Denis Pirie is a veteran of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

scene who took a leading role in a number of movements. He began his career as a member of the 1960s

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 ...

and was appointed a member of the party's national council not long after its foundation. He soon became associated with the more openly

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 ...

wing under

Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the st ...

and took an active role in his and John Tyndall's attempts to set up a paramilitary wing, Spearhead. Pirie was arrested at one of their drills in 1961 and was sentenced to three months imprisonment for his role. After the court passed sentence Pirie gave a

Hitler salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...

to the court. After his release from prison Pirie followed Jordan and Tyndall into 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 ...

in 1962. Whilst here, he joined Tyndall in attempting to procure funds from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

for the NSM, although nothing came of this. During the quarrel between Jordan and Tyndall, Pirie largely sided with Tyndall and so followed him into 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 ...

in 1964. Pirie joined the National Front at the same time as the rest of the GBM and continued to feature prominently, gaining a seat on the NF Directorate. Pirie was dismissed from the Directorate in 1973 after it came to light that he attended celebrations for

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

's birthday, although he had regained his place by the following year. Around this time, Pirie enrolled as a

mature student An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...

at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

and soon became friendly with Richard Lawson, a young activist in the NF. Pirie's political outlook changed and he abandoned the

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 ...

which had previously defined his politics, adopting a

Strasserite Strasserism (german: Strasserismus or ''Straßerismus'') is a strand of Nazism calling for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of the ideology, espousing economic antisemitism above other antisemitic forms, to achieve a national ...

outlook and becoming associated with this faction. Grouped around ''The Beacon'', a party newspaper, the Strasserites initially represented an independent faction within the NF but soon became associated with the

populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

of John Kingsley Read in his struggle against Tyndall. As a result, Pirie became a founder member of the National Party and took a leading role in this group during its fairly brief existence. Following its collapse he became involved with the

League of Saint George The League of St George is a neo-Fascist organisation based in the United Kingdom. It has defined itself as a "non-party, non-sectarian political club" and, whilst forging alliances with different groups, has eschewed close links with other extrem ...

for a time. When the National Party foundered, Pirie left active politics until the mid-1980s when he collaborated 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 ...

in organising Our Nation. Initially taking a leading role in the group, Pirie's involvement was curtailed when the press leaked the story of his membership of the group while working in a potentially sensitive role as a civil servant in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

. G. Gable "The Far Right in the United Kingdom" in L. Cheles, R. Ferguson & M. Vaughan (eds.), ''Neo-Fascism in Europe'', London: Longman, 1991, p. 252 With Our Nation holding only a few meetings and Pirie's involvement compromised by the press leak, he retired from active politics after this incident.

References

Bibliography

*''Death by Dior'': Françoise Dior, by Terry Cooper (Dynasty Press, 2013, ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pirie, Denis Living people National Front (UK) politicians Year of birth missing (living people)