Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies
Encyclopedia
Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies was a British
right-wing movement established in 1925 to provide volunteers in the event of a general strike
. During the General Strike of 1926
the OMS was taken over by the government and was used to provide vital services such as transport and communications.
where many were calling for the formation of a volunteer organisation intended to take over the jobs of striking workers in the event of a general strike
, which was widely feared amongst the conservative
establishment at the time as part of a 'communist
plot'. The same letters page was used on 25 September 1925 by Home Secretary
William Joynson-Hicks
to announce the formation of just such a group, with the ltter announcing the new OMS name.
The organisation, to be run by a committee chaired by Lord Hardinge
, was to have branches in every city and to recruit volunteers in five classes, four of which were based on the men's fitness and age and the fifth of which was for women who were to be set to work only in places where they could avoid any "rough handling". Lord Jellicoe
and other top military men sat on the committee, both to give the OMS a military discipline and to instill public confidence in the group that such important figures were involved.
it was denounced as a form of fascism
not only by the Communist Party of Great Britain
but also by the otherwise anti-communist Daily Express
, which compared the OMS to the Ku Klux Klan
and the Blackshirts
. An early speech by one of the group's leaders was deemed unfit for broadcast by the BBC
who feared that it would compromise their impartiality. Brigadier-General William Horwood
, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police also refused to work with what he believed to be a fascist organisation and by the end of 1925 the government had informed General Sir Robert McCalmont that in the event of any general strike the OMS would be disbanded and their membership taken over entirely by the government. Nonetheless the OMS did have the confidence of some provincial police forces and branches of the Conservative Party
despite its inauspicious start.
and the introduction by the government of emergency powers the OMS turned its membership lists over to the newly appointed government civil commissioners and thus became a state organisation. Although the OMS name continued to be used any notion of independence was abandoned with the OMS an arm of government. The group had some 100,000 members registered at the commencement of the strike, although the middle class status of many of these volunteers meant that they often proved wholly unsuited to the manual work of running the railways and ports. The group did manage to produce the British Gazette
, a pro-government newspaper published during the strike.
. The minority faction, led by Brigadier-General R.B.D. Blakeney
and Rear-Admiral A.E. Armstrong, split to form a new group known as the Loyalists (as well as the Scottis Loyalists under the Earl of Glasgow) and this group was subsumed into the OMS as soon as the strike began.
Despite this individual fascists obtained high rank within the OMS. BF member and later co-founder of the National Fascisti
Colonel Ralph Bingham worked along with Peter Howard
, who had published a magazine for fascists in the Ukraine
and who was later a member of the New Party, running an OMS depot during the strike. The BF's Neil Francis Hawkins
, later a leading figure within both the British Union of Fascists
and the Union Movement
, was also important in the OMS during the strike.
, which played on widespread public fear of trade union militancy.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
right-wing movement established in 1925 to provide volunteers in the event of a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
. During the General Strike of 1926
UK General Strike of 1926
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
the OMS was taken over by the government and was used to provide vital services such as transport and communications.
Formation
The OMS had its origins in the letters page of The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
where many were calling for the formation of a volunteer organisation intended to take over the jobs of striking workers in the event of a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
, which was widely feared amongst the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
establishment at the time as part of a 'communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
plot'. The same letters page was used on 25 September 1925 by Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
William Joynson-Hicks
William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford
William Joynson-Hicks, 1st Viscount Brentford PC, PC , DL , known as Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bt, from 1919 to 1929 and popularly known as Jix, was an English solicitor and Conservative Party politician, best known as a long-serving and controversial Home Secretary from 1924 to 1929, during which...
to announce the formation of just such a group, with the ltter announcing the new OMS name.
The organisation, to be run by a committee chaired by Lord Hardinge
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916.-Background and education:...
, was to have branches in every city and to recruit volunteers in five classes, four of which were based on the men's fitness and age and the fifth of which was for women who were to be set to work only in places where they could avoid any "rough handling". Lord Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
and other top military men sat on the committee, both to give the OMS a military discipline and to instill public confidence in the group that such important figures were involved.
Reaction
Whilst the scheme was enthusiastically supported by the highly conservative Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
it was denounced as a form of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
not only by the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
but also by the otherwise anti-communist Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, which compared the OMS to the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and the Blackshirts
Blackshirts
The Blackshirts were Fascist paramilitary groups in Italy during the period immediately following World War I and until the end of World War II...
. An early speech by one of the group's leaders was deemed unfit for broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
who feared that it would compromise their impartiality. Brigadier-General William Horwood
William Horwood (police commissioner)
Brigadier-General Sir William Thomas Francis Horwood GBE KCB DSO served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, head of London's Metropolitan Police, from 1920 to 1928.-Military career:...
, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police also refused to work with what he believed to be a fascist organisation and by the end of 1925 the government had informed General Sir Robert McCalmont that in the event of any general strike the OMS would be disbanded and their membership taken over entirely by the government. Nonetheless the OMS did have the confidence of some provincial police forces and branches of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
despite its inauspicious start.
General Strike
Following the outbreak of the 1926 General Strike1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
and the introduction by the government of emergency powers the OMS turned its membership lists over to the newly appointed government civil commissioners and thus became a state organisation. Although the OMS name continued to be used any notion of independence was abandoned with the OMS an arm of government. The group had some 100,000 members registered at the commencement of the strike, although the middle class status of many of these volunteers meant that they often proved wholly unsuited to the manual work of running the railways and ports. The group did manage to produce the British Gazette
British Gazette
The British Gazette was a short-lived British newspaper published by the Government during the General Strike of 1926.One of the first groups of workers called out by the Trades Union Congress when the general strike began on 3 May were the printers, and consequently most newspapers appeared only...
, a pro-government newspaper published during the strike.
The OMS and fascism
The British Fascisti (BF), which maintained transport and communications units to be used in the event of a strike, provided an organisational structure for the OMS although there was uncertainty at government level about allowing BF members to join the OMS given fears about their potentially revolutionary nature. Ultimately the BF was allowed to join only if it agreed to renounce fascism and the BF name, a proposal rejected by the majority of the group's controlling committee under Rotha Lintorn-OrmanRotha Lintorn-Orman
-Early life:Born as Rotha Beryl Orman in Kensington London, she was the daughter of Charles Edward Orman, a Major from the Essex Regiment, and her maternal grandfather was Field Marshal Sir John Lintorn Arabin Simmons...
. The minority faction, led by Brigadier-General R.B.D. Blakeney
R.B.D. Blakeney
Brigadier-General Robert Byron Drury Blakeney, generally known as R.B.D. Blakeney, was a British Army general and fascist politician...
and Rear-Admiral A.E. Armstrong, split to form a new group known as the Loyalists (as well as the Scottis Loyalists under the Earl of Glasgow) and this group was subsumed into the OMS as soon as the strike began.
Despite this individual fascists obtained high rank within the OMS. BF member and later co-founder of the National Fascisti
National Fascisti
The National Fascisti were a splinter group from the British Fascisti formed in 1924. In the early days of the British Fascisti the movement lacked any real policy or direction and so this group split away with the intention of pursuing a more definite path towards a fascist...
Colonel Ralph Bingham worked along with Peter Howard
Peter Howard (journalist)
Peter Dunsmore Howard was a British journalist, playwright, captain of the England national rugby union team and the head of the spiritual movement Moral Re-Armament from 1961 to 1965.-Biography:...
, who had published a magazine for fascists in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and who was later a member of the New Party, running an OMS depot during the strike. The BF's Neil Francis Hawkins
Neil Francis Hawkins
Neil Francis Hawkins was a leading British fascist, both before and after the Second World War.-British Fascisti:A salesman of surgical instruments by trade, Francis Hawkins, a homosexual, was a descendant of the sailor John Hawkins...
, later a leading figure within both the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
and the Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
, was also important in the OMS during the strike.
Later organisations
The OMS can in some ways be compared to 1970s movements such as Civil AssistanceCivil Assistance
Civil Assistance was a British civil defence group in the 1970s.Formed as a breakaway of Unison by General Sir Walter Walker, Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Northern Europe from 1969 to 1972, it was a voluntary group that aimed to break any planned general strike.In August 1974 Walker...
, which played on widespread public fear of trade union militancy.