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Oswald Mosley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 November 1896 Mayfair, London, England |
| Died | 3 December 1980 (aged 84) Orsay, Essonne, France |
| Nationality | British |
| Political orientation | Fascism |
| Political party | British Union of Fascists(1932–1940) |
Oswald Ernald Mosley, was a British aristocrat, and politician who became a fascist, and consequently founded, and led the British Union of Fascists (BUF). He was Britain's leading fascist and received support from other fascist leaders such as Hitler, and Mussolini but ultimately he failed to seize power for himself.[1]
Early Life
Childhood
On 16 November 1896 Mosley was born in London, to the wealthy aristocratic family, of 5th Baronet Oswald Mosley, and Katherine Heathcote. He was the eldest of three brothers, and was raised primarily by his mother and his paternal grandfather due to his father being absent owing to his extravagant lifestyle, with the absence of his father being only strengthened when his parents separated in 1905. From a young age Mosley was spoiled and taught traditional Christian and patriarchal values leading to an obsessive idealisation of the male role.[2]
The Mosley family have a long history of exploiting the poor for their own gain; they gained their fortune in the 16th century from expropriating English common lands for sheep farming, and soon after they were rewarded with a baronetcy from Queen Elizabeth I. When the Industrial Revolution came to England, the Mosley's transitioned from feudal landlords to bourgeois capitalists allowing them to continue their exploitation of the working class. Growing up in this family, Mosley learnt the typical privilege of the upper classes; learning how to oppress the lower classes and pursue wealth above all was his legacy.[2]
In 1906 at nine years old Mosley went to West Downs school, the best English prep school, to be educated before entering Winchester college, yet another institution for the elite, in 1909 aged twelve. In school he was taught traditional values favoured by the bourgeoise such as loyalty, honour, leadership, chivalry, and patriotism, which perpetuated his sense of egocentric privilege, and bigotry and allowed him to be prepared for a future role in the capitalist system. In 1912 Mosley left Winchester and after a short stint in France Mosley entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in January 1914 where he learnt the art of violence among other young members of the upper class, seeing war as a sporting event.[2]
Military service
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, seventeen year old Mosley signed up to join the military, earning a place in the 16th Queen's Lancers cavalry division through family connections. His regiment was shipped out to France in December 1914 but once there Mosley found that the army had little need of cavalry so he instead transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in January 1915 as an observer. Mosley had a comfortable life in the Air Force, and after attending the second battle of Ypres in April he trained as a pilot in May, only to crash his plane and sustain a serious leg injury, despite this he received his pilot license anyway.[3]
Despite his new pilot training, soon after Mosley decided to return to his regiment, serving at the battle of Loos, and continued in service on the western front until he returned home on 15 February 1916 due to injury. Mosley was promoted to Lieutenant on 16 July but despite this he put off returning to the army for as long as possible, preferring to engage in education and the lavish lifestyle of bourgeois high society. On 22 June 1917 he returned to the army and was sent to occupied Ireland in the aftermath of the Easter Rising, not long afterwards he was sent to the Army Training Centre in Eastbourne where he declared unfit for service and relegated to desk duty for the remainder of the war, serving at the Ministry of Munitions and other posts gained through nepotism. Mosley when talking about the war would play up his part in it despite seeing little actual fighting, and his romanticisation of the trenches became a significant part of his ideology.[3]
Parliamentary career
Conservative Party
On 23 July 1918 Mosley was selected for the seat of Harrow by the Conservative Party through his connections despite seeing Liberal Party Prime Minister Lloyd George as a personal hero.[3] Following the end of the war an election was called by Lloyd George, and Mosley won his seat on 14 December 1918 by opportunistically appealing to patriotic, and xenophobic sentiments, becoming part of the 484 MP strong Conservative-Liberal coalition government. As an MP, Mosley focussed on improving his oration skills, building advantageous connections with other MPs and attaching himself to underdog causes to gain notoriety. In October 1919 he became President of the League of Youth and Social Progress among other minor positions gaining infamy for his exploitation of his peers. [4]
On 11 May 1920 Mosley married Cynthia Curzon, daughter of George Curzon former Viceroy of India, after being rejected by her multiple times, the wedding was attended by King George V along with numerous other members of high society. Mosley used his wife for money and status, remaining constantly unfaithful to her for the entirety of their marriage whilst taking advantage of her position and wealth to cover his own financial and political shortcomings.[4] Cynthia bore Mosley several children whilst he engaged in his affairs, most notably with her younger sister Alexandra and her stepmother Grace, which when confronted with Mosley manipulated and verbally abused her into believing it was her fault.[5]
Independent
On 3 November 1920 Mosley decided to leave the Conservatives and become an independent in opposition to the governments policy on Ireland, with Mosley supporting Ireland gaining dominion status whilst still being subservient to Britain, believing that fighting the 'terrorists' would undermine Britain's greatness. Mosley constantly advocated for 'world peace', promoting organisations such as the League of Nations, in order to push his conception of 'free trade', the strife in Ireland was in conflict with that ideal so Mosley took advantage of that to further his career and ideals allowing him to gain popularity. When criticized for his position by his local newspaper, Mosley bought its rival to take advantage of the influence of bourgeois media, though he would later sell this new venture in July 1921 to the same newspaper that had criticized him at a loss. [5]
After the Irish conflict was resolved Mosley seemed to grow in confidence, and became even more vocal in parliament, criticizing powerful politicians such as Lloyd George and Churchill, whilst the coalition government collapsed in the background. In the November 1922 election Mosley retained his seat as an independent by a wide margin and declined a post in the new Conservative government. Instead Mosley promoted isolationism and fostered relationships with the Fabian Society and Labour Party politicians such as Ramsay MacDonald. On 6 December 1923 another election was called leading Mosley to once again retain his seat albeit with a reduced margin and as the Conservatives lost their majority Mosley continued to flirt with the rising Labour Party spurred on by MacDonald becoming Prime Minister on 18 January 1924.[5]
Labour Party
On 27 March 1924 Mosley joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP), the means of entry into the Labour Party for the upper classes, having started to delve into the twisted bourgeois version of 'socialism'.[6] In April Mosley joined the Labour Party proper along with his wife, this move was ironically treated by the bourgeois media as a betrayal of his class.[7]
Fascism
On January 2 1932 Mosley arrived in Rome, Italy with some of his compatriots, and on January 7 he met with Italy's fascist dictator Mussolini at the Palazzo Venezia. Mosley came away from the meeting with nothing but praise for the dictator, and after attending a fascist parade with Mussolini he continued on his way to Munich, Germany where he studied Nazism.[8]
On 1 October 1932 Mosley launched the British Union of Fascists (BUF) with thirty-two founder members.[9]
Death
Mosley died aged 84 on 3 December 1980 in France, with his wife Diana continuing to support her husband long after his death, whilst his son Nicholas wrote a scathing biography.[10]
References
- ↑ "Oswald Mosley: Hitler's Man in Britain". Biographics.org.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter One: ‘Tommy’'.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Two: The First World War'.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Three: The Patriotic Peace'.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Four: 'The Vision Splendid.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and Britism Fascism: 'Chapter Five: The Underworld Of Rejected Knowledge'.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Six: The Labour Party'.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Eleven: The New Movement'.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Twelve: The British Union of Fascists'.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Twenty-Eight: Rehabilitation'.