100 nationalists attend JT Memorial event in Preston

The 2012 John Tyndall Memorial meeting organised by Heritage and Destiny magazine in Preston, Lancashire, on 13th October was the most successful yet, with a hundred nationalists attending.

 

Speakers included Richard Edmonds – for many years the BNP’s national organiser and proprietor of the party’s bookshop and headquarters in Welling – who announced his prospective candidature for the National Front in Croydon North in the forthcoming parliamentary by-election.

Other parties and groups represented at the event included the England First Party, British Movement, the British National Party, Candour magazine and Historical Review Press.

A report follows by Heritage and Destiny editor Mark Cotterill.

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Almost 100 Nationalists from a variety of political formations and tendencies gathered again in the old English city of Preston, Lancashire, on 13th October 2012 for the Seventh Annual John Tyndall Memorial Meeting. The commemoration was hosted by Heritage and Destiny magazine.

‘JT’, as he was affectionately known by his many followers and admirers, was a former chairman of the National Front, the founder of the British National Party, and the foremost racial nationalist leader of the modern era.

Among the organizations represented at the memorial were (in alphabetical order):  A.K. Chesterton Trust, Blood & Honour, British Movement, British National Party, Democratic Nationalists, England First Party, Historical Review Press, Infidels of Britain, Iona London Forum, National Culturists, National Front, Scottish Defense League, and North West Nationalists (sorry if I’ve missed any out).

The meeting was chaired by Keith Axon, a founder member of the BNP, and former West Midlands party organizer.  Mr. Axon was a good friend and comrade of John Tyndall, and he spoke movingly of JT’s dedication to the cause and of his soul-stirring abilities as an orator.

The meeting started with a minute’s silence in memory of JT, his wife Valerie, Spencer Cartlidge, Jonathan Bowden, Tony Hancock and Jimmy Grundle (and all other nationalist comrades who had passed away since last year’s meeting).  Mr Axon then read out a shot letter from H&D’s American assistant editor Martin Kerr, who unfortunately was unable to attend the meeting due to personal reasons.

The first speaker of the afternoon was Steve Frost, a long standing member (since 1976) of the British Movement, who is now the BM’s national secretary. Steve spoke on JT and CJ – the early years.  He gave much fascinating information on the struggles of the nationalist movement during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Colin Jordan and John Tyndall forced nationalist ideas onto the agenda despite the violent opposition of “anti-fascists”.  Despite their well-known personal differences that developed during the mid-1960s, CJ and JT continued to meet regularly and discuss nationalist ideology and strategy.

The second speaker was Jez Turner, the founder and chairman of the Iona London Forum, and a 12 year veteran of the Royal Corps of Signals. Jez spoke on the efforts to promote nationalist ideas outside of the electoral sphere.  The battle for votes must be accompanied by a cultural struggle, with nationalists contesting the liberal intellectual hegemony.

The third speaker was Steven Smith, of the National Front. Steven was the founding organizer of Burnley BNP, and the power behind the raise of the BNP on Burnley Borough Council  an era which has sadly ended following the collapse of Nick Griffin’s party. He spoke on the essential effort required to rebuild a movement that can stand up for White Britons in towns such as Burnley: the front line of our movement where Steven Smith and John Tyndall fearlessly took the battle to the enemy.

The fourth and final speaker before the lunch break was Dr. James Lewthwaite, an Orangeman and former archaeology lecturer, who was an elected BNP councillor from Bradford City Council (2004-2007) and was a co-founder of the Democratic Nationalists in 2008. Jim spoke about the absurdity of fellow nationalists fighting each other in a dozen different factions.  He suggested that there could be legitimate diversity on the nationalist scene, with different regions adopting contrasting strategies, but pointed out that the fragmentation of post-Griffin nationalism had resulted in the various districts of South Yorkshire alone each going off into separate parties, with the result that there can (for example) be no nationalist candidate for South Yorkshire Police Commissioner!

After Jim’s talk, Chairman Keith Axon announced a break, during which the audience enjoyed a generous buffet and browsed the many nationalist literature and merchandise stalls including Candour / AK Chesterton Trust; British Movement; Bradford Nationalists; Historical Review Press and Heritage and Destiny.

After a thirty minute lunch break, Chairman Keith Axon resumed the meeting. The next item on the agenda was an auction off nationalist items donated by H&D subscribers, including a signed first edition of JT’s Eleventh Hour book – which sold for £100.

Peter Barker was the first speaker up after the break. An ex-soldier with the Royal Engineers, Peter served in Ulster and Germany. He was the former BNP regional press officer for the North West and was an NF and BNP organizer for Rochdale. He is also the founder of the North West Nationalists website and later blog.  Like others at the meeting; he has been expelled from the BNP for opposing the policies of Nick Griffin.  He spoke on his memories of John Tyndall as an inspirational leader and tireless activist, and addressed one of the most horrific consequence of mass immigration: the infamous Rochdale “grooming” scandal.

Although not scheduled to speak, David Jones – who is standing as an independent nationalist candidate in the forthcoming Todmorden town council by-election – was given a five minute spot to plug his election campaign. David spoke about the potential for nationalists to gain advantages at the polls from the ideological bankruptcy and factional division among mainstream politicians.

The next speaker up was Peter Rushton, who in 2002 became one of the first BNP members purged by Griffin. Mr. Rushton is an assistant editor of Heritage and Destiny, a co-founder of the England First Party, and founder and editor of www.jailingopinions.com. Mr. Rushton spoke on the need for radical nationalism to combat what he termed the treason of our political and financial elites.  Nationalists must address the roots of Britain’s crisis, and not merely be a more right-wing version of the Tories.  Peter drew attention to the recent book Britannia Unchained by a group of supposedly right-wing Tory MPs – three of whom were themselves the children of immigrants, yet who shamelessly insulted Britons as having a culture of laziness!  Why should Britons be happy to become wage slaves – or fight and die effectively as mercenaries – for an alien-dominated political elite?  Radical nationalists should tear out the roots of this alien domination.

Chairman Keith Axon then called upon meeting organizer – and editor of Heritage and Destiny – Mark Cotterill to say a few words. Mark thanked everybody for attending and supporting the event, which was our most successful yet, with almost 100 nationalists in attendance. Mark pledged that next year it would be over 100!
A collection was then taken to cover the costs of the venue and organizing the meeting. This raised £250, £50 of which was given to Richard Edmonds towards the NFs Croydon North by-election campaign.

The keynote speaker of the day was former BNP national organizer Richard Edmonds. Richard was one of John Tyndall’s most loyal friends and supporters over thirty years. He was proprietor of the famous BNP bookshop in Welling from 1989 to 1999 and served on the national advisory council of the BNP from 2008 to 2010.  Mr Edmonds is now a member of the National Front, and will be its candidate in the upcoming Croydon North parliamentary by-election, one of the most crime-infested multiracial areas of London.  Mr Edmonds spoke on the challenges facing nationalists as they begin the fightback against decades of disastrous multiracial policies, on which Britons were never consulted, but which were imposed by Lib Lab and Con.  The shameful failure of the Police to deal with members of immigrant communities responsible for the paedophile “grooming” White children is a symptom of the crippling effect of liberal indoctrination.  Nationalists must give the British people a positive alternative: the country that produced the industrial revolution, giving the world most of the inventions that have transformed modern life, must preserve its own identity for future generations.

After Mr. Edmonds’ impressive speech, there was a Raffle. Twenty items had been donated to the meeting by various comrades and were raffled off.  The lucky winner of a 1930s Beer Stein was Ian Lofthouse from Blackburn. Finally, a football scratch card was won by a Liverpool Nationalist (as it was last year!).

At the conclusion, meeting steward Ken Shapcott of Burnley spoke from the audience, thanking the speakers and the meeting chairman for making this year’s memorial a success. Ken also thanked everyone for their participation and attendance   and looked forward to seeing them again at future gatherings. He also thanked those comrades who could not attend, but who still supported the event by sending in donations to help with the organizational costs.

Thanks to MiB and LSC Security for their valuable assistance in ensuring that the meeting proceeded in a safe and orderly fashion, despite empty threats on internet forums from “anti-fascists” and fringe so-called nationalists.

So all in all, a very successful and enjoyable day. If you could not attend this year, then make sure you come to next year’s John Tyndall Memorial Meeting, you won’t be disappointed.
 
Mark Cotterill, Preston, Lancashire

• Special thanks to Andrew Brons MEP for Yorkshire & Humberside for taking the time out from his very busy schedule to attend, and also to 88 year old Frank Walsh – our oldest attendee – who travelled all the way up from South London, and to 79 year old Dennis Whiting – who travelled all the way up from Kent. These two fine gentlemen should be an example to the many younger nationalists who made feeble excuses as to why they could not attend. Lastly thanks again to the squaddies who attended – you’re doing both your race and nation proud.

 

• Thanks to the generous donations of H&D subscribers, we were able to again produce a special four-page Souvenir Programme for the occasion, expertly printed in red/white/black on quality paper. Copies of the programme are still available for £5.00 or $10.00 (including postage) from Heritage and Destiny, 40 Birkett Drive, Preston, PR2 6HE.  Or online via PayPal to – heritageanddestiny@yahoo.com