Graham Seton Hutchison
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-Colonel Graham Seton Hutchison (1890–1946) was a British First World War army
officer, military theorist, author of both adventure novels and non-fiction works and fascist activist.
in 1909, remaining with the regiment until 1913. He spent time in colonial Africa, serving with the British South Africa Police
and the Rhodesian Army
before the outbreak of the First World War.
He returned to the British Army
in 1914 initially with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
and the Machine Gun Corps
. In 1917 Seton Hutchison, at the time a Major and Machine Gun Officer in the 33rd Division, convinced his commanding officer to group all the machine gunners, who were spread between four brigades, into a single company under his command, a scheme that was soon rolled out across the British Army resulting in the Machine Gun Corps
becoming an independent branch of the army. He also became noted for his strong opposition to retreat and recounted a story of how in March 1918 he shot all but two of a group of forty soldiers fleeing from the German Imperial Army.
Seton Hutchison's exploits made him a well-known figure and he was awarded both the Distinguished Service Order
and the Military Cross
. A somewhat more unusual tribute followed in 1921 when the composer Kenneth J. Alford penned a marching tune, The Mad Major, in his honour.
and he was their candidate in Uxbridge
in the 1923 general election
, albeit without success.
of fascism and he became involved in a number of movements. He initially claimed to have a large band of supporters, including the ludicrous claim that he had 20,000 followers in Mansfield
alone, and attempted in 1931 to merge this group with the British Fascists
. However Rotha Lintorn-Orman
broke off negotiations when it became clear that Seton Hutchison had no movement at all to speak off.
In November 1933 Seton Hutchison formed his own group, the British Empire Fascist Party, and presented a 24 point programme for "National Reconstruction". This document, which was avowedly fascists unlike the NF, called for the destruction of the party system, the establishment of a corporate state with highly statist overtones, a stronger policy of imperialism
and the removal of most rights from Britain's Jews.
The same year he also formed a group called the National Workers Movement, a group that changed its name to the National Socialist Workers Party before finally settling on the title of the National Workers Party. Despite its pretensions to appealing to the working class the group only appeared to have one other regular member, Commander E.H. Cole, who was better known for his time in the Imperial Fascist League
. Seton Hutchison, who was paid by Nazi Germany
as a publicist, led the group largely because of his antipathy towards Oswald Mosley
and the British Union of Fascists
, whom he believed to be under Jewish influence. However it was to Mosley that Seton Hutchison lost his support as members of the Nordic League
sympathetic to the National Workers Party were won over to the BUF by the efforts of the likes of J.F.C. Fuller
and Robert Gordon-Canning
.
Seton Hutchison nonetheless remained a vocal activist and in 1936 ran afoul of Clement Attlee
when he publicly claimed that the Labour Party
politician was a Jew who was engineering a world war, supporting white slavery and punishing the poor. Attlee filed a libel action against Seton Hutchison, although this was ultimately withdrawn when Seton Hutchison publicly apologised and disowned the claims.
and starring Brian Aherne
, Madeleine Carroll
and Gordon Harker
was made in 1930. His novels did find favour with Ezra Pound
who praised them, along with those of John Hargrave
, for what Pound felt was their "specific treatment of live economies".
Seton Hutchison also published a History of the Machine Gun Corps although this non-fiction work was characterised by its vivid accounts of battle that almost read like a novel. Another of his factual works was a biography of Peter McLintock, who had served as his batman during the war. His 1932 work Warrior, a consideration of the philosophy behind combat and war, was in a similar to Ernst Jünger
's work on these topics. As a freelance journalist Seton Hutchison attended a few of the Nuremberg Rallies and was paid by Joseph Goebbels
to write glowing tributes to the spectacles.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer, military theorist, author of both adventure novels and non-fiction works and fascist activist.
Military career
Seton Hutchison first saw military service when he enlisted in the King's Own Scottish BorderersKing's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
in 1909, remaining with the regiment until 1913. He spent time in colonial Africa, serving with the British South Africa Police
British South Africa Police
The British South Africa Police was the police force of the British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes which became the national police force of Southern Rhodesia and its successor after 1965, Rhodesia...
and the Rhodesian Army
Rhodesian Army
The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of the Rhodesian Army, Royal Rhodesian Air Force, British South Africa Police, Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Guard Force.- Rhodesian Army :...
before the outbreak of the First World War.
He returned to the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1914 initially with the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
The 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were formed in 1881 when the 91st Regiment of Foot was amalgamated with the 93rd Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.-Early history:...
and the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
. In 1917 Seton Hutchison, at the time a Major and Machine Gun Officer in the 33rd Division, convinced his commanding officer to group all the machine gunners, who were spread between four brigades, into a single company under his command, a scheme that was soon rolled out across the British Army resulting in the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
becoming an independent branch of the army. He also became noted for his strong opposition to retreat and recounted a story of how in March 1918 he shot all but two of a group of forty soldiers fleeing from the German Imperial Army.
Seton Hutchison's exploits made him a well-known figure and he was awarded both the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
and the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
. A somewhat more unusual tribute followed in 1921 when the composer Kenneth J. Alford penned a marching tune, The Mad Major, in his honour.
Post-war activity
Following his war service Seton Hutchison took an interest in the welfare of ex-soldiers, forming the Old Contemptibles Association and then taking a leading role in setting up the British Legion. His first involvement in party politics came with the Liberal PartyLiberal 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...
and he was their candidate in Uxbridge
Uxbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Uxbridge was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system, from 1885 until it was abolished at the 2010 general election....
in the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, albeit without success.
Fascism
Like a number of British Army officers after the First World War Seton Hutchison was attracted to the militarismMilitarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
of fascism and he became involved in a number of movements. He initially claimed to have a large band of supporters, including the ludicrous claim that he had 20,000 followers in Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
alone, and attempted in 1931 to merge this group with the British Fascists
British Fascists
The British Fascists were the first avowedly fascist organisation in the United Kingdom. William Joyce, Neil Francis Hawkins, Maxwell Knight and Arnold Leese were amongst those to have passed through the movement as members and activists.-Early years:...
. However Rotha Lintorn-Orman
Rotha Lintorn-Orman
-Early life:Born as Rotha Beryl Orman in Kensington London, she was the daughter of Charles Edward Orman, a Major from the Essex Regiment, and her maternal grandfather was Field Marshal Sir John Lintorn Arabin Simmons...
broke off negotiations when it became clear that Seton Hutchison had no movement at all to speak off.
In November 1933 Seton Hutchison formed his own group, the British Empire Fascist Party, and presented a 24 point programme for "National Reconstruction". This document, which was avowedly fascists unlike the NF, called for the destruction of the party system, the establishment of a corporate state with highly statist overtones, a stronger policy of imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and the removal of most rights from Britain's Jews.
The same year he also formed a group called the National Workers Movement, a group that changed its name to the National Socialist Workers Party before finally settling on the title of the National Workers Party. Despite its pretensions to appealing to the working class the group only appeared to have one other regular member, Commander E.H. Cole, who was better known for his time in the Imperial Fascist League
Imperial Fascist League
The Imperial Fascist League was a British fascist political movement founded by Arnold Leese in 1929.-Origins:Leese had originally been a member of the British Fascists and indeed had been one of only two members ever to hold elected office for them...
. Seton Hutchison, who was paid by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as a publicist, led the group largely because of his antipathy towards 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 the British Union of Fascists
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...
, whom he believed to be under Jewish influence. However it was to Mosley that Seton Hutchison lost his support as members of 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...
sympathetic to the National Workers Party were won over to the BUF by the efforts of the likes of J.F.C. Fuller
J.F.C. Fuller
Major-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, CB, CBE, DSO was a British Army officer, military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare...
and Robert Gordon-Canning
Robert Gordon-Canning
Robert Cecil Gordon-Canning was a notable British fascist, antisemite and supporter of Arab nationalist causes. He was briefly married to Australian born film star Mary Maguire.-Upbringing and early politics:...
.
Seton Hutchison nonetheless remained a vocal activist and in 1936 ran afoul of Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
when he publicly claimed that the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician was a Jew who was engineering a world war, supporting white slavery and punishing the poor. Attlee filed a libel action against Seton Hutchison, although this was ultimately withdrawn when Seton Hutchison publicly apologised and disowned the claims.
Author
One of his spy novels, The W Plan, had its proofs read by D.H. Lawrence before publishing who dismissed it as poor for what he felt were its unconvincing attempts to portray Germany and its unrealistic portrayals of female characters. Despite Lawrence's criticisms a film version produced and directed by Victor SavilleVictor Saville
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954...
and starring Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...
, Madeleine Carroll
Madeleine Carroll
Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:Carroll was born at 32 Herbert Street in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with a B.A. degree...
and Gordon Harker
Gordon Harker
Gordon Harker was an English film actor. He appeared in 68 films between 1921 and 1959, including three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock and a cameo appearance in Elstree Calling , a revue film co-directed by Hitchcock...
was made in 1930. His novels did find favour with Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
who praised them, along with those of John Hargrave
John Hargrave
John Gordon Hargrave , nicknamed 'White Fox', was one of the leading figures in the Social Credit movement in British politics.-Early life:...
, for what Pound felt was their "specific treatment of live economies".
Seton Hutchison also published a History of the Machine Gun Corps although this non-fiction work was characterised by its vivid accounts of battle that almost read like a novel. Another of his factual works was a biography of Peter McLintock, who had served as his batman during the war. His 1932 work Warrior, a consideration of the philosophy behind combat and war, was in a similar to Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger was a German writer. In addition to his novels and diaries, he is well known for Storm of Steel, an account of his experience during World War I. Some say he was one of Germany's greatest modern writers and a hero of the conservative revolutionary movement following World War I...
's work on these topics. As a freelance journalist Seton Hutchison attended a few of the Nuremberg Rallies and was paid by Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
to write glowing tributes to the spectacles.