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OLYMPIA AND THE BATTLE FOR FREE SPEECH
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By 1934, British Union had expanded at a remarkable rate, pushing the smaller fascist groups into political oblivion. Mosley had attracted support from all sections of society, from both the Left and the Right, along with Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail, giving favourable publicity to the Blackshirts in his newspaper.
On April 22, 1934, British Union held a large meeting at the Albert Hall in West London attracting an audience of 10,000, with Mosley speaking to this large audience without interruption or violence.
This was an occasion for demonstrating the propaganda techniques of fascist meetings with the spectacular use of music, processions with banners and standards, spotlights and the chanting of "M.O.S.L.E.Y. ... Mosley!" before and after the great speech.
Of course, the most stirring part of these meetings was Mosley's oratorical skill, the strong and modulated voice, along with a reasoned and analytical content flowing with a fluidity that, on this occasion, lasted for an hour and a half without notes.
His powerful peroration could enthuse the most sceptical and had all on their feet, swept along with the mood of spiritual renewal.
Mosley had held seceral meetings at the Albert Hall throughout 1934 and each was packed without any violence or opposition.
Mosley arranged for a meeting at Olympia in West London, a venue larger than the Albert Hall with the capacity for an even greater display of fascist progress. It was booked for June 7, 1934, with much publicity ... a fact that reached the ears of the communists, the rest of the militant Left, and Jewish organisations.
Because the Albert Hall rally had proven successful without any violence, Mosley's enemies on the Left were determined that the Olympia meeting would be smashed. Around 2,000 Blackshirts were spread around the meeting at Olympia with a large contingent lined up around the platform. The audience consisted of 12,000 while, outside, 2,000 anti-fascists were amassed for the purpose of violent protest.
With 2,000 tickets given away free, the means of entry by communists and militant Jews was made relatively easy.
The intention of the anti-fascists was not just to prevent Mosley from speaking but also to create the myth that Mosley was responsible for the violence.
The Conservative press acquiesced in this myth-making and Rothermere withdrew the support of the Daily Mail for the acknowledged reason that Jewish advertisers threatened to withdraw revenue if he continued to support Mosley after Olympia.
The meeting started late. The anti-fascists had already caused problems outside with the police.
Counter-demonstrations were organised for two principal purposes: to prevent Mosley from being heard and to prevent attendance at the meeting. Police resources were limited and they found difficulty in protecting the public from the tactics of communist agitation outside.
However, when Mosley began speaking an hour late, communists had placed themselves in groups throughout the audience and immediately began interrupting with the intention of preventing Mosley from being heard.
The law makes it clear that the organisers of an indoor have the right to eject those that attempt to prevent the business of that meeting and may use force to do so. That communists came armed made the use of that force even more necessary, with Blackshirts receiving the injuries associated with the use of weapons.
L.Dolberg, a medical student at St Thomas's Hospital, wrote,"I personally dressed twelve Blackshirts, of which four were serious cases. The details of these four cases were as follows: Kicked in the stomach and laid up for three weeks. Kicked in the thigh and unable to stand. A girl who was hit in the eye and had her glasses broken into the eye and was sent to hospital. I treated one communist only, who had a black eye ...".
M.Lord, in charge of first aid arrangements at Olympia, reported, "I went to the station in the gallery and found there a fascist in an unconscious state, and I was told he had been kicked in the stomach. I also found a girl fascist with a scratch commencing under her eye and running down her cheek and neck and finishing on her back, between her shoulder blades. I do not think this scratch could have been done with a fingernail, but that some sharp instrument must have been used. The last case I attended was a fascist who had the palm of his right hand cut from the thumb to the third finger".
A certified first-aid worker reported, "We treated in our dressing room 63 Blackshirts for injuries, mostly abdominal and injuries caused by blunt and sharp injuries, also a few communists were treated at my station with minor injuries".
Sir Leonard Lyle, a former Tory MP, wrote in the press on June 13, "I think it is only fair to place on record the fact that in no case did I see or hear any violence on the part of the Blackshirts; on the other hand, police were assaulted and at least one mounted officer was unhorsed by organised gangs of Reds ... and people like myself, who had come, in many cases with our wives to listen, were impeded and insulted in every case by violent Red agitators. I do not happen to be a supporter of Sir Oswald Mosley but I went to hear him. I was not allowed to do so, owing to the violence and wrecking methods adopted by the people WHO ARE NOW DEFENDED BY CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.
Hamilton-Fyfe, a former editor of the Daily Herald, wrote on June 13, "I am not likely to be suspected of any sympathy with fascism ... therefore I feel free to say how unwise - and even unfair - it was to organise interruptions at the Olympia meeting. It was organised, that is certain. I saw in Oxford Street, in the early evening, bands of young men, mostly Jews, on their way to the meeting. Every few minutes they shouted in unison some slogan I could not catch. They were clearly in a fighting mood - and they got what they wanted".
Christopher W. Lowther, another former Tory MP, wrote to Mosley, "... I think the agitation which has arisen against the Blackshirt methods of dealing with organised interruptions is wholly unjustified. I was impressed by the fact that all your stewards whom I saw seemed to be very decent folk, a very good type of British youth. I saw no ejections that were not particularly justified. I have suffered at several elections from organised interruptions and I think you have hit on the proper method of dealing with it".
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