University of Bradford >> Library >> Special Collections >> Rawnsley British Union of Fascists Collection

The Rawnsley British Union of Fascists Collection

A collection of material collected by Dr Stuart Rawnsley while researching for his Ph.D. thesis, "Fascism and Fascists in Britain in the 1930s" (University of Bradford, 1981).

The British Union of Fascists

The British Union of Fascists was an amalgamation in 1932 of Sir Oswald Mosley's New Party and several small fascist groups. The Union adopted the Fascist salute, black shirt and extreme anti-Semitic views. Rallies and marches were set to provoke confrontation, including conflicts at Olympia in 1934 and the "Battle of Cable Street" in London in 1936. The Public Order Act (1936), prohibiting political uniforms and giving the police power to ban political marches, took the movement out of the public eye.

The party was strongest in the textile areas of Lancashire and Yorkshire, depressed rural areas, and the East End of London, but failed to develop as a political force nationally. Following the fall of France and the invasion crisis of May 1940 Defence Regulations 18B and 18B (1A) were enacted, resulting in the internment of many British Union members on the grounds that they might potentially act as a Fifth Column for the enemy.

The Archive

Autobiographical material from Miss Nellie Driver

• "From the shadows of exile". Photocopy typescript of an unpublished autobiography of the life of the author from her birth in Lancashire in September 1914 to her return to normal life c.1945 after her internment as a locally-prominent member of the British Union of Fascists. Written c. 1965.
• "The mill". Photocopy typescript of a novel, based largely on the experiences of "From the shadows of exile".

Taped interviews, late 1970s

Interviews with Miss Driver and several other prominent members of the British Union of Fascists. The present audiocassettes were copied from the originals in 1988. Most have been transcribed.

Further information about the Archive:

• Collection description. PDF format.
• Collection-level entry on the Library catalogue.
• Handlist. PDF format.

For more details or to use the Archive, please contact the Special Collections staff.

Links

• Researchers studying this subject may be interested in the British Union Collection and other holdings in the Sheffield University Library Special Collections and Archives.

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