The Britons
Encyclopedia
The Britons was an anti-Semitic and anti-immigration organization founded in July 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish
. The organization published pamphlet
s and propaganda
under the imprint
names of the Judaic Publishing Co.
and subsequently the Britons Publishing Society
. These entities engaged primarily in disseminating anti-Semitic literature and rhetoric in the United Kingdom
, and bore hallmarks of the British fascist
movement. Imprints under the label of the Judaic Publishing Co. exist for the years 1920, 1921, and 1922.
According to scholar Sharman Kadish
:
in 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish
, who had developed an antisemitic viewpoint when he spent time in South Africa
and saw that all the industries there were controlled by Jews. Beamish became involved with the Silver Badge Party
, although by 1919 he had left Britain altogether after losing a libel case brought by Sir Alfred Mond
.
Despite the disappearance of Beamish, the Britons continued under John Henry Clarke
, a well-known homeopath who served as Chairman and Vice-President (with the Southern Rhodesia
-based Beamish continuing as President) from the formation of the group until his death in 1931. Clarke helped the party to work with the right wing of the Conservative Party
, and the Britons attracted such members as inventor Arthur Kitson and Brigadier-General R.B.D. Blakeney
.
The group claimed that its only aim was to get rid of all the Jews in Britain by forcing them to emigrate to Palestine
. Only those who could prove English
blood up to grandparent level were allowed membership (despite the name 'Britons'). Eschewing the street politics of predecessors such as the British Brothers League
, group activities centred mainly on publishing, with journals such as Jewry Uber Alles, The British Guardian and The Investigator (which began publishing in 1937 and used a swastika
as its emblem with the motto 'For Crown and Country, Blood and Soil
) appearing regularly. They also published a number of books on the topic, including an imprint, allegedly a translation by Victor E. Marsden
into the English language
, of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
. It is to be noted that Victor E. Marsden
had died on October 28, 1920. The Britons had ceased publication of their previous version of this imprint, and Norman Cohn
states that the Marsden version first came out in print in 1921. However, the earliest imprint bearing the name of Marsden and held by the British Library
bears the date of 1922, and the Library's online catalog shows that it was imprinted by the Britons Publishing Society. There is no scholarly work on Victor E. Marsden, a former correspondent for The Morning Post, and there has not yet been an accounting of how precisely his name came to be associated with the publication of the The Protocols. And it is at this time that this notorious text was exposed as a plagiarism
, conclusively, in August 1921, by Philip Graves
. The previous translation was made allegedly by George Shanks
for Eyre & Spottiswoode Ltd. (printers), the King's printers.
Known from 1922 onwards as the Britons Publishing Company, this publishing entity produced material for such groups as the British Union of Fascists
. It was largely inactive during World War II
, although the group continued to exist until the late 1940s.
Antisemitica
Henry Hamilton Beamish
Henry Hamilton Beamish was a leading British antisemite and the founder of The Britons.The son of an admiral who had served as an A.D.C...
. The organization published pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
s and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
under the imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
names of the Judaic Publishing Co.
Judaic Publishing Co.
Judaic Publishing Co. was an antisemitic publishing entity controlled by Henry Hamilton Beamish, an Irish-born antisemite. In 1920 Beamish took over the publication of The Jewish Peril from Eyre & Spottiswoode, and published it under the imprint of The Britons...
and subsequently the Britons Publishing Society
Britons Publishing Society
Britons Publishing Society, founded in 1923, was an offshoot of The Britons. According to scholar Gisela C. Lebzelter, The Britons split because:...
. These entities engaged primarily in disseminating anti-Semitic literature and rhetoric in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and bore hallmarks of the British fascist
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:...
movement. Imprints under the label of the Judaic Publishing Co. exist for the years 1920, 1921, and 1922.
According to scholar Sharman Kadish
Sharman Kadish
Sharman Kadish is a contemporary scholar, author, and historian with particular expertise in Jewish British history and with several publications under her name. Of particular note is her monograph, Bolsheviks and British Jews...
:
History
The group was founded in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish
Henry Hamilton Beamish
Henry Hamilton Beamish was a leading British antisemite and the founder of The Britons.The son of an admiral who had served as an A.D.C...
, who had developed an antisemitic viewpoint when he spent time in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and saw that all the industries there were controlled by Jews. Beamish became involved with the Silver Badge Party
Silver Badge Party
The Silver Badge Party was the unofficial title for a political movement existing in the United Kingdom during and immediately after World War I. The unofficial party consisted of several groups representing the political interests of former service personnel who had fought in the war...
, although by 1919 he had left Britain altogether after losing a libel case brought by Sir Alfred Mond
Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett
Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett PC, FRS , known as Sir Alfred Mond, Bt, between 1910 and 1928, was a British industrialist, financier and politician...
.
Despite the disappearance of Beamish, the Britons continued under John Henry Clarke
John Henry Clarke
John Henry Clarke MD John Henry Clarke MD John Henry Clarke MD (1853 – November 24, 1931 was a prominent English classical homeopath. He was also, arguably, the most important anti-Semite in Great Britain. He led The Britons, an anti-Semitic organisation.Dr. Clarke was a busy practitioner...
, a well-known homeopath who served as Chairman and Vice-President (with the Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
-based Beamish continuing as President) from the formation of the group until his death in 1931. Clarke helped the party to work with the right wing of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, and the Britons attracted such members as inventor Arthur Kitson and Brigadier-General R.B.D. Blakeney
R.B.D. Blakeney
Brigadier-General Robert Byron Drury Blakeney, generally known as R.B.D. Blakeney, was a British Army general and fascist politician...
.
The group claimed that its only aim was to get rid of all the Jews in Britain by forcing them to emigrate to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Only those who could prove English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
blood up to grandparent level were allowed membership (despite the name 'Britons'). Eschewing the street politics of predecessors such as the British Brothers League
British Brothers League
The British Brothers' League was a British anti-immigration group that attempted to organise along paramilitary lines.The group was formed in 1902 in east London as a response to waves of immigration from Eastern Europe that had begun in 1880 and had seen an influx of eastern Europeans into the area...
, group activities centred mainly on publishing, with journals such as Jewry Uber Alles, The British Guardian and The Investigator (which began publishing in 1937 and used a swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
as its emblem with the motto 'For Crown and Country, Blood and Soil
Blood and soil
Blood and Soil refers to an ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors, descent and homeland/Heimat...
) appearing regularly. They also published a number of books on the topic, including an imprint, allegedly a translation by Victor E. Marsden
Victor E. Marsden
Victor Emile Marsden was a journalist and translator, known for allegedly translating an English language version of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion...
into the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...
. It is to be noted that Victor E. Marsden
Victor E. Marsden
Victor Emile Marsden was a journalist and translator, known for allegedly translating an English language version of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion...
had died on October 28, 1920. The Britons had ceased publication of their previous version of this imprint, and Norman Cohn
Norman Cohn
Norman Rufus Colin Cohn FBA was a British academic, historian and writer who spent fourteen years as a professorial fellow and as Astor-Wolfson Professor at the University of Sussex.-Life:...
states that the Marsden version first came out in print in 1921. However, the earliest imprint bearing the name of Marsden and held by the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
bears the date of 1922, and the Library's online catalog shows that it was imprinted by the Britons Publishing Society. There is no scholarly work on Victor E. Marsden, a former correspondent for The Morning Post, and there has not yet been an accounting of how precisely his name came to be associated with the publication of the The Protocols. And it is at this time that this notorious text was exposed as a plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
, conclusively, in August 1921, by Philip Graves
Philip Graves
Philip Perceval Graves was an Irish journalist and writer. While working as a foreign correspondent of The Times in Constantinople, he exposed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as an antisemitic plagiarism, fraud, and hoax.-Life:Graves, eldest son of the writer Alfred Perceval Graves , was born...
. The previous translation was made allegedly by George Shanks
George Shanks
George Shanks was an expatriate British man, who is most famous as the first translator of Protocols of Zion into the English language. His version was produced for The Britons, an early anti-immigration and anti-Semitic organization....
for Eyre & Spottiswoode Ltd. (printers), the King's printers.
Known from 1922 onwards as the Britons Publishing Company, this publishing entity produced material for such groups as 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...
. It was largely inactive during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, although the group continued to exist until the late 1940s.
AntisemiticaAntisemiticaAntisemitica designates, in the fields of book collecting, and rare book dealing, the collection and distribution of books, pamphlets, serials, posters, and other printed literature, of an antisemitic nature. It is to be noted that antisemitica does not, generally, designate antisemitic activity,...
- AnonymousAnonymityAnonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
translator (George ShanksGeorge ShanksGeorge Shanks was an expatriate British man, who is most famous as the first translator of Protocols of Zion into the English language. His version was produced for The Britons, an early anti-immigration and anti-Semitic organization....
), The Jewish PerilThe Jewish PerilThe Jewish Peril is the first edition of the text commonly referred to as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It is also the lead titles of one of the many different imprints or editions of the Protocols of Zion - The Jewish Peril...
, (a.k.a. as the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, (London: The Britons, 1920)
Scholarly references
- Robert Benewick, Political Violence and Public Order, (London: 1969)
- Sharman Kadish, Bolsheviks and British Jews, The Anglo-Jewish Community, Britain and the Russian Revolution, London, (1992)
- Gisela C. Lebzelter, Political Anti-Semitism in England 1918-1939 (New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1978)
- ISBN 084190426X
- Ibid., (London: Macmillan, in association with St. Antony’s College, Oxford, 1978)
- ISBN 0333242513
See also
- Britons Publishing SocietyBritons Publishing SocietyBritons Publishing Society, founded in 1923, was an offshoot of The Britons. According to scholar Gisela C. Lebzelter, The Britons split because:...
- Eyre & SpottiswoodeEyre & SpottiswoodeEyre & Spottiswoode, Ltd. was the London based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, after April 1929, a publisher of the same name...
- Gisela C. LebzelterGisela C. LebzelterGisela C. Lebzelter is an author, historian, and scholar, and an expert on British fascism and antisemitism. Scholars who study British fascism and antisemitism frequently cite her 1978 book Political Anti-Semitism in England 1918-1939—a revision of her thesis submitted to St...
- Henry Hamilton BeamishHenry Hamilton BeamishHenry Hamilton Beamish was a leading British antisemite and the founder of The Britons.The son of an admiral who had served as an A.D.C...
- Judaic Publishing Co.Judaic Publishing Co.Judaic Publishing Co. was an antisemitic publishing entity controlled by Henry Hamilton Beamish, an Irish-born antisemite. In 1920 Beamish took over the publication of The Jewish Peril from Eyre & Spottiswoode, and published it under the imprint of The Britons...
- Protocols of the Elders of Zion
- Victor E. MarsdenVictor E. MarsdenVictor Emile Marsden was a journalist and translator, known for allegedly translating an English language version of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion...
External links
- Paul Cox, 1999, Mad Dogs and Englishman, Part One: The so-called fifth column