My Life

My Life - Oswald Mosleywith him, but for this reason our political association was brief. He began our overtcompanionship in his abrupt, impulsive way. A genuine patriot, he was concernedwith the way things were going and had over the years discussed the situation withLloyd George, Churchill, myself and others. He was a great business executive,dynamic in all his dealings, and he passionately wanted to get something done forEngland. He observed with ever growing interest the progress of the blackshirtmovement, and finally his action was characteristic. I had not seen him for some time,and he was at Monte Carlo when he suddenly sent me a telegram affirming hissupport. Then the headlines came pelting like a thunder-storm: 'Hurrah for theBlackshirts' was the theme. He returned, and the pace began to quicken; a newaeroplane was built on his initiative and given the name of one of our slogans: BritainFirst. Nothing was too large or too small for use in Lord Rothermere's drive to supportour movement. The Daily Mail organised a beauty competition for women blackshirts.He was staggered not to receive a single entry, and I was embarrassed to explain thatthese were serious young women dedicated to the cause of their country rather thanaspirants to the Gaiety Theatre chorus.He was a financial genius, but a political innocent, and unwilling to accept advice onsubjects of which he knew little or nothing. If he had given me any indication of whathe was going to do, had returned from Monte Carlo and consulted me before hissudden plunge, things might have been different. I would naturally have suggested amore discreet discussion of this phenomenon, a rather hostile enquiry in the firstinstance, asking what the blackshirt movement was all about, followed by somereports of my speeches which would offer a gradual explanation and would appear toconvert the Daily Mail at the same time as the public in a reasonable and convincingprocess. But this was not the method of Lord Rothermere; the business executive witha hunch believed in putting things through in a hurry. Politics however are a subtlebusiness, more like flying an early aeroplane with fine hands than just stoking up thesteam in a railway engine.Lord Rothermere helped in other ways than with newspaper support. In the matter offunds it seems a sound and honourable rule only to mention those who so openlysupported us that everyone would assume they assisted us in this way. In fact, LordRothermere did not give much money directly, and what he gave he insisted onhanding to me personally as a gift to the party. From the start, I tried hard todissociate myself from these affairs, and soon had something written into ourconstitution which removed me from all direct contact with the financial side of theparty; it seemed to me that a leader had quite enough to do without thesepreoccupations, and in principle it was better to be rid of them.Nevertheless, some people insisted on dealing with me directly. At the beginning ofthe New Party, Lord Nuffield was our chief backer and he told so many people that itbecame widely known. He was introduced to me by Wyndham Portal, who went sofar as to appear on our platform at the Ashton-under-Lyne by-election, and was wellknown in a wide circle to be associated with us and to be engaged in raising moneyfor the New Party. Wyndham Portal was a particularly fine character who made hismark in several spheres. During the First World War he commanded with muchdistinction the Household Cavalry dismounted brigade when they were used fortrench warfare. Afterwards he was a conspicuous case of the soldier who makes goodin business; starting with his family concern, which printed notes for the Bank of287 of 424