Heritage and Destiny reaches half century

Issue number 50 of Heritage and Destiny magazine has just arrived back from printers and will be mailed out to subscribers all over the world, over the next two to three days. Well who would have thought we would reach a half century of issues? To be honest to reach issue 50 in hard copy in this day and age – the age of the Internet – is quite amazing. I’m even a little surprised myself!

The first issue of H&D, then published in the USA

The first issue of H&D, then published in the USA

Our very first issue was published back in the summer of 1999 as “The Newsletter of the American Friends of the BNP” (AF-BNP). It was only eight pages, but it was a start of better things to come. The H&D “team” for issues 1 to 4 consisted of just myself and Carl Knittle and was produced in a very basic format (cut and paste!) in the basement of Carl’s home in Ashburn, Virginia.

By issue 5 we had recruited another expatriate “Brit” – Carl Clifford – to the H&D team. Carl transformed the magazine using desk top publishing – PageMaker.  Also joining the “team” for issue 5 was long-standing American national socialist Martin Kerr – which meant we were now four strong (two Brits and two Yanks!). The magazine was now 20 pages and was being produced from my apartment in Falls Church, Virginia – which doubled up as the AF-BNP HQ. We also had a website (thanks to Carl Clifford) and we were holding regular meetings and even demonstrations in the Washington DC area. It was all go!

The final American issue – number 9 – was published in the summer of 2001, shortly before the Federals (on the instructions of the SPLC) closed the AF-BNP down. I would have liked to have reached issue 10 stateside, but oh well – that’s life I guess. The American government (INS) issued me with a ten year exclusion order the following summer and I finally vacated “The land of free and home of the brave” on November 3rd 2002 and returned to ‘good olde Blighty’ (east Lancashire to be exact!). Note I was never “deported” from the states as claimed by Searchlight, News of the World, Webster and other state assets.

It would be another six months before H&D was finally resurrected on this side of the pond, with the help of Peter Rushton, who volunteered to help me start it up again, and with Martin Kerr looking after the American side. In February 2003 (I think!) we published issue 10 – dated winter 2003. We used a Burnley printers (who did all the local BNP literature) recommended by Steven Smith. The magazine did not look as good as when it was printed in the States, but the main thing was we were back in circulation.

The first UK based edition of H&D, published in 2003

The first UK based edition of H&D, published in 2003

Like Peter Rushton, I had been purged from the Griffin BNP.  The then North West Regional Organiser Christian Jackson was paranoid that I was going to take his job, as was the then Blackburn organiser Robin Evans, however I had no interest in taking either job.  Even so they forced me out of the BNP with the backing of Griffin. Jackson and his then buddy Griffin had forced Peter Rushton out of the party just six months earlier.

Politics is a strange business and less than a year later Griffin had fallen out with both Jackson and Evans and both were replaced with organisers more loyal to Griffin. Jackson and Evans had also fallen out with each other over a pretty young female BNP member, whom they both had been dating. You just could not make it up!

So as we were no longer tied to the BNP, H&D became an independent racial-nationalist magazine. We were, as our mast-head proclaimed, “The Radical Voice of British Nationalism”. It took Peter and myself couple of issues to “find our feet”, but from 2004 onwards we just never looked back.  From issue 14, H&D became “The Radical Voice of White Nationalism”. This reflected both the magazine’s growing readership overseas and our commitment to White nationalism. Then from issue 18 the master-head changed yet again (for the final time!) to “Stand Men of the West – today is the day we fight”. I felt this slogan (from The Lord of the Rings movie) best summed up – in a one-liner – what we are all about. The magazine increased to 24 pages from issue 22 (the John Tyndall obituary issue) and became a bi-monthly from issue 49.

Peter Rushton, H&D assistant editor

Peter Rushton, H&D assistant editor

To be honest with such a lot of hard-copy movement publications folding it was a bit of a gamble turning H&D from a quarterly into a bi-monthly. However, with your support we can keep going – perhaps for another 50 issues. Who knows what the future will bring? What we do need are more people to take H&D in bulk. If you are a Nationalist activist why not buy some extra copies of this issue to sell at your next branch meeting or demo.  As you will see – when your copy pops through the letter box – it’s another great issue.

As always, perhaps even more so since we have gone bi-monthly, H&D needs your regular donations – however large or small, every Pound, Dollar, or even Euro counts. We don’t bombard you with daily – Donate Donate Donate – emails as Nick Gri££in and Jim Dow$$on do – we would never lower ourselves to their level, but please try and send in whatever you can afford.

The original 1980 H&D

The original 1980 H&D

Early 1980s nationalists at the time of the original H&D. (left to right) Joe Pearce, Richard Lawson, Nick Griffin and Steve Brady.

Early 1980s nationalists at the time of the original H&D. (left to right) Joe Pearce, Richard Lawson, Nick Griffin and Steve Brady.

And finally, we should not forget the publishers of the first Heritage & Destiny magazine – Richard Lawson and Steve Brady –way back in 1980. For without them we would not have had the inspiration to start up H&D mark II. Sadly they only published six issues, but their articles were of the highest quality. They were men ahead of their time.

Mark Cotterill
Editor/Publisher – Heritage and Destiny

PS. If you check out this website on a regular basis but you are not a H&D subscriber, why not take the plunge?  It’s only £20.00 (British Isles) or $35.00 (USA/Canada) or £25.00/$35.00 (Rest of World) for the next six issues.
However please note from September 1st 2012 subscription prices go up to; British Isles – £24.00; USA/Canada – $40.00; Rest of World – £30.00/$40.00

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