All You Fascists Are Bound To Lose















People of every color marching side by side
Marching across these fields where a million fascists died
You're bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose

I said, all you fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You fascists are bound to lose
You're bound to lose, you fascists
Are bound to lose

(lyrics courtesy of Wilco)

The photograph above of a policeman on horseback leading a man under arrest through crowds during trouble between fascists and communists in Victoria Park, London, was taken for the Daily Herald newspaper on 7 June, 1936.

1936 was a key year during a period when struggles between parliamentary democracy, communism and fascism dominated the English way of life. The East End of London in particular saw clashes between members of Sir Oswald Mosley’s (1896-1980) British Union of Fascists, and members of the Communist Party. The year also saw the abidication of Edward VIII, the occupation of Ethiopia by the Italians and the start of the Spanish Civil War.

The fighting in Victoria Park was a warning of things to come and there was an underlying tension throughout the summer and into the autumn that culminated in the famous "Battle" of Cable Street on 4 October 1936.

Cable Street has a particular interest for me because of my family ties to the area from the late 19th century through to the early years of the Second World War, my grandmother on my father's side grew up in one of its side streets, my great-grandparents, great-great grandparents and great-great-great grandparents all lived in Cable Street. I'll post something on the famous "Battle" nearer to its 70th anniversary but I thought that given the recent BNP results in the local elections and the general hysteria surrounding them it was worth remembering what happened seventy years ago when another right-wing organisation believed that extremism was the cure for all of society's ills.