Nation Revisited #151 May 2019

The Mad Hatter.

We are grateful to Robert Best for the news that Canadian author Amanda Hale has written a book, 'The Mad Hatter', about her father James Battersby.

Battersby belonged to a wealthy family of hat makers, so when he took up radical politics he became known as the 'Mad Hatter'. In 1940, he was detained under Defence Regulation 18B at the infamous Latchmere House, which specialised in starvation and psychological torture. As leader of the Stockport branch of the British Union of Fascists, he was singled out for 'special treatment', which left him emotionally damaged. After the War, he founded a religious
movement that venerated Adolf Hitler. He interrupted the 1952 Cenotaph ceremony during the minute's silence as a protest against detention without trial. Unfortunately, he never recovered from the brutal punishment handed out at Latchmere House, and, in a state of acute depression, he took his own life by jumping into the paddles of the Mersey ferry in 1955.

A list of 18B detainees is posted on the Friends of Mosley website: www.oswaldmosley.com  

One Foot in the Grave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcAieB-2kC0&t=92s

Those of us who supported Union Movement in the old days now have one foot in the grave. Our get-togethers are marked by the passing of old comrades and our memories struggle to keep up.


Most of us believe in some sort of afterlife and we like to think that our friends survive in some way. Edmund Morrison of Leeds is a convinced atheist but when one of his mates dies he always wishes them well in Valhalla. One wonders if nationalists are still divided into factions in the Nordic afterlife? it's hard to imagine Nigel Farage, with his trademark velvet collar mixing with the worst elements of the far-Right, or tolerating unkempt Viking warriors speaking in a foreign language.

We may not share Leslie Sarony's morbid sense of humour but there's no point in getting upset about death - it's just part of life. We can only hope that we have influenced some of our our friends and neighbours over years. Ideas planted casually can take root, and apparently fixed minds can be changed. In other words, we can make a difference, even if we've got one foot in the grave.

To prove my point here's an article by John Bean who still has something to say at the age of 92.


John Bean on Europe 

This article first appeared in our sister blog European Outlook - https://europeanoutlook.blogspot.com 

The public are growing weary of a debate that has raged since the Referendum but it actually dates back to 1948 when Oswald Mosley proclaimed his vision of 'Europe a Nation'.  

Over lunch with John Bean at Newmarket, we discussed Brexit for the umpteenth time and he insisted that he is a European. All things are relative and compared to his fellow nationalists he is indeed a European. When I first met him he was into the Nordic master race but in 1966 he wrote an article in 'Combat' entitled 'Let's Keep Nordicism in Perspective'. Since then he has been campaigning for a European Confederation of Nation States. He is still opposed to the EU but he has long been a lone voice in the nationalist camp in calling for European solidarity.

His European policy was dumped by the Empire Loyalist leadership when the National Front was founded in 1967. He voted to stay in the Common Market in Harold Wilson's referendum in 1975, a fact which he confessed in an article in 'Spearhead' in 2001, entitled 'A Europe of Nations'. In this article, he explained his concept of Confederation:

"It should have a common immigration policy, which effectively would limit immigration of non-European peoples to students wishing to return to their homelands with their acquired skills, and genuine asylum seekers. There should be free movement of citizens of each state within the Confederation.

All national legislation should be the sole responsibility of each of the sovereign states within the Confederation. However, there should be a common foreign policy for the Confederation's relations with the world at large.

For the defence of the nations of the Confederation, all armed forces would be under the control of their own national governments but allied to each other: as in the manner of the allied armies during the Second World War and, earlier, in the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Each nations armed forces would work together in aiming for standard specifications to increase the ability for inter-change of weaponry.

The sovereign states of Canada, Australia and New Zealand would be encouraged to become members of the Confederation."

Spearhead's editor, John Tyndall, published Bean's article but he denounced it at length.

In 2003 JB used his website 'Beans Talk' to quote Peter Simple from the Daily Telegraph:

"The civilisation of Europe - the greatest civilisation the world has ever known - still seemed secure. Its ancient cities, so varied in their beauty and splendour, still held glorious treasures of art. Its noble landscapes were still unsullied. Its various peoples keep their own historical traditions. But the death wish fell on Old Europe, and it collapsed in fratricidal war. The Americans arrived to hasten its ruin with their pernicious doctrines of self-determination, equality and perfectability. Mortally wounded, Old Europe staggered on, but could not recover. Now there's talk of a New Europe... of technicians, accountants and businessmen.  It may or may not prosper. What do we care, when Old Europe jas gone forever?" 

JB added, "Perhaps I am an eternal optimist. While there is still a chance, don't give up without a fight."

He is still writing and the BDP website carries an interview he did with Rod Liddle in 2012. He described his editorship of the BNP magazine 'Identity'.

"I had a few differences of opinion with Nick Griffin in the presentation of the magazine's socio-political content - to which he contributed a regular article. Most of this was concerned with in-depth explanations of the fundamentals of nationalist policies. Where appropriate I pushed this in the direction of European Nationalism via a European Confederation..."

It's not the purpose of this article to argue for European Union. I believe that JB's 'Confederation' would turn into full political and economic union, just as it did in Canada and Switzerland. But his vision of Europe is infinitely better than the negative nationalism that was carved in stone by John Tyndall. 

.
 Lack of Leadership

The continuing Brexit fiasco divides both main parties and shows a woeful lack of leadership. Almost three years after the Referendum they don't know what they want. The Tories are basically pro-EU but they are frightened of Ukip. The Labour Party are similarly constrained by the Leave vote in the North.

A general election would prove nothing because both parties contain pro and anti factions. The public would not know what they were voting for, and a new referendum would probably produce another indecisive result..

We urgently need a Government of National Unity under a prime minister capable of leadership. We've had enough of referendums, economic forecasts, committees, pressure groups and all the rest of it. Ken Clarke was an outstanding Chancellor of the Exchequer, he has held most of the great offices of state and he is a commanding figure in parliament. At 79 he might be considered too old for the job, bit who else have we got?

    

Nation Revisited

Apologies for this short issue of Nation Revisited. This is due to an attack of conjunctivitis for which I am being treated. All articles are by Bill Baillie unless otherwise stated. The opinions of guest writers are entirely their own. This blog is protected by the UN Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19: "We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share ideas with other people."

Comments

Use the facility at the end of this blog to leave your comments and read what others have to say.