Neil Francis Hawkins
Neil Francis Hawkins | |
---|---|
Born | September 1907 United Kingdom |
Died | 26 December 1950 (aged 43) United Kingdom |
Occupation | Salesman |
Known for | Fascist politician and writer |
Title | Director-General of Organisation |
Political party |
|
Relatives | Lilian Bristol (sister), John Hawkins (ancestor) |
Neil Lanfear Maclean Francis Hawkins (September 1907 – 26 December 1950) was a British writer and politician who was a leading proponent of
British Fascisti
Francis Hawkins joined the
British Union of Fascists
The rejection of the merger resulted in a sharp division between Francis Hawkins and Lintorn-Orman and as a result he split the organisation in 1932 and took the bulk of the membership with him into Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, the name under which the New Party had been reconstituted.[4] Francis Hawkins had met with both Mosley and Forgan and had been so impressed with their setup that he split the British Fascists to join them.[5] Francis Hawkins was appointed National Defence Force Adjutant upon joining the party, making him deputy head of the group's paramilitary Blackshirts under the command of Eric Hamilton Piercy.[6] He rose quickly through the ranks, holding the posts of Officer in Charge of the London Area and Chief Administrative Officer before being appointed Director-General of Organisation, a post that made him effectively second in command behind Mosley.[7] On 22 June 1935, he replaced Piercy as head of the Blackshirts.[8] In July 1935, he briefly became head of the BUF Women's Section during a period of restructuring for the movement and became the only man to hold that position.[9]
As the leading member of the movement after Mosley, it was Francis Hawkins who developed the notion of BUF members wearing a black shirt under an ordinary suit, an important step for the movement to retain its identity following the banning of uniforms in the
In 1936, F.M. Box, who had been deputy leader and Francis Hawkins's main rival, left the movement because of the growing influence of the militarists on Mosley. That decision left Francis Hawkins in effective control of the organisation of the BUF.[19] He was thus appointed Director General of Organisation.[20] His power ensured he undertook a reorganisation of the structure of the BUF by setting up training programmes for local election agents and adding a more intellectual party organ Action alongside the existing and more low-brow Blackshirt, in an attempt to attract more middle-class party members.[21]
His overall control of BUF organisation led to clashes with other leading figures, particularly the party's failure in the 1937 London County Council election, which led to criticism of his methods by William Joyce and John Beckett.[22] A few days after this public clash, Francis Hawkins announced a series of cost-cutting measures at BUF headquarters, including the dismissal of several paid officials, including Joyce and Beckett, who established the National Socialist League the following month.[23] Francis Hawkins continued to increase his power base with his two main internal rivals removed by spring 1938. A. K. Chesterton, one of the BUF's younger propagandists, had also resigned and cited Francis Hawkins' increasing role in policy development as a major reason.[24]
Later life
Immediately after the outbreak of war he met with the leaders of other groups such as the
Francis Hawkins maintained a fairly low profile following his release and worked for a time as a salesman for a Derby-based firm.[30] Involved in the foundation of the Union Movement in an organisational capacity, Francis Hawkins did not take a leading role because of his failing health.[29] He also took no public role in the new group.[30] He died from bronchial asthma[29] on Boxing Day 1950 at the age of 43.
Personal life
Francis Hawkins was a descendant of the sailor John Hawkins.[31] A salesman of surgical instruments by trade,[32] he never married and it has been claimed he was gay.[33]
He had a sister Lilian whose husband, A.C.V. Bristol, was a member of the BUF but was also secretly an agent for MI5.[34]
References
- ^ Robert Benewick, Political Violence and Public Order, London: Allan Lane, 1969, p. 36
- ^ Richard Griffiths, Fellow Travellers on the Right, Oxford University Press, 1983, pp. 90–91
- ^ Richard Thurlow, Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918–1945, I.B. Tauris, 1998, p. 65
- ^ Benewick, p. 36
- ^ Richard Griffiths, Fellow Travellers on the Right, Oxford University Press, 1983, p. 91
- ^ Thurlow, p. 68
- ^ Benewick, p. 116
- ^ Thomas Linehan, British Fascism, 1918-39: Parties, Ideology and Culture, Manchester University Press, 2000, p. 119
- ^ Paola Bacchetta, Margaret Power, Right-Wing Women: From Conservatives to Extremists Around the World, p. 35
- ^ Benewick, p. 245
- ^ Benweick, p. 273
- ^ Benewick, p. 274
- Martin Pugh, Hurrah for the Blackshirts: Fascists and Fascism in Britain Between the Wars, Pimlico, 2006, p. 129
- ^ Stephen Dorril, Blackshirt – Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism, London: Penguin, 2007, p. 246
- ^ Dorrill, p. 366
- ^ Dorril, p. 306
- ^ O. Mosley, My Life, London: Nelson, 1970, p. 332
- ^ Linehan, p. 104
- ^ Pugh, p. 221
- ^ Joseph Anthony Amato, Rethinking Home: A Case for Writing Local History, University of California Press, 2002, p. 127
- ^ Pugh, p. 223
- ^ Linehan, p. 110
- ^ Linehan, p. 111
- ^ Linehan, p. 113
- ^ Dorril, p. 471
- ^ Thurlow, p. 154
- ^ Dorril, p. 501
- ^ Benewick, p. 294
- ^ a b c Biography at Friends of Oswald Mosley site
- ^ a b Amato, p. 402
- ^ Dorril, p. 200
- ^ Benewick, p. 112
- ^ Dorril, p. 246
- ^ Thurlow, p. 131