British Fascisti

Structure and membership

The organisation was formed on 6 May 1923 by Rotha Lintorn-Orman in the aftermath of Benito Mussolini's March on Rome, and originally operated under the Italian-sounding name British Fascisti. Despite its name, the group had a poorly defined ideological basis at its beginning, being brought into being more by a fear of left-wing politics than a devotion to fascism. The ideals of the Boy Scout movement, with which many early members had also been involved in their younger days, also played a role, for the British Fascisti wished, according to General R. B. D. Blakeney, who was the BF President from 1924 to 1926, to "uphold the same lofty ideas of brotherhood, service and duty". At its formation, at least, the British Fascisti was positioned in the same right-wing conservative camp as the British Empire Union and the Middle Class Union, and shared some members with these groups. The group had a complex structure, being presided over by both an Executive Council and Fascist Grand Council of nine men, with County and Area Commanders controlling districts below this. Districts contained a number of companies, which in turn were divided into troops with each troop made of three units and unit containing seven members under a Leader. A separate structure existed along similar lines for the group's sizeable female membership. The group became notorious for its inflated claims of membership (including the claim that it had 200,000 members in 1926), although at its peak from 1925 to 1926 it had a membership of several thousand. It mustered 5,000 people for a London march on Empire Day in London in 1925.