Friends of Oswald Mosley

The Friends of Oswald Mosley (FOM) is the last vestige of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) and its successors, the Union Movement and the Action Party. Their motto is "The spirit lives ... the rest will follow". The group is not politically active but has described itself as "pro-Arab, pro-EU, against US global supremacy, anti-capitalist, anti-state socialism, pro-syndicalism".

The flag of the British Union of Fascists, which is also the symbol of the Friends of Oswald Mosley.

History

The Friends of Oswald Mosley was formed in 1982. It represents the last vestige of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists and its successors the Union Movement and the Action Party.[1] Their motto is "The spirit lives ... the rest will follow".[2]

Activities

The Friends are not politically active. They publish a journal, Comrade,[3] (No. 1 March 1986)[2] which consists mainly of reminiscences and obituaries of figures active in the pre-Second World War days of the BUF. The Daily Telegraph, in its obituary of John Warburton (1919-2004), described Comrade as "the newsletter for veteran Blackshirts which soon developed into a journal that provided much primary material on the movement's history."[4]

The Friends also organise dinners, reunions, social events and film-shows of speeches by Oswald Mosley and BUF rallies, which are attended by veteran former members of Mosley's post-war Union Movement and younger sympathisers. Diana Mitford, Mosley's second wife was associated with FOM and spoke at a number of their functions in London.

In a 2016 article on the British far right published by The Guardian, a spokesperson described the group's views as "...pro-Islam, pro-EU, against US global supremacy, anti-capitalist, anti-state socialism, [and] pro-syndicalism".[5] However, FOM spokesperson, Gordon Beckwell subsequently stated on the Stormfront Britain forum claiming that he actually said to the Guardian reporter at the time that FOM was "pro-Arab" and therefore sympathetic to the Palestinians not specifically "pro-Islam" per se.

Membership

The first issue of Comrade explained that the FOM "is organized by an unofficial council of five, four of whom were personally chosen by Mosley for the MOSLEY DIRECTORATE when he retired from active politics in 1966."[6] Among the Council was John Warburton who was also the founding editor of Comrade.[7][8]

References
  1. Barberis, Peter; John McHugh; Mike Tyldesley (2000). Encyclopedia of British and Irish political organizations: Parties, groups and movements of the 20th century. London & New York: Pinter. p. 616. ISBN 978-0-8264-5814-8.
  2. Comrade, No. 1, March 1986, p. 1.
  3. XMS124 - Papers of Edward Jeffrey Hamm. University of Birmingham. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  4. "John Warburton Fleet Street photographer who acted as a bouncer for the British Union of Fascists", The Daily Telegraph, 2 September 2004, p. 29.
  5. Cobain, Ian (24 November 2016). "Britain's far right in 2016: fractured, unpredictable, dispirited... and violent". theguardian.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  6. "Friends of O.M. Run by Mosley Men", Comrade, No. 1, March 1986, p. 1.
  7. Comrade, No. 27, January 1991, p. 4.
  8. John Warburton. oswaldmosley.com. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
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