John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war

neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

" inclination in his open use of the styles and symbols of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Through his leadership of organisations such as the

National Socialist Movement National Socialist Movement may refer to: * Nazi Party, a political movement in Germany * National Socialist Movement (UK, 1962), a British neo-Nazi group * National Socialist Movement (United Kingdom), a British neo-Nazi group active during the lat ...

and the

World Union of National Socialists The World Union of National Socialists (WUNS) is an organisation founded in 1962 as an umbrella group for neo-Nazi organisations across the globe. History Formation The movement came about when the leader of the American Nazi Party, Geor ...

, Jordan advocated a pan- Aryan "Universal Nazism". Although later unaffiliated with any political party, Jordan remained an influential voice on the British far right.

Early life

The son of a lecturer, Percy Jordan, and a teacher, Bertha Jordan, Jordan was educated at

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

from 1934 to 1942. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he attempted to enlist in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

and the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

but after failing the tests for both he enlisted in the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gen ...

. After being demobilised in 1946 he studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating in 1949 with

second class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in history.Gerry Gabl
Obituary: Colin Jordan
''The Guardian'', 13 April 2009"The day a Coventry fascist gave Nazi salutes near the Cathedral"
''Coventry Telegraph'', 30 September 2009 The same year he became a teacher at Stoke Secondary Modern Boys School,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, where he taught mathematics. In 1953 he received his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

He joined 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 ...

and became its Midlands organiser. At

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Jordan formed a Nationalist Club, from which he was invited to join the short-lived British People's Party, a group of former British Union of Fascists members led by Lord Tavistock, heir to the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

. After the Second World War Jordan joined the

British League of Ex-Servicemen and Women The British League of Ex-Servicemen and Women (BLESMAW) was a British ex-service organisation that became associated with far-right politics both during and after the Second World War. Origins The group had its origins in 1937, when James Taylor ...

, a pro-fascist group led by Sir

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

's secretary,

Jeffrey Hamm Edward Jeffrey Hamm (15 September 1915 – 4 May 1992) was a leading British fascist and supporter of Oswald Mosley. Although a minor figure in Mosley's prewar British Union of Fascists, Hamm became a leading figure after the Second World War a ...

, but Jordan soon became associated with Arnold Leese and was left a house in Leese's will. This became the

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

base of operations when Jordan launched the

White Defence League The White Defence League (WDL) was a British neo-Nazi political party. Using the provocative marching techniques popularised by Oswald Mosley, its members included John Tyndall. Formation The WDL had its roots in Colin Jordan's decision to spl ...

in 1956. Jordan later merged this party with the National Labour Party to form the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

in 1960, although he split from it after a quarrel with

John Bean John Bean may refer to: * John Bean (cricketer) (1913–2005), English cricketer and British Army officer * John Bean (politician) (1927–2021), long-standing participant in the British far right * John Bean (explorer) ( 1751–1757), Canadian e ...

, who was opposed to Jordan's advocacy of Nazism.

Leading activist

In 1962, Jordan founded the

(renamed the British Movement in 1968) with John Tyndall as its leader. A meeting in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

on 2 July 1962"Leader of British National Socialists Suspended From Teaching Job"
''Canadian Jewish Chronicle'', 13 July 1962, p.7 of supporters was disrupted by opponents whom Jordan described as being "

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

", leading to a riot. He was dismissed by the board of governors of the Coventry school where he taught in August 1962 after a period of suspension that had begun after the events in Trafalgar Square. In August 1962 Jordan hosted an international conference of Nazis at

Guiting Power Guiting Power is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, in Gloucestershire, England. The population of the parish at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 296. Guiting Power stands on the slopes of a small valley formed by a trib ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, which resulted in the formation of the

. Jordan was the commander of its European section throughout the 1960s and was also elected "World Führer" with

George Lincoln Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell (March 9, 1918 – August 25, 1967) was an American far-right political activist and founder of the American Nazi Party. He later became a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs, st ...

, founder of the

American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American far-right and neo-Nazi political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization was originally named the World Union of Free Enterprise Nation ...

, as his deputy. On 16 August Jordan and Tyndall, together with

Martin Webster Martin Guy Alan Webster (born 14 May 1943) is a British neo-nazi, a former leading figure on the far-right in the United Kingdom. An early member of the National Labour Party, he was John Tyndall's closest ally, and followed him in joining ...

Denis Pirie Denis Pirie is a veteran of the British far right scene who took a leading role in a number of movements. He began his career as a member of the 1960s British National Party and was appointed a member of the party's national council not long afte ...

and Roland Kerr-Ritchie, were charged under the

Public Order Act 1936 The Public Order Act 1936 (1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6 c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to control extremist political movements in the 1930s such as the British Union of Fascists (BUF). Largely the work of Home Office ci ...

with attempting to set up a paramilitary force called the Spearhead, which was modelled on the SA of

. Undercover police observed Jordan leading the group in military manoeuvres. He was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment in October 1962. On 5 October 1963, while John Tyndall was still in prison, Jordan, who had just been released, married Tyndall's fiancée,

Françoise Dior Marie Françoise Suzanne Dior (7 April 1932 – 20 January 1993) was a French socialite and neo-Nazi underground financier. She was the niece of French fashion designer Christian Dior and Resistance fighter Catherine Dior, who publicly distance ...

, the former wife of a French nobleman and the niece of the French fashion designer

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

. This hasty marriage was ostensibly to prevent her deportation as an undesirable alien. When Tyndall was eventually released the marriage caused friction and he split with Jordan in 1964 to form the

Greater Britain Movement The Greater Britain Movement was a British far right political group formed by John Tyndall in 1964 after he split from Colin Jordan's National Socialist Movement. The name of the group was derived from ''The Greater Britain'', a 1932 book by Os ...

. Jordan's marriage to Dior proved short-lived though, and she announced the couple's separation in January 1964. She claimed that Jordan had become "bourgeois". During the Leyton by-election of 1965 Jordan led a group of about 100 fascist demonstrators at a public Labour Party meeting, and after taking to the stage to berate the audience he was punched by

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...

, the then

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

. The fracas came about because the far right was using the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to stir up interracial hatred in order to defeat the Labour candidate (and

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

)

Patrick Gordon-Walker Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker, Baron Gordon-Walker, (7 April 1907 – 2 December 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament for nearly thirty years, and served twice as a Cabinet Minister. He lost his Smeth ...

. He had previously been defeated in the 1964 general election in the

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

constituency after racist campaigning tactics were employed by Colin Jordan and his followers. Specifically, Jordan claimed that his group produced the much publicised "If you want a

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

for a neighbour, vote

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

or Labour" slogan and launched the campaign to circulate the posters and stickers which the slogan was written on; in the past Jordan's group had also written and circulated other campaign slogans, such as: "Don't vote – a vote for Tory, Labour or Liberal is a vote for more

Blacks Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

!". The successful

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate was

Peter Griffiths Peter Harry Steve Griffiths (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2013) was a British Conservative politician best known for gaining the Smethwick seat by defeating the Shadow Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker in the 1964 general election, agai ...

, who did little to condemn the campaign. On 25 January 1967, Jordan was sentenced to eighteen months in prison at Devon Assizes in Exeter for breaking the

Race Relations Act 1965 The Race Relations Act 1965 was the first legislation in the United Kingdom to address racial discrimination. The Act outlawed discrimination on the "grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins" in public places in Great Britain. It ...

by circulating material that was likely to cause racial hatred."Colin Jordan Sent to Prison for 18 Months on Race Act Charges"
''The Glasgow Herald'', 26 January 1967, p.7 At the same time, Jordan was prosecuted and convicted under the Public Order Act 1936 for distributing a leaflet titled "The Coloured Invasion", "a vituperative attack on black and Asian people". In September 1972, Jordan was fined for disorderly behaviour at Heathrow Airport when, after protesting against the arrival of

Ugandan Asians In early August 1972, the President of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country. At the time of the expulsion, there were about 80,000 individuals of Indian descent in Ugand ...

into Britain, he addressed airport staff through a loudspeaker, urging them to strike in protest against mass immigration from Uganda. Jordan reorganised the National Socialist Movement as the British Movement in 1968, but in 1974 he was obliged to step down from its leadership in favour of Michael McLaughlin. His demise was further accelerated by his arrest and subsequent conviction for

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

three pairs of women's red knickers from

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

branch in June 1975. Magistrates fined him £50 for the offence. While leader of the British Movement, Jordan stood for

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on three occasions: in the 1969 Birmingham Ladywood by-election (282 votes, 3.0%); Birmingham Aston in the 1970 general election (704 votes, 2.5%) and

Wolverhampton North East Wolverhampton North East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is currently represented by ...

in the February 1974 general election (711 votes, 1.5%).

Later life

Jordan maintained ties to groups led by

Eddy Morrison Eddy Morrison (16 July 1949 – 10 June 2020) was a British neo-Nazi political activist, who was involved in a number of movements throughout his career. Biography Morrison was involved in the British Movement (BM) and also the National Front ...

and Kevin Watmough, such as the White Nationalist Party and the British People's Party as well as the American National Socialist Workers Party. In 2000, he expressed scepticism over the efforts of the

to soften its hard right stance. In the 1980s, Jordan revived ''Gothic Ripples'', originally Leese's publication, as his personal political project. He once declared that there was "no reliable evidence whatsoever" that six million Jews had been murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

.David McKittric
"Obituary: Colin Jordan"
''The Independent'' 28 April 2009. In 1989, he stated his belief that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was "counterfeit" and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

was the real "

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

" and "saviour", whose eventual "resurrection" would make him "the spiritual conqueror of the future".

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

, he thought, was really a form of

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

because it prevented the defence of the Aryan people. Jordan was back in court in 2001, after being charged with publishing racist literature, but the judge ruled that his serious heart condition made him unfit to stand trial. He dedicated his 2004 book ''The Uprising'' to the jailed white supremacists Richard Scutari and David Lane. Jordan and Julianne Safrany became life partners at some point after his divorce from Dior. The two were still together when Jordan died at his

Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge (known locally as Pateley) is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales an ...

home on 9 April 2009.

In fiction

Jordan features in the 2014 historical novel '' Ridley Road'' by Jo Bloom. In its 2021 BBC television adaptation, he is portrayed by

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2014, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of William S ...

Works

*''Gothic Ripples'' Newsletter *''Fraudulent Conversion: The Myth of Moscow’s Change'' (1955) *''The Coloured Invasion'' (1967) *''Merrie England— 2,000'' (1993) *''National Socialism: Vanguard of the Future: Selected Writings of Colin Jordan'' (1993, ) *''The Uprising'' (2004)

References

External links

* *
BBC ''Panorama'' documentary about the White Defence League featuring an interview with Colin Jordan
''YouTube''
''British Pathe'' film footage of the wedding of Colin Jordan and Françoise Dior
''YouTube''
BBC ''Panorama'' report on the Leyton by-election featuring Colin Jordan
''YouTube''
British Movement video interview with Colin Jordan and the BM's review of the BBC ''Ridley Road'' TV series, 4 October 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Colin 1923 births 2009 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge British Holocaust deniers English neo-Nazis People educated at Warwick School People from Birmingham, West Midlands People convicted of racial hatred offences British people convicted of hate crimes British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Educational Corps soldiers