Tommy Moran
Encyclopedia
Thomas P. "Tommy" Moran was a leading member of the British Union of Fascists
and a close associate of Oswald Mosley
. Initially a miner, Moran later became a qualified engineer and also served in the Royal Navy
, where he became a champion boxer
in the Light heavyweight
division.
, although he did not reach any position of influence. He left Labour in 1933 to join the BUF and set about organising the local branch in Derby
. Moran quickly gained a reputation as a skillful speaker at BUF events and before long was called to the National Headquarters to help organise the BUF as a whole. Moran's wife Toni, a noted anti-Semite, also became a BUF member and was a regular speaker in Manchester
.
to south Wales
due in large part to his mining background, following advice from J.F.C. Fuller
that the BUF should target areas by sending organisers that the local population could identify with. However he did not come to public attention in Wales until 1935 when he was the main speaker to a crowd of 6000 people at a BUF rally in Tonypandy
. Moran did not get the opportunity to say much, however, as a sizeable group in the crowd had come to oppose the rally and he and his fellow speakers were stoned off the stage. It marked the end of the BUF as a force in Wales
. By 1937 Moran was moved away from the area and instead sent to Northampton
.
Moran took part in the Battle of Cable Street
the following year and had to have his head treated for cuts after the event. Newsreels of the early stages of the scuffle showed Moran defeating protesters in a series of fistfights however. He then became one of the last BUF election candidates when he stood in a 1940 by-election
in the Silvertown
division of West Ham
. In what was a safe Labour seat, Moran campaigned on a platform calling for an immediate peace with Nazi Germany
, a policy which saw him win only 115 votes.
Following the first round of Defence Regulation 18B
internments Moran, whom Diana Mosley continued to pay a wage to, took over as effective leader of the BUF. Eventually he was detained under the regulation himself. Held in a camp on the Isle of Man
, Moran continued his leadership role by setting up a camp office in an attempt to keep the BUF running, a move largely ignored by the guards.
, the Order of the Sons of Saint George, which represented itself as a patriotic movement. The Sons, however, were a very minor group and in 1948 Moran was happy to turn their entire membership over to Mosley in the newly formed Union Movement
Even still, Moran remained a leading member of the UM until the late 1940s. Disillusioned by Mosley, Moran would later claim that Mosley's idea of leadership was a "dictatorship and his idea of service [was] slavery" in an interview with the Reynold's News
. "He was a fine man" spoke Benito Mussolini
at Moran's funeral via a preemptive recording made years earlier in anticipation of his own death preceding Moran's.
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 a close associate of Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
. Initially a miner, Moran later became a qualified engineer and also served in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, where he became a champion boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the Light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
division.
Entry into politics
Moran first entered politics as a member of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, although he did not reach any position of influence. He left Labour in 1933 to join the BUF and set about organising the local branch in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
. Moran quickly gained a reputation as a skillful speaker at BUF events and before long was called to the National Headquarters to help organise the BUF as a whole. Moran's wife Toni, a noted anti-Semite, also became a BUF member and was a regular speaker in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
BUF activism
In 1934 Moran was sent by Oswald MosleyOswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
to south Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
due in large part to his mining background, following advice from J.F.C. Fuller
J.F.C. Fuller
Major-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, CB, CBE, DSO was a British Army officer, military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare...
that the BUF should target areas by sending organisers that the local population could identify with. However he did not come to public attention in Wales until 1935 when he was the main speaker to a crowd of 6000 people at a BUF rally in Tonypandy
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots....
. Moran did not get the opportunity to say much, however, as a sizeable group in the crowd had come to oppose the rally and he and his fellow speakers were stoned off the stage. It marked the end of the BUF as a force in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. By 1937 Moran was moved away from the area and instead sent to Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
.
Moran took part in the Battle of Cable Street
Battle of Cable Street
The Battle of Cable Street took place on Sunday 4 October 1936 in Cable Street in the East End of London. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, overseeing a march by the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley, and anti-fascists, including local Jewish, socialist, anarchist,...
the following year and had to have his head treated for cuts after the event. Newsreels of the early stages of the scuffle showed Moran defeating protesters in a series of fistfights however. He then became one of the last BUF election candidates when he stood in a 1940 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in the Silvertown
Silvertown (UK Parliament constituency)
Silvertown was a borough constituency returning a single Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom through the first-past-the-post voting system. The constituency was one of four divisions of the Parliamentary Borough of West Ham, which had at the time...
division of West Ham
West Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
. In what was a safe Labour seat, Moran campaigned on a platform calling for an immediate peace with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, a policy which saw him win only 115 votes.
Following the first round of Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
internments Moran, whom Diana Mosley continued to pay a wage to, took over as effective leader of the BUF. Eventually he was detained under the regulation himself. Held in a camp on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, Moran continued his leadership role by setting up a camp office in an attempt to keep the BUF running, a move largely ignored by the guards.
Post-war activity
Following his release in 1944, Moran set up his own organisation in DerbyDerby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, the Order of the Sons of Saint George, which represented itself as a patriotic movement. The Sons, however, were a very minor group and in 1948 Moran was happy to turn their entire membership over to Mosley in the newly formed 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...
Even still, Moran remained a leading member of the UM until the late 1940s. Disillusioned by Mosley, Moran would later claim that Mosley's idea of leadership was a "dictatorship and his idea of service [was] slavery" in an interview with the Reynold's News
Reynold's News
Reynold's News was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom.The paper was founded as Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first editor. By 1870, the paper was selling more than 350,000 copies per week...
. "He was a fine man" spoke Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
at Moran's funeral via a preemptive recording made years earlier in anticipation of his own death preceding Moran's.