The Leader
Page 35
Finally, the corridor rang with the sound of dropped cold steel.
‘Thank you,’ said Armstrong. ‘And now I want you to make a broadcast, Mosley – your final broadcast.’
Epilogue
Higher Forms
THE LEADER MADE his final broadcast from the BBC studio in the bunker. At Armstrong’s behest, Mosley ordered all remaining members of the HMSSP to give themselves up at their nearest police station. Any member of the secret police who did not do so, or who showed any resistance to members of the armed forces, could expect a summary reprisal. The Leader’s only other order was to request that all members of the Imperial General Staff report to Downing Street, where they would be issued with further instructions. He then announced his immediate resignation.
For the next few weeks, the country was ruled under a martial law imposed by Armstrong and General Galwey. It was a difficult time, very difficult, but the troops managed to hunt down the more hard-line followers of the man they would always refer to as ‘the Leader’. The army, as well as the civilian police, were also occupied in ensuring that the population did not carry out reprisals against suspected informers or known Party members. Armstrong told the country that Mosleyite fascism was not to be replaced by tyranny on the streets. If democracy was to make an effective return, then citizens who required punishment should receive it from the courts and not from lynch mobs. In the main, his wish was respected, although there were hundreds of violent incidents that suggested there would be divisions in many communities for years, if not decades, to come.
Sir Oswald Mosley was tried in November, and was found to be guilty of countless crimes. It was clear that many wanted him to hang, but the courts saw sense. They knew that executing Mosley would create a martyr and stir up those who remained loyal to him, so he was sentenced instead to life imprisonment, along with his wife, Lady Diana, and the four members of his Emergency Cabinet.
King Edward and Queen Wallis abdicated a week after their abortive coronation. The Queen had insisted they should remain, but a delegation led by Armstrong, and including the newly released Stanley Baldwin and Winston Churchill, insisted that the King should not listen to his wife in this instance, unless he wanted to suffer the indignity of an Act of Parliament designed to strip him of his crown. Renamed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the couple chose a life of exile rather than remain in a country whose citizens despised them. They were succeeded by the Duke and Duchess of York, who became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Although the new King was not a natural in his new role, he had the full support of his people.
A general election was held at the end of February. Some Communists did indeed win seats, among them Lucy Craven, who stood in her late father’s constituency. However, much to the surprise of the electorate, Captain Armstrong revealed in an interview with the editor of the Daily Sketch, Ted Frost, that he would not be standing. He said that he had had enough of politics, and that there were plenty of capable men in Parliament who could run the country and see to it that Germany did not dominate the continent; men like Neville Chamberlain, for example.
Besides, said Armstrong, politics was not really compatible with bringing up a young boy. He was never to know that the late Sir Roger Ousby had possessed at least one drop of human kindness.
Select Bibliography
Readers who wish to delve into the subject matter of The Leader might consider the following. At the time of writing, most are in print. Further information concerning these titles – and the background to The Leader – can be found at www.guywalters.com.
Oswald Mosley and Fascism in Britain
Oswald Mosley, Robert Skidelsky
Fascism in Britain, Richard Thurlow
The Fascist Movement in Britain, Robert Benewick
Rules of the Game, Nicholas Mosley
Beyond the Pale, Nicholas Mosley
My Life, Oswald Mosley
A Life of Contrasts, Diana Mosley
Patriotism Perverted, Richard Griffiths
Fellow Travellers of the Right, Richard Griffiths
Hitler’s Diplomat, John Weitz
The 1930s
The Dark Valley, Piers Brendon
The Long Weekend, Robert Graves and Alan Hodge
The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon, Robert Rhodes James (ed.)
Eminent Churchillians, Andrew Roberts
The Mitford Girls, Mary S. Lovell
The 1930s Scrapbook, Robert Opie
The Windsors
King Edward VIII, Philip Ziegler
The Duchess of Windsor, Diana Mosley
The Russians
The Mitrokhin Archive, Vassili Mitrokhin and Christopher
Andrew