English Mistery

The English Mistery (or English Mystery) was a political and esoteric group active in the United Kingdom of the 1930s. A "Conservative fringe group" in favour of bringing back the feudal system [E. H. H. Green, "Ideologies of Conservatism: Conservative Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century" (2002), p. 151.] , its views have been characterised as "reactionary ultra-royalist, anti-democratic" [Thomas Linehan, "British Fascism, 1918-1939: Parties, Ideology and Culture" (2000), p. 141.] . It was against everything to do with welfare, the London School of Economics, and the USA [Patrick Wright, "The Village that Died for England" (2002 edition), p. 204.] .

Founder

It was founded by William Sanderson, and took its title from his 1930 book "That Which Was Lost: A Treatise on Freemasonry and the English Mistery". Sanderson was a Freemason but disaffected, and founded the group in 1930 to promote his view of 'leadership' [Dan Stone, "Breeding Superman: Nietzsche, Race and Eugenics in Edwardian and Interwar Britain" (2002), p. 42.] .

Membership

Its members included the British Nietzschean Anthony Ludovici [Stone, p. 45.] and the journalist Collin Brooks [Stephen Dorril, "Blackshirt" (2006), p. 296.] . Others were Rolf Gardiner and Graham Seton Hutchinson [Richard Griffiths, "Patriotism Perverted" (1998), p. 52.] , founder in 1933 of the pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic National Workers' Movement [Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, "Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups" (2003),p. 193.] , and the diplomat Cecil de Sausmarez [Wright, p. 204.] . Conservative MPs Gerard Wallop, Michael Beaumont and Reginald Dorman-Smith joined. Beaumont left: both he and Dorman-Smith found the Mistery inactive in practical terms [Stone, p. 43.] [Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, "Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups" (2003), p. 182.] . The barrister John Platt-Mills was on the margins of the group for a time [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011030/ai_n14437122 Obituary, "The Independent"] ] .

plit

Wallop eventually split the group in 1936, forming his successor organisation, the English Array. This schism left the Mistery in poor shape.

References

*Dan Stone, "The English Mistery, the BUF, and the Dilemmas of British Fascism", The Journal of Modern History 75 (June 2003), 336–358

Notes