Robert Gordon-Canning
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Robert Cecil Gordon-Canning (24 June 1888 – 4 January 1967) was a notable British fascist, anti-Semite and supporter of
Arab nationalist Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
causes. He was briefly married to Australian actress
Mary Maguire Mary Maguire (born Hélène Teresa Maguire; 22 February 1919 – 18 May 1974) was an Australian-born actress who briefly became a Hollywood and British film star in the late 1930s. Early life Maguire was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Mic ...
.


Background and military career

Gordon-Canning was born in
Hartpury Hartpury is a civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It has an area of about , about 270 homes and a population of about 700 people, increasing to 1,642 at the 2011 census. The village is about north of Gloucester. Geographically the parish ...
,
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 ...
, the only son of William James Gordon-Canning, and his wife Clara, a daughter of
Crawshay Bailey Crawshay Bailey (1789 – 9 January 1872) was an English industrialist who became one of the great iron-masters of Wales. Early life Bailey was born in 1789 in Great Wenham, Suffolk, the son of John Bailey, of Wakefield and his wife Susannah. ...
. His father was the fourth son of Captain Patrick Robert Gordon, of the
78th Highlanders The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. Hi ...
, the son of William Gordon of Milrig. In 1848 Captain Gordon married Maria Canning of Hartpury, and added her surname to his own. Gordon-Canning claimed, and it is sometimes stated as fact, that the poet George Gordon Byron,
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, was his great-grandfather. He was educated at
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a volunteer yeomanry regiment which, in the 20th century, became part of the British Army Reserve. It traced its origins to the First or Cheltenham Troop of Gloucestershire Gentleman and Yeomanry raised in ...
on 15 November 1906, and was promoted to lieutenant in the
10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince A ...
on 14 March 1912. He was appointed a temporary captain on 18 November 1914, soon after the start of World War I, and this was confirmed on 15 May 1915. In June 1917, Gordon-Canning was awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...
, "for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty." He was transferred to the General Reserve of Officers on 29 March 1919, and eventually resigned his commission on 19 August 1925.


Early political activities

After the war, Gordon-Canning became a supporter of Arab nationalist causes. He was involved in advocating for Moroccan independence during the
Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by History of France, France in 1924) and the Berbers, Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at ...
and visited
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
at least twice in the mid 1920s, the first time for the Red Cross and later to present independence views to the French government. He wrote several books of poetry at this time, including "Flashlights from Afar" (1920), "A Pagan Shrine" (1922) and "The Death of Akbar" (1923). Australian diplomat R. G. Casey reported meeting Gordon-Canning in January 1926. He described him as "having come into the limelight lately owing to his having been the vehicle and mouthpiece for
Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
's 'peace' terms to the French. He has a shifty eye and is, I think, not altogether a disinterested peacemaker." Casey went on to describe "a very heated exchange of words about Morocco between ordon-anning and Sir Malcolm Robertson." Casey felt Gordon-Canning's approach combined "journalism with gentlemanly adventure." In 1929 Gordon-Canning visited
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and met with leaders of the Palestinian National Movement. He was a critic of British policy in Palestine. From March to May 1930 the British police kept
Margaret Milne Farquharson Margaret Milne McConnachie Farquharson (17 August 1884 – after 1936) was a Scottish suffragette, MP candidate and leader of the National Political League campaigning for Palestine. Life Farquharson was born in 1884. In 1908 she graduated wit ...
of the National Political League and Canning under observation to monitor their interactions with a delegation sent to London by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Arab Congress (ECPAC).


The BUF

In 1934 Gordon-Canning joined the
British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...
. In October 1936 he was best man at the wedding of
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
Diana Mitford Diana, Lady Mosley (''née'' Freeman-Mitford; 17 June 191011 August 2003) was one of the Mitford sisters. In 1929 she married Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, with whom she was part of the Bright Young Things social group o ...
in Germany, becoming the movement's expert on foreign affairs and "Director of Overseas Policy." He wrote regularly for fascist publications and developed the BUF slogan "Mind Britain's Business", which was also the title of one of his pamphlets. After a personal disagreement with Mosley, he left from the BUF in 1939, joining other fascist groups, including the British People's Party, The Link, and
Archibald Ramsay Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic name, Germanic elements '':wikt:erchan, erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and '':wikt:bold, bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German ...
's anti-Semitic group, the
Right Club The Right Club was a small group of antisemitic and fascist sympathising renegades within the British establishment formed a few months before World War II by the Scottish Unionist MP Archibald Maule Ramsay. It was focused on opposition to war w ...
. Historian Brian Simpson notes Gordon-Canning prominent amongst those trying to fuse Britain's far–right groups at the outbreak of war. He hosted the first of a series of meetings of like minded personalities at his London flat on 19 September 1939.


Marriage and internment

Gordon-Canning met Australian-born Hollywood actress
Mary Maguire Mary Maguire (born Hélène Teresa Maguire; 22 February 1919 – 18 May 1974) was an Australian-born actress who briefly became a Hollywood and British film star in the late 1930s. Early life Maguire was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Mic ...
in June 1939. Despite the 30-year age difference, they married in August 1939. Ironically, Gordon-Canning had previously written disparagingly of the influence and tone of Hollywood films. In July 1940, Gordon-Canning was interned under
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) Regulati ...
and was not released until 1943. A child, Michael Gordon-Canning, was born of the union in February 1941, but died in infancy. Gordon-Canning and Maguire were divorced in November 1944, and Maguire remarried, moving back to the US in an effort to restart her acting career.


Post war

At a sale of former German embassy property in 1945, Gordon-Canning attracted significant publicity when he purchased a large marble bust of Hitler for £500 (equivalent to £ today). Apparently by way of justification, he told reporters "Jesus, 2000 years ago was mocked, scorned and crucified. Today, He is a living force in the hearts and minds of millions of people." These comments, associating Hitler with Jesus, suggest he was associated with a small group called the League of Christian Reformers, who deified Hitler. Journalist John Roy Carlson—a pseudonym of Avedis "Arthur" Boghos Derounian—claims Gordon-Canning told him he purchased the bust "to challenge the Jews. To prevent purchase by them..." Carlson also exposed Gordon-Canning's ongoing anti-Semitism in his 1951 book on subversive politics, ''Cairo to Damascus.'' Living after the war between his apartment in London and his farm in
Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including sev ...
, the book indicates Gordon-Canning was still in touch with other former internees and fascist sympathisers. Posing as an anti-Semite himself, Carlson records Gordon-Canning as saying, "I used to see Hitler in Munich and Berlin, and once had supper with Goebbels. Hitler was a fine man, a charming man. If three Hitlers had been allowed to rule the world – in Germany, Italy and England – we wouldn't be in the fix we are now." Carlson also writes of dining twice at Gordon-Canning's apartment in
Cadogan Square Cadogan Square () is a residential square in Knightsbridge, London, that was named after Earl Cadogan. Whilst it is mainly a residential area, some of the properties are used for diplomatic and educational purposes (notably Hill House School). ...
in London with
Barry Domvile Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile, (5 September 1878 – 13 August 1971) was a high-ranking Royal Navy officer who was interned during the Second World War for being a Nazi sympathiser. Throughout the 1930s, he had expressed support for Germany' ...
and
Archibald Ramsay Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic name, Germanic elements '':wikt:erchan, erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and '':wikt:bold, bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German ...
. He states Gordon-Canning allowed his apartment to be used as a meeting place for Arab nationalists and claimed to be a close friend of
Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam ( ar, عبد الرحمن حسن عزام) (8 March 1893 – 2 June 1976), also known as Azzam Pasha, was an Egyptian diplomat and politician. He was the first Secretary-General of the Arab League, from 22 March 1945 t ...
. "I am one of the few Englishmen the Arabs trust completely", he is alleged to have said. Gordon-Canning remarried in 1952. He died on 4 January 1967. In November 2002 the
Security Service (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), Go ...
files on Gordon-Canning (KV 2/877-878) were released into the public domain.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon-Canning, Robert 1888 births 1967 deaths People from Hartpury People educated at Eton College Royal Gloucestershire Hussars officers 10th Royal Hussars officers British fascists People detained under Defence Regulation 18B British Union of Fascists politicians British poets