with the editor
Collin Brooks
Collin Brooks (22 December 1893 – 1959), frequently known as "CB", was a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. In 1913 he founded the Manchester Press Agency. In 1915 he joined the British Army, where he was awarded the Military Cross as ...
. Chesterton then had
The Britons
The Britons was an English anti-Semitic and anti-immigration organisation founded in July 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish. The organisation published pamphlets and propaganda under imprint names: Judaic Publishing Co. and later The Britons, and ...
published a pamphlet denouncing the new leadership, ''Truth has been murdered'', and asked his readers for backing for a new journal in the style of the old ''Truth''.
1953–1973
Chesterton initially struggled to win enthusiastic support when demanding for funds, but he eventually obtained the financial backing of R. K. Jeffery,
a Chilean-based English millionaire who had made a fortune in copper-mining before the First World War.
Other backing soon followed, and the first edition of ''Candour'' – "the British Views Letter" – was published on 30 October 1953.
The four-page weekly was printed by Clair Press, a firm operated by Tony Gittens, who ran ''The Britons''.
The first issue detailed the magazine's mission of denouncing the forces opposing the British Empire – primarily the United States, nicknamed the "Dollar Empire".
The
League of Empire Loyalists
The League of Empire Loyalists (LEL) was a British pressure group (also called a "ginger group" in Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations), established in 1954. Its ostensible purpose was to stop the dissolution of the British Empire. The League ...
(LEL), founded in October 1954 by Chesterton – along with ''Candour'' as the group's periodical – was dedicated to preserving
British imperialism
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. Its readership expanded beyond England to various parts of the former
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, including
Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Rhodesia.
According to scholar Luke LeCras, "although ''Candour'' and the LEL placed increasing focus on the 'coloured invasion' in their campaigns, Chesterton was wary of tarnishing his movement’s reputation with accusations of violence or racial hatred following the riots at Notting Hill in April 1958.
..Candour and the LEL were both beset by accusations of harbouring
fascist tendencies despite Chesterton and his supporters' efforts to cultivate a more respectable, conservative image."
Chesterton died in August 1973.
1973–1999
Following Chesterton's death, ''Candour'' was edited by Rosine de Bounevialle (1916–1999) until her own death.
Since 1996 its owning trust's objects are "to promote and expound the principles of A.K. Chesterton which are defined as being to demonstrate the power of, and to combat the power
lsewhere called by its publisher 'menace'of
International Finance
International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of financial economics broadly concerned with monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Inter ...
, and to promote the National Sovereignty of the British World." Another self-declared aim of the magazine is to serve as a link between
Britons all over the world in protest against the surrender of their world heritage.
After 1999
''Candour'' still continues to be published by the A.K. Chesterton Trust,
although increasingly irregularly.
The latest issue was published in September 2022.
[Candour/The A.K. Chesterton Trust, BM Candour, London, WC1N 3XX http://www.candour.org.uk/shop/4566209131] It operates mainly by subscription, and some issues are out of stock according to its website.
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References
Sources
*J Bean, "Many Shades of Black", New Millennium, 1999.
*"A.K. Chesterton M.C. - A Memorial Booklet", Candour, 1973.
*"Candour, vol. 34, number 1", January 1983.
*"Candour, vol.73, number 1", July 2000.
External links
Candour Website
{{ White Nationalism
British Empire
British nationalism
Political magazines published in the United Kingdom
Fascism in the United Kingdom
Imperialism
Magazines published in London
Magazines established in 1953
Irregularly published magazines published in the United Kingdom
Fascist newspapers and magazines