Stewards (paramilitary organisation)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Stewards, also informally referred to as Blackshirts, were the paramilitary wing of the British Union of Fascists (BUF).[1] They served a similar role as the Blackshirts of the National Fascist Party of Italy and also wore black uniforms. The Stewards were officially an organization of guards to protect Oswald Mosley and eject groups of hecklers from the audience of speeches by BUF officials.[2] In practice, the Stewards physically assaulted hecklers and political opponents with truncheons of rubber or lead.[2]

Violence at Olympia: June 1934

During a gathering of 12,000 BUF members at

left-wing newspapers also led to a decline in BUF membership.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ^ David Stephen Lewis. Illusions of grandeur: Mosley, fascism, and British society, 1931-81. Pp. 115-117.
  2. ^ a b David Stephen Lewis. Illusions of grandeur: Mosley, fascism, and British society, 1931-81. Pp. 115-116.