The National Fascisti (NF), renamed British National Fascists (BNF) in July 1926, were a splinter group from the

British Fascisti The British Fascists was the first political organisation in the United Kingdom to claim the label of fascist, although the group had little ideological unity apart from anti-socialism for much of its existence, and was strongly associated with ...

formed in 1924. In the early days of the British Fascisti the movement lacked any real policy or direction and so this group split away with the intention of pursuing a more definite path towards a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

state. The group had 60 members at its creation, and around 500 at its height.

Formation

The National Fascisti's leader was Lieutenant Colonel Henry Rippon-Seymour. Members of the National Fascisti were dressed in black shirts in imitation of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and his followers and received some military drilling, although membership was much too small for them to pose any real threat. Despite their frustrations at the lack of policy from the British Fascisti their own ideas were fairly banal, with vague calls for a government of experts being about as far as they went. Strongly

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

, they argued that their aim was to "smash the

reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

and pinks".

Antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, which at that point was absent from British Fascisti policy, also played a role in the new group. They also called for "racial purity" and the consolidation of the

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 esta ...

.J.A. Cole, ''Lord Haw-Haw: The Full Story of William Joyce'', Faber & Faber, 1987, p. 31

Development

The group liked to pull stunts to get attention and in 1925 they hijacked a lorry carrying copies of the left-wing newspaper the '' Daily Herald'' which they proceeded to crash. The action briefly got them in the headlines as did a meeting at

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Pa ...

where 1000 people attended and finished the day in a pitch battle with

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

supporters. The group also ran

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

clubs to train members although ultimately their strident

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

, which included marching with drawn swords, drew them more derision than support. Like the

British Fascists The British Fascists was the first political organisation in the United Kingdom to claim the label of fascist, although the group had little ideological unity apart from anti-socialism for much of its existence, and was strongly associated with ...

(BF) they contacted the Home Secretary in the run-up to the 1926 General Strike to offer their services to the

Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies The Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies was a British right-wing movement, established in 1925 to provide volunteers in the event of a general strike. During the General Strike of 1926, it was taken over by the government to provide vit ...

. Rippon-Seymour refused to follow the lead of BF chairman

R. B. D. Blakeney Robert Byron Drury Blakeney, generally known as R. B. D. Blakeney (18 April 1872 – 13 February 1952), was a British Army officer and fascist politician. After a career with the Royal Engineers, Blakeney went on to serve as President of the Bri ...

in breaking from fascism and so his offer was turned down flat by the government. As individuals National Fascisti members were however allowed to enter the

Special Constabulary The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of statutory police forces in the United Kingdom and some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as special constables. Every United Kingdom territorial police force has a specia ...

during the strike, which many did.

Disappearance

Cracks began to show in the group, notably around December 1926 when Rippon-Seymour pulled a sword and an unlicensed gun on

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

branch leader Charles Eyres after Eyres has accused the leader of defrauding the party out of funds and of dictatorial leadership. Eyres had brought a gang of cudgel-wielding supporters from

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

to confront Rippon-Seymour whilst the leader's use of the Colt revolver, which actually belonged to "Victor Barker", saw him convicted of both possession of an illegal firearm and common assault at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. In 1927 a leading member was

Valerie Arkell-Smith Victor Barker, born Lillias Irma Valerie Barker (27 August 1895 – 18 February 1960) and called Valerie Arkell-Smith after marriage and who also went by the pseudonyms John Hill and Geoffrey Norton, was a transgender man who is notable for ...

, a transvestite who spent many years masquerading as 'Sir Victor Barker', 'Colonel lvor Barker' and 'Captain Barker. The National Fascisti members did not know she was actually a woman and treated her as a man; Barker became secretary to Rippon-Seymour as well as training members in the boxing and fencing clubs. A series of internal struggles saw them change their name to the British National Fascists on 19 July 1926, under the leadership of Rippon-Seymour. Meanwhile, leading members such as Colonel Ralph Bingham drifted from the group to become active instead in the

. Such a small group could not withstand internal wrangling and the movement faded from the scene fairly quickly after this.

Significance

Despite their general failure the National Fascisti remain significant for being the first group in British politics to attempt to develop fascism as a specifically British

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

. They also helped to launch the political careers of

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born fascist and Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the Second World War. After moving from New York to Ireland and subsequently to England, J ...

and

Arnold Leese Arnold Spencer Leese (16 November 1878 – 18 January 1956) was a British fascist politician. Leese was initially prominent as a veterinary expert on camels. A virulent anti-Semite, he led his own fascist movement, the Imperial Fascist League, a ...

, who had helped to instigate the split from the British Fascisti and who would go on to greater significance: Joyce became a notorious Nazi collaborator under the codename of "

Lord Haw-Haw Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to William Joyce, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK from Germany during the Second World War. The broadcasts opened with "Germany calling, Germany calling", spoken in an affected upper-class English acc ...

", while Leese would go on to establish his own

Imperial Fascist League The Imperial Fascist League (IFL) was a British fascist political movement founded by Arnold Leese in 1929 after he broke away from the British Fascists. It included a blackshirted paramilitary arm called the Fascists Legion, modelled after the ...

References

Bibliography