Scotland's National Socialist and Racial Nationalist Tradition
This book was published in 2013 and the British Movement sales section Second Chance Sales has sold a few copies from our stall at various racial Nationalist events, BM meetings and Blood & Honour gigs, but we feel that the author Gavin Bowd does not really do justice to the subject.
While Bowd's book contains a lot of interesting history, particularly about personalities and events in the 1930's and 1940's, it spends a lot of time discussing the flight of Rudolf Hess to Scotland in May 1940, but skims over the post-1960's period to the present day.
In fact the chapter covering the 'modern era' is quite disappointing in terms of what it misses out, and is quite lacking in content. Some of the limited references to the activities of the National Front and BNP in Scotland over recent decades are sparse indeed and read like extracts from some student union 'anti-fascist' newsletter, rather than a factual history. A single reference to British Movement on page 256 (chapter 6) does not reflect reality and is we suggest is based on a fantasy.
There is far more for Scottish racial Nationalists and National Socialists to look back than the slanted history offered here, particularly in chapter 6 - entitled - 'The Third Reich No More?'
Too often mainstream political historians focus on the left-wing aspects of Scotland's history, there is
an obsession with the 'Red Clyde' and the domination of the Labour Party in some areas of the Central Belt. There is not the time nor space available here on this blog to do justice to the subject and cover all the history of racial Nationalist activity in Caledonia from the 1920's to the present day, but at least we can offer a few specific references.
Looking back to the 1930's - the British Union of Fascists (BUF) made noticeable inroads into Scotland, and not just in the major urban centres of Edinburgh and Glasgow and the surrounding towns..
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Before the British Union of Fascists began to make serious attempts at expanding into Scotland, there were other similar organisations campaigning in Scotland.
This is the mast head of the newspaper of the Scottish Fascist Democrat Party - 'The Commonwealth' which first appeared in 1933 as a rival to the newly emerging BUF. |
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| Articles from the BUF newspaper 'Blackshirt' in 1934 as Mosley begins to spread out North of the Border. |
The BUF became very active in Scotland and saw numerous meetings and rallies in Glasgow and Edinburgh with violent clashes with 'Red' mobs.
However sizeable meetings in towns like Dumfries, where Sir Oswald Mosley spoke took place without the kind of attacks that the communists and fellow-travellers could stage in the larger cities.
Of course the impact of the Second World War and the mass arrests of BUF activists under Defence Regulation 18b ended racial Nationalist politics in Scotland until the end of the 1940's.
The 1960's to 2014
The National Front, British Movement and the British National Party have all had some kind of presence in Scotland across this 50 year period. There have been other smaller groups operating in Scotland too, with localised cells of supporters in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.
Only the NF and the BNP have seriously attempted to engage in the elections in Scotland across these years, and none have seen particular success in gaining mass voting support.
Yet, their presence and activities have attracted plenty of media interest and hostility from the usual quarters.
In recent years the Scottish Defence League (SDL) has generated a level of patriotic activity on the streets of some of the towns and cities of Central Scotland.
*** This blog site would like to add further details of racial Nationalist and National Socialist activity in Scotland between the 1960's and 2014, an update blog could be an interesting way to present this.
Readers are invited to e-mail suitable usable images to the BM Sunwheel Office for inclusion
sunwheelteam@gmail.com or to put comments at the end of this blog.
The Rudolf Hess Memorial
This notable monument to Rudolf Hess was built in the summer of 1993 close to the actual spot where Rudolf Hess had landed in 1941. The Rudolf Hess Memorial Stone was funded by the late Tom Graham, an old NS activist from the North-East of England, and was erected on the land at Floor's Farm, Eaglesham with the permission of the farmer.
A small number of Scottish racial Nationalists and National Socialists were aware of the monument and made a visit to the site to pay their respects.
Unfortunately the assorted opposition discovered the whereabouts of the monument after an article appeared in the press about it. After a short burst of the usual well-rehearsed outrage in the newspapers, a mob of 'Reds' led by the Regional organiser of the Anti-Nazi League (ANaL) led by the resoundingly traditional Scottish name of Aamer Anwar, destroyed the memorial sone with a sledge-hammer and trashed the site.
It is worth noting that this 'spontaneous' outburst of anti-racism was accompanied by a TV camera crew and newspaper reporters and journalists.
The Rudolf Hess Memorial Stone was never re-built and despite the best efforts of Colin Jordan, Aamer Anwar was never prosecuted for the act of vandalism and criminal damage.
