Latest news with #BritishUnionofFascists
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Morris Motors boss may have inspired Tolkien villain
The fascist-sympathising founder of Morris Motors was demonised as a soulless industrialist in an unknown story by JRR Tolkien that is to be published for the first time. William Morris, Viscount Nuffield, is thought to have inspired the Lord of the Rings author to create a villain for a satirical fantasy in which he vented his loathing for the motor car and its devastating impact on his beloved Oxford. Morris made his fortune by mass-producing small cars at affordable prices and, although he donated millions to worthy causes, he also supported Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. Morris Motors became the major employer in the region during Tolkien's lifetime, providing a pull for workers and businesses supporting the car industry. A dramatic rise in Oxford's population between the wars was driven partly by the growth of the industry. The businessman is thought to be the inspiration for a character known as the Daemon of Vaccipratum in the never before published story, The Bovadium Fragments. It is thought Tolkien also took inspiration from a planning controversy that erupted in the 1940s, when he was the University of Oxford's Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College. A bid to alleviate traffic by building a dual carriageway across Christ Church Meadow, an ancient open space in the heart of Oxford, sparked a protracted public debate well into the 1960s, when the plan was eventually aborted. The Bovadium Fragments reflects Tolkien's mastery of Latin. Bovadium was the Latinised name for the village of Oxford, and the Daemon of Vaccipratum translates as 'the demon of the cow pasture', or Cowley – where Morris had established his motor manufacturing plant. In one passage of the unearthed story, Tolkien writes: 'But it came to pass that a Daemon (as popular opinion supposed) in his secret workshops devised certain abominable machines, to which he gave the name Motores.' The Bovadium Fragments was among Tolkien manuscripts either donated or deposited posthumously by his estate to Oxford's Bodleian Library. It will be published in October by Harper Collins. Chris Smith, the Harper Collins publishing director, described it as 'a sharply satirical account of the perils of allowing car production and machine-worship to take over your town, where things ultimately all go to hell, in a very literal sense'. Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher, had edited the text before his death in 2020. The book will include an essay by Richard Ovenden, Bodley's librarian, who has conducted extensive research into the planning controversy, having established its inspiration for Tolkien's story. Mr Ovenden said it is about a scholar in the future looking at evidence of a society that is now lost, having 'worshipped the motor car', adding: 'Tolkien was deeply affected by the way that the motor industry was changing his city, and that shines through.' Asked why The Bovadium Fragments had not been published before, Mr Ovenden said: 'Christopher's priority in publishing his father's unpublished works was on the Middle Earth-related material. This material didn't really fit with that or with his father's more scholarly pieces, and so it got left. 'I would visit Christopher and his wife Baillie in France every year. On one of those visits, he drew this to my attention and said, 'What's all this about, what do you think the background of this was?'' Mr Ovenden described it as 'a contribution to environmental literature and the conservation of historic cities'. 'It was written in the late 1950s and 1960s, but it has this extraordinary contemporary resonance,' he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Morris Motors boss may have inspired Tolkien villain
The fascist-sympathising founder of Morris Motors was demonised as a soulless industrialist in an unknown story by JRR Tolkien that is to be published for the first time. William Morris, Viscount Nuffield, is thought to have inspired the Lord of the Rings author to create a villain for a satirical fantasy in which he vented his loathing for the motor car and its devastating impact on his beloved Oxford. Morris made his fortune by mass-producing small cars at affordable prices and, although he donated millions to worthy causes, he also supported Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. Morris Motors became the major employer in the region during Tolkien's lifetime, providing a pull for workers and businesses supporting the car industry. A dramatic rise in Oxford's population between the wars was driven partly by the growth of the industry, which in turn had a dramatic impact on traffic. The businessman is thought to be the inspiration for a character known as the Daemon of Vaccipratum in the never before published story, called The Bovadium Fragments. It is thought Tolkien also took inspiration from a planning controversy that erupted in the 1940s, when he was the University of Oxford's Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College. A bid to alleviate clogged-up traffic by building a dual carriageway across Christ Church Meadow, an ancient open space in the heart of Oxford, sparked a protracted public debate well into the 1960s, when the plan was eventually aborted. The Bovadium Fragments reflects his mastery of Latin. Bovadium was the Latinised name for the village of Oxford, and the Daemon of Vaccipratum translates as 'the demon of the cow pasture', or Cowley, which was where Morris had established his motor manufacturing plant. In one passage of the unearthed story, Tolkien writes: 'But it came to pass that a Daemon (as popular opinion supposed) in his secret workshops devised certain abominable machines, to which he gave the name Motores.' The Bovadium Fragments was among Tolkien manuscripts that were either donated or deposited posthumously by his estate to Oxford's Bodleian Library. It will be published in October by Harper Collins. Chris Smith, the Harper Collins publishing director, described it as 'a sharply satirical account of the perils of allowing car production and machine-worship to take over your town, where things ultimately all go to hell, in a very literal sense'. Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher, had edited the text before his death in 2020. The book will include an essay by Richard Ovenden, Bodley's librarian, who has conducted extensive research into the planning controversy, having established its inspiration for Tolkien's story. He said that it is about a scholar in the future looking at evidence of a society that is now lost, having 'worshipped the motor car', adding: 'Tolkien was deeply affected by the way that the motor industry was changing his city, and that shines through.' Asked why The Bovadium Fragments had not been published before, Mr Ovenden said: 'Christopher's priority in publishing his father's unpublished works was on the Middle Earth-related material. This material didn't really fit with that or with his father's more scholarly pieces, and so it got left. 'I would visit Christopher and his wife Baillie in France every year. On one of those visits, he drew this to my attention and said, 'What's all this about, what do you think the background of this was?'' Mr Ovenden described it as 'a contribution to environmental literature and the conservation of historic cities'. 'It was written in the late 1950s and 1960s, but it has this extraordinary contemporary resonance,' he said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Russia Today
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
UK plundering other nations at any cost
British foreign policy is focused on resource acquisition at any cost, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Zakharova criticized what she called British egoism 'elevated to national ideology' in an interview on Monday. She was commenting on the invitation extended to Ukrainian troops to participate in the Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) parade in London. She claimed the gesture indicated Kiev's willingness to fight for British interests 'to the last Ukrainian.' 'Britain constantly needs resources. Britain constantly needs to rob, to steal, and preferably to kill, leaving no witnesses,' Zakharova stated. 'That is why those neo-Nazis marched in London streets.' She referenced historical instances of British colonialism and actions taken against Russia, including alliances with the Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century, military interventions during the Russian Civil War, and current support for Ukraine. Zakharova condemned the British provocation in the Black Sea in June 2021, when the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender deliberately entered Russian waters off Crimea to observe Moscow's reaction. She also alleged recent British support for Ukrainian terrorist attacks on Russian territory. 'Britain is choosing the wrong tactic century after century,' Zakharova said. 'While they ponder how to use new technologies, schemes, and provocations to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, it is moving forward. Russia is crushing all their plans.' The Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the VE Day procession on Monday are part of a contingent currently being trained by the British military to combat Russia. Defense Secretary John Healey described their presence as 'fitting,' claiming that the Ukrainian army is 'currently fighting on the front line of freedom.' Zakharova emphasized that the Ukrainian government is actively eradicating links to the country's Soviet past, while promoting as national heroes Ukrainian nationalists who collaborated with the Nazis. Given Ukrainian participation, she asserted that the May 8 march would resemble demonstrations by Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. Unlike in the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, the modern British public is indoctrinated by its government and is unlikely to object, she claimed.
New York Times
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Welcome to England, Thomas Tuchel – where Germans can still be subjected to infantile innuendo
By now, most people will have seen the video. They will have heard Harry Redknapp describe Thomas Tuchel as a 'German spy' and then, in front of an audience in London last week, say that Tuchel 'has been sent over to f*** us up'. 'I'm telling you,' Redknapp continues, 'he's like Lord Haw-Haw in the war — 'We have your best soldiers captured' and all that.' Advertisement It is an appalling attempt at a joke. Lord Haw-Haw was better known as William Joyce, a virulent antisemite who was once deputy leader of the British Union of Fascists. Joyce spent the Second World War broadcasting Nazi propaganda back to Great Britain from Germany before being captured, tried for treason and hanged in 1946. In the video, first published by The Guardian, Redknapp is also seen raising his left arm, prompting a burst of laughter from the audience. When contacted by The Athletic, Redknapp denied that this was intended to mimic a Nazi salute. The defence is on its way — the 'bore off and stop ruining the fun' response. And it probably is too crass to be offensive. It's too ignorant to be taken seriously. It's not worthy of anything other than weary disdain, or of provoking more than toe-curling embarrassment. The video has yet to surface in the German media. When it inevitably does, what Redknapp said and appears to do will make England look very, very small. As will the guffawing reaction heard in the background which describes how, for some, the German bogeyman remains alive, hilarious and a proxy for a war that ended 80 years ago. It's been 50 years since Episode Six of Fawlty Towers aired, in October 1975. In it, for those who do not know, shambolic Torquay hotelier Basil Fawlty welcomes a group of German guests. He begins the episode determined not to 'mention the war' and by the end of it has goose-stepped across his own dining room while they are eating in front of him. In Britain, it remains a beloved episode within a cherished series. The joke is on Basil, though. The audience is laughing at him for his inability to disassociate with a war that, by then, had already been over for three decades. By 1996, 51 years had passed and yet, on the morning of England's Euro 96 semi-final against Germany, the Daily Mirror — then edited by Piers Morgan — superimposed pictures of Stuart Pearce and Paul Gascoigne with military helmets, printing them on its front page alongside the headline: 'Achtung! Surrender! For you Fritz, ze Euro 96 Championship is over!' Advertisement To the side, in an editorial sidebar, The Mirror then 'declared football war' on Germany, writing, with a cringeworthy reference to Neville Chamberlain's address to the British public in September 1939: 'Last night the Daily Mirror's ambassador in Berlin handed the German government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock, a state of soccer war would exist between us.' A few years later, Morgan counted that headline among his greatest regrets. Though, during the 2010 World Cup when England met Germany in the last 16, he changed his tune again. He also admitted that he had wanted to hire a spitfire from which to drop his front page on a German training session, and to send a tank to 'invade' the offices of Bild, the German tabloid. It could have been worse, but the front page still characterised the mood, describing how easily the country found that particular gear. It became an issue for the British Foreign Office and was discussed in parliament. England's head coach, the late Terry Venables, condemned the behaviour and the Press Complaints Commission received several hundred complaints. Hundreds, though, but not thousands, and those who remember those weeks will recall that the perception was of a tabloid that had gone too far, rather than having been wildly offensive. In 2025, Thomas Tuchel has not walked into the same atmosphere. Most likely, a headline like that would never run today — at least not in the same overt way. And yet the reaction to Tuchel's appointment has carried mild shades of Fawlty's unease and that same 'oooh, a German' sub-banter that must have made that Mirror front page seem like a clever idea. Amazingly, parts of the country are still there. Still in that place. Still thinking that its appropriate to discuss a football coach in such terms. Still believing, correctly as it turns out, that references to Lord Haw-Haw, funny German accents and ambiguous arm gestures can light up certain rooms. Advertisement It's so flippant. And country to country, it makes for an extraordinary contrast. I do not know much about Germany. I have lived here for four years, in Hamburg, but that is not nearly enough time to understand a country in detail. Particularly not one with so many regional differences, state by state, and where the past is so complex. But that past is more active here; it plays more of a role in the present. In a literal way, because walk around many German cities and among the monuments, plaques and statues, you will find Stolpersteine — 'stumbling stones' — that are embedded within the pavements and engraved with the names of the Nazis' victims. The rise of the far right Alternative für Deutschland party suggests a weakening of the country's 'never again' stand against fascism. The causes and implications of that go beyond the scope of this article and are still not properly understood, but Germany has significant societal and economic problems and denying that would be disingenuous. What is still true, though, is that Germans grow up learning about the Nazi era in a way that forces children, from quite a young age, to confront that past. Most people educated in England will remember school trips to Roman villas and nature sanctuaries. Almost everybody, regardless of where they come from, will know what it is to be marched on a bus with an apple, crisps and a soggy sandwich, and then shown around a quarry or castle. Germans no doubt do that, too, but their field trips pass through the darkness. My wife, who was born in Hamburg, remembers being taken to Neuengamme concentration camp with her school as a teenager. She saw the gas chambers, the crematorium and the piles of shoes and, like millions of other Germans, came face-to-face with those horrors at a young age. There is a word for this. Vergangenheitsbewältigung. It means 'the struggle of overcoming the past'. Advertisement Many institutions and companies in Germany have inextricable links to the crimes of national socialism and are responsible for causing great suffering, and often far worse. That history cannot be denied. It cannot just be attributed to a different era and forgotten about. Issues are still being navigated today. In February, Bundesliga club St Pauli suspended the in-stadium playing of its club anthem, Das Herz von St Pauli, after it was discovered that the author of the song's lyrics, Josef Ollig, had previously unknown links to the Nazi party. So, it remains a solemn, unending task which requires vigilance and, in some cases, difficult, disruptive conversations. It is not funny. There is no comedic currency in any of it. And yet in England, bafflingly, it is something that some can never get beyond. There are still rooms and contexts in which Germans — and now the head coach of the English national team — are subject to infantile innuendo. And that really is dispiriting.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Eastenders star in critically acclaimed production this week
Following two triumphant West End season and a sold-out UK tour, Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner), has reprised her starring role as the first British actress to play Shylock in the critically acclaimed production of The Merchant of Venice 1936. She stars at Fareham Live until Saturday. With the city on the brink of political unrest, fascism sweeping across Europe and Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists threatening a paramilitary march through the Jewish East End, strong-willed single mother Shylock runs a pawnbroking business from her house in Cable Street where Mosley will march. (Image: Marc Brenner)READ MORE:Influential figure on the city's music scene to move on after 25 years Tracy-Ann Oberman said: "Demand has been so high that I feel bringing it back is essential. "The message of my female Shylock - based on my Great Grandma, a widow in the East End standing up to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists, with all her neighbours and others horrified by the message of BUF - feels more pertinent than ever. "The play is about unity, standing together against hatred and the play's impact has been beyond my wildest hopes and ambitions for it.' Tickets from
