Alexander Raven Thomson
Encyclopedia
Alexander Raven Thomson (usually known as Raven) was a leading figure in the British Union of Fascists
and was considered to be the party's chief ideologue
. He has been described as the "Alfred Rosenberg
of British fascism
".
, Thomson was educated in universities in his homeland, the United States
and Germany
, studying philosophy
. He became a leading authority on the works of Oswald Spengler
and in 1932 published the book Civilization as Divine Superman, which rejected Spengler's theories about the decline of civilization, arguing that it could be avoided by the rejection of capitalism
and its replacement with collectivism
. Whilst studying in Germany
Thomson met and married the daughter of x-ray
pioneer Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
. Upon his return to Britain he made his money from the manufacture of silver paper, a process he learned in Germany. Thomson's political career began with him joining the Communist Party of Great Britain
, although his membership did not last long as he rejected notions of historical materialism
and saw himself move more towards corporatism
.
in 1933 and soon rose to the post of Director of Policy, from where he became the leading ideological light in the party and a close associate of Oswald Mosley
and Neil Francis Hawkins
. Whilst in this position he produced his seminal work The Coming Corporate State (1938), in which he set out the vision of a BUF government in Britain. Thomson envisaged the formation of twenty corporation
s, each controlling a specific sector of the economy. These corporations would be further divided up to cover each individual industry and would also feed into a National Corporation, which would effectively form the government. Corporations would have equal representation for employers, workers and consumers, with elections to the corporations taking the place of existing political activity. Thomson became a leading figure in the BUF and in 1937 he represented the party in Municipal elections in Bethnal Green
(SW), winning 23.17% of the votes and finishing ahead of the Liberal
candidates.. Although he was not elected, the result marked a good total for the BUF. His status in the party now assured, Thomson became editor of the party weekly, Action, in 1939. An important figure in the BUF, he served for a time as Mosley's representative to Germany, a role in which he was closely watched by MI5
. He shared with the Nazis a strong anti-Semitism
. Mosley admired Thomson for his intellect and would later describe him as an "honest man and devoted patriot", although he was also known to privately criticise Thomson as something of a 'yes-man'.
Following the outbreak of war Thomson devised a plan to attack the Nordic League
as 'Nazi traitors' in the hope of establishing the BUF's patriotic credentials, although it came to nothing and actually ran alongside attempts by Francis Hawkins to establish BUF control over the League. Along with most of the leading members of the BUF, Thomson was detained under Defence Regulation 18B
in May 1940 and interned for much of the Second World War. He spent his entire jail spell in Brixton Prison
, rather than the generally more favourable prison camp on the Isle of Man
, until his release in 1944. Thomson reacted badly to his spell in detention and suffered a Nervous breakdown
whilst incarcerated.
to meet with Mosley and discuss political development. Eager to expand the base of operations of fascism in Britain he also sought unsuccessfully to forge alliances with the proto-environmentalist
Rural Reconstruction Association
through leading member Jorian Jenks
, a former BUF activist, as well as inidividuals on the fringes of Welsh nationalism
.
He joined the Union Movement
on its foundation in 1948 and became a leading figure in the new party as both General Secretary and the editor of the UM newspaper Union. Playing a leading role in the development of the ideology of the UM, Thomson initially supported Europe a Nation
enthusiastically, but soon tired of the esoteric policy and in 1950 organised a brief, and even more unsuccessful, move to neo-Nazism
. After this he came to advocate a "left-wing fascist" approach, arguing that the UM should target the working class
for support with leftist style, anti-capitalism
rhetoric.
As well as his important position within the UM domestically, Thomson was also a central figure in the party's international links. Thomson was sent to Spain
in 1949 to try to build up support for Mosley in the country, although the trip was somewhat unsuccessful as he failed to impress the falangists and had to contend with the negative words of former BUF member Angus Macnab
, who had grown to loathe Mosley. later Thomson was central in liasing with the New European Order
, a group Mosely had no official contact with due to his support for the European Social Movement
. His international reputation grew further in 1952 when he was appointed to the editorial board of the prestigious Nation Europa
magazine. He also became known as the publisher of Frederick J. Veale's Advance to Barbarism, one of the early pieces of Second World War Historical revisionism
. He also contributed to The European
, a magazine edited by Diana Mosley.
Thomson continued to serve as leading UM figure until his death in 1955 from cancer
.
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
and was considered to be the party's chief ideologue
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
. He has been described as the "Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
of British fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
".
Early life
Born in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Thomson was educated in universities in his homeland, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, studying philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He became a leading authority on the works of Oswald Spengler
Oswald Spengler
Oswald Manuel Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West , published in 1918, which puts forth a cyclical theory of the rise and decline of civilizations...
and in 1932 published the book Civilization as Divine Superman, which rejected Spengler's theories about the decline of civilization, arguing that it could be avoided by the rejection of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and its replacement with collectivism
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
. Whilst studying in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Thomson met and married the daughter of x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
pioneer Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was a German physicist, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as X-rays or Röntgen rays, an achievement that earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901....
. Upon his return to Britain he made his money from the manufacture of silver paper, a process he learned in Germany. Thomson's political career began with him joining the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, although his membership did not last long as he rejected notions of historical materialism
Historical materialism
Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans...
and saw himself move more towards corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
.
British Union of Fascists
He joined the British Union of FascistsBritish Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
in 1933 and soon rose to the post of Director of Policy, from where he became the leading ideological light in the party and a close associate of Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
and Neil Francis Hawkins
Neil Francis Hawkins
Neil Francis Hawkins was a leading British fascist, both before and after the Second World War.-British Fascisti:A salesman of surgical instruments by trade, Francis Hawkins, a homosexual, was a descendant of the sailor John Hawkins...
. Whilst in this position he produced his seminal work The Coming Corporate State (1938), in which he set out the vision of a BUF government in Britain. Thomson envisaged the formation of twenty corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s, each controlling a specific sector of the economy. These corporations would be further divided up to cover each individual industry and would also feed into a National Corporation, which would effectively form the government. Corporations would have equal representation for employers, workers and consumers, with elections to the corporations taking the place of existing political activity. Thomson became a leading figure in the BUF and in 1937 he represented the party in Municipal elections in Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
(SW), winning 23.17% of the votes and finishing ahead of the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidates.. Although he was not elected, the result marked a good total for the BUF. His status in the party now assured, Thomson became editor of the party weekly, Action, in 1939. An important figure in the BUF, he served for a time as Mosley's representative to Germany, a role in which he was closely watched by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
. He shared with the Nazis a strong anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Mosley admired Thomson for his intellect and would later describe him as an "honest man and devoted patriot", although he was also known to privately criticise Thomson as something of a 'yes-man'.
Following the outbreak of war Thomson devised a plan to attack the Nordic League
Nordic League
The Nordic League was a far right organisation in the United Kingdom from 1935 to 1939 that sought to serve as a co-ordinating body for the various extremist movements whilst also seeking to promote Nazism...
as 'Nazi traitors' in the hope of establishing the BUF's patriotic credentials, although it came to nothing and actually ran alongside attempts by Francis Hawkins to establish BUF control over the League. Along with most of the leading members of the BUF, Thomson was detained under Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
in May 1940 and interned for much of the Second World War. He spent his entire jail spell in Brixton Prison
Brixton (HM Prison)
HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, rather than the generally more favourable prison camp on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, until his release in 1944. Thomson reacted badly to his spell in detention and suffered a Nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
whilst incarcerated.
Union Movement
Following his release Thomson set up a number of book clubs across Britain to ensure the continuing spread of Mosley's ideas. The book clubs served as planning meetings for the future of Mosleyite politics after the war. He also led the Union of British Freemen, a group he set up with fellow ex-BUF member Victor Burgess in 1944 as an attempt to bring together former BUF members. After the war Thomson travelled regularly to IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
to meet with Mosley and discuss political development. Eager to expand the base of operations of fascism in Britain he also sought unsuccessfully to forge alliances with the proto-environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
Rural Reconstruction Association
Rural Reconstruction Association
The Rural Reconstruction Association was a British agricultural reform movement established in 1926 with Montague Fordham as its Council Secretary, a post he held for 20 years....
through leading member Jorian Jenks
Jorian Jenks
Jorian Edward Forwood Jenks was an English farmer, environmentalism pioneer and fascist. He has been described as "one of the most dominant figures in the development of the organic movement".-Early life:...
, a former BUF activist, as well as inidividuals on the fringes of Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
.
He joined the Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
on its foundation in 1948 and became a leading figure in the new party as both General Secretary and the editor of the UM newspaper Union. Playing a leading role in the development of the ideology of the UM, Thomson initially supported Europe a Nation
Europe a Nation
Europe a Nation was a policy developed by British politician Oswald Mosley as the cornerstone of his Union Movement. It called for the integration of Europe into a single entity....
enthusiastically, but soon tired of the esoteric policy and in 1950 organised a brief, and even more unsuccessful, move to neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
. After this he came to advocate a "left-wing fascist" approach, arguing that the UM should target the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
for support with leftist style, anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
rhetoric.
As well as his important position within the UM domestically, Thomson was also a central figure in the party's international links. Thomson was sent to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1949 to try to build up support for Mosley in the country, although the trip was somewhat unsuccessful as he failed to impress the falangists and had to contend with the negative words of former BUF member Angus Macnab
Angus Macnab
John Angus Macnab was a British fascist politician who was a close associate of William Joyce who later became noted as a Perennialist writer on Medieval Spain and translator of Latin and Greek poetry.-Early life:...
, who had grown to loathe Mosley. later Thomson was central in liasing with the New European Order
New European Order
The New European Order was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism. It was a more radical splinter-group of the European Social Movement....
, a group Mosely had no official contact with due to his support for the European Social Movement
European Social Movement
The European Social Movement was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism.The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement , which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up...
. His international reputation grew further in 1952 when he was appointed to the editorial board of the prestigious Nation Europa
Nation Europa
Nation Europa is a monthly magazine, published in Germany, that was originally established in support of Pan-European nationalism...
magazine. He also became known as the publisher of Frederick J. Veale's Advance to Barbarism, one of the early pieces of Second World War Historical revisionism
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
. He also contributed to The European
The European (magazine)
The European was a privately circulated far-right cultural and political magazine that was published between 1953 and 1959. During this tenure, it was edited by Diana Mosley...
, a magazine edited by Diana Mosley.
Thomson continued to serve as leading UM figure until his death in 1955 from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.