Right Club
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The Right Club was a small group of
antisemitic 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 ...
and
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 ...
sympathising renegades within the British establishment formed a few months before
World War II 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 ...
by the Scottish Unionist MP
Archibald Maule Ramsay Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop o ...
. It was focused on opposition to war with Germany up to and including by acts of treason to the point that many of its members were imprisoned for the duration of the war.


Formation

The group was formed in May 1939, when Ramsay decided that the British
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
needed to rid itself of perceived Jewish control. Ramsay, in describing the Right Club, boasted that "The main objective was to oppose and expose the activities of organised Jewry". Ramsay kept a record of those who had joined in a red leather-bound and lockable ledger (the ''"Red Book"''). There were 135 names on the men's list and 100 on a separate ladies' list; the members of the Right Club included many known to be anti-semitic (including
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 MP John Hamilton Mackie), those who were in some respects "fellow travellers" with anti-semitism, and some friends of Ramsay who may have joined without knowing the actual functions of the club. At its early meetings, The 5th Duke of Wellington took the chair. Other members included
Lord Redesdale Baron Redesdale, of Redesdale in the County of Northumberland, is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was firstly created in 1802 for lawyer and politician Sir John Mitford (later Freeman-Mi ...
, Lord Lymington, Arnold Leese,
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 the ...
, and
George Henry Drummond George Henry Drummond, also known as George Henry de Vere DrummondBurke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. volume 3, page 3105. was an English ...
(father-in-law of John Astor). The 2nd Duke of Westminster was also a supporter. The motto of the Right Club was "Perish Judah" and the logo, seen on its badge, was of an
eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
killing a
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with the initials "P.J." (which stood for "Perish Judah"). While Ramsay was attempting to launch the Right Club, he spoke at a meeting of the
Nordic League The Nordic League (NL) was a far-right organisation in the United Kingdom from 1935 to 1939 that sought to serve as a co-ordinating body for the various extremist movements whilst also seeking to promote Nazism. The League was a private organisat ...
at the
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at which a reporter from the ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...
'' was present and reported Ramsay as saying that they needed to end Jewish control, "and if we don't do it constitutionally, we'll do it with steel" – a statement greeted with wild applause. The magazine ''
John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...
'' picked up on the report and challenged Ramsay to contradict it or explain himself. Ramsay's local constituency newspaper, the ''Peeblesshire Advertiser'', made the same challenge and Ramsay responded by admitting he had made the speech, citing the fact that three halls had refused to host the meeting as evidence of Jewish control.


Outbreak of war

Privately, Ramsay had been invited to some of the "Secret Meetings" at which right-wing opponents of the war discussed tactics. However, after they grew to be dominated by
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 ...
and his supporters, Ramsay withdrew. The Right Club spent the
Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...
period distributing propaganda in the form of leaflets and "sticky-backs" (adhesive labels bearing slogans), with Ramsay later explaining that he wanted "to maintain the atmosphere in which the 'Phoney War', as it was called, might be converted into an honourable negotiated peace." Sticky-backs were printed to disseminate the frequencies used by the 'New British Broadcasting Service', a Nazi propaganda radio station broadcasting from Germany, which claimed to counter the 'Jewish lies' of the
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
and promoted active resistance to the War as a Jewish plot. On 20 March 1940, Ramsay used a
Parliamentary Question A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...
to set out the times and frequency of the nightly NBBS broadcasts, under
Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...
. In addition to Ramsay's "Land of dope and Jewry" rhyme, the slogans included "War destroys workers' and "This is a Jews' War"; some of the leaflets asserted "the stark truth is that this war was plotted and engineered by the Jews for world-power and vengeance". Cites
The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
file HO 144/22454/109
File HO 144/22454 has not been digitised, but can be viewed at the National Archives, Kew, or a copy ordered.
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End of the club

One of the last members to join the Right Club was
Tyler Kent Tyler Gatewood Kent (March 24, 1911 – November 20, 1988) was an American diplomat who stole thousands of secret documents while working as a cipher clerk at the US Embassy in London during World War II. Early life and career Kent was born in ...
, a cypher clerk at the American Embassy in London. Ramsay gave Kent, who had diplomatic immunity due to his job, the ledger containing the pre-war list of Right Club members for safe-keeping. Kent was stealing top-secret documents from the embassy, and Ramsay hoped to leak sensitive correspondence between Churchill and Roosevelt with the intention of discouraging US support for Britain in the war. Unknown to the conspirators they had already fallen under suspicion, and several active members of the Right Club were
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
operatives. On 20 May, Kent's flat was raided and he was arrested; the locked 'Red Book' was forced open. Ramsay's involvement with Kent was extremely concerning to the authorities as Ramsay enjoyed Parliamentary privilege: Kent was passing the stolen documents to Ramsay, and if not intercepted it would have been impossible to prevent their publication. The Cabinet decided to extend
Defence Regulation 18B Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was one of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during and before the Second World War. The complete name for the rule was Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regula ...
to give more power to detain people suspected of disloyalty. Ramsay was arrested and lodged in
Brixton Prison HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History The prison was originally built in 1820 and opened a ...
on an order under Regulation 18B on 23 May 1940, and many other Right Club members were detained.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Right Club Antisemitism in the United Kingdom Far-right politics in the United Kingdom 1939 establishments in the United Kingdom Secret societies in the United Kingdom