Oswald Mosley

British aristocrat and fascist politician (1896–1980)

Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British fascist politician.


Oswald Mosley

Portrait of Mosley in 1922
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
7 June 1929 – 19 May 1930
Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald
Preceded byRonald McNeill
Succeeded byClement Attlee
Member of Parliament
for Smethwick
In office
21 December 1926 – 27 October 1931
Preceded byJohn Davison
Succeeded byRoy Wise
Member of Parliament
for Harrow
In office
14 December 1918 – 29 October 1924
Preceded byHarry Mallaby-Deeley
Succeeded bySir Isidore Salmon
Personal details
Born
Oswald Ernald Mosley

16 November 1896
Mayfair, Westminster, London, England
Died3 December 1980(1980-12-03) (aged 84)
Orsay, Essonne, France
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative Party
(1918–1922)
Independent
(1922–1924)
Labour Party
(1924–1931)
New Party
(1931–1932)
British Union of Fascists
(1932–1940)
Union Movement
(1948–1973)
Other political
affiliations
National Party of Europe
(1962–1980)
Spouse(s)
(m. 1920; died 1933)
(m. 1936; "his death" is deprecated; use "died" instead. 1980)
ChildrenVivien Mosley
(1921–2002)
Nicholas Mosley
(1923–2017)
Michael Mosley
(1932–2012)
Alexander Mosley
(b. 1938)
Max Mosley
(1940–2021)
Alma materWinchester College
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Awards 1914–15 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Military service
Allegiance British Empire
Branch/service British Army
16th The Queen's Lancers
Royal Flying Corps
Years of service1914–1918
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second Battle of Ypres
Battle of Loos

He rose to fame in the 1920s as a Member of Parliament and later became disillusioned with mainstream politics.

He became the leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF).[1] Mosley was the sixth baronet to hold the title, which had been in his family for over a century.[2]

After belonging to both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, Mosley set up his "New Party", which became the British Union of Fascists. He was anti-semitic (against jews), and there were street riots in London and Leicester in 1935.

Mosley was interned in May 1940, and the BUF was banned. He was released in 1943. Internment is putting people in prison to prevent their being able to act against the national interest. Its main use is to protect public safety. It has not been done in Britain since WWII.

Disgraced by his association with fascism, Mosley moved abroad in 1951. He spent most of the rest of his life in Paris.

References

change
  1. "'Worst' historical Britons list". BBC. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  2. "Life and Times of Sir Oswald Mosley & the British Union of Fascists". Holocaust Research Project. Retrieved 14 December 2018.