British Union

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 700+ words | Copyright

British Union, name given to the British Union of Fascists (founded in 1932) in the autumn of 1937. Led by Oswald Mosley its membership was then in decline from its height of 50,000 in June 1934, and by the summer of 1939 was about 11,000. The Italian government supported it early on, but there is no evidence that Germany did so or was interested in using it for intelligence purposes. In May 1940 Mosley and 33 other BU leaders were arrested under the Defence Regulations (18B) and interned. Altogether 747 BU members were detained, 200 of whom were still in detention in December 1941, 130 in the spring of 1943, and 15 in September 1944. The BU was never actually proscribed, but by September 1940 it was judged to be defunct.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "British Union." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "British Union." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BritishUnion.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "British Union." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BritishUnion.html

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