Before and after the outbreak of the Second World War, there were a
number of sizable Fascist groups active in Britain, all of whom were
working towards a violent uprising to overthrow the British government.
These groups included The Right Club, led by Captain Jock Ramsey MP,
Arnold Leese's Imperial Fascist League and Sir Oswald Mosley's British
Union of Fascists.
When Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, Ramsay, Leese, Mosley
and hundreds of their supporters were arrested and interned. They were
released in 1943 and 1944, all the more embittered and just as intent on
bringing about the installation of a Fascist Government in Britain,
which Ramsay hoped to lead. Churchill was the man they hated most, under
Chamberlain, they had remained free men, Churchill had interned them,
and sworn to fight the Nazis to the bitter end, Britain under Churchill
would never surrender.
In the autumn of 1944, Adolf Hitler made his last attempt to achieve
victory in the west, or at least a favorable peace. He would then be
free to concentrate on defeating the Soviet Union. In the Ardennes, he
launched a massive counter attack, using dirty tricks and murdering
prisoners, that has become known as the Battle of the Bulge, in Italy he
counter attacked down the Serchio valley, and in the UK he gave orders
for an uprising or escape in all of the German Camps under Nazi control,
and in at least one of the Italian Fascist prisoner of war camps. A part
of Hitler's plan was the assassination, simultaneously, of both
Churchill and Eisenhower.
This was the opportunity Ramsay had been waiting for. Under the cover of
a "Social" for all those who had been released from detention, a meeting
was arranged for the day of the breakout. They would join and aid the
uprising, providing invaluable support. An organization called the
Prisoners of War Assistance Society, set up by members of Leese's
organization, was to help the prisoners get out.
Two Nazi camps were to lead the Break Out, Camps No.23, Devizes, and
No.17, Sheffield. The plot was discovered by chance at Camp 23 and
foiled. Nazi Vehmic Court murders of suspected informers followed in
relation to Camp 23, and at Camp 17. The plan was been to seize US
military ambulances in Devizes, and tanks and armored vehicles, and to
advance on London. The ambulances would provide useful camouflage, in
the same manner as captured US vehicles and uniforms were used in the
Battle of the Bulge.
Waiting and willing to help them at the House of Commons in London was
Jock Ramsay MP. He continued to serve as an MP after his release from
four years detention, and when he attended the House he would sit within
yards of his greatest enemy, Winston Churchill. In December 1944,
Churchill was in London, and addressed the House of Commons on 14 and 20
December. Ramsay had the right to attend the House of Commons at all
times, and his Right Club had once boasted eleven MPS amongst its
members. He could provide the German task force with assistance in their
attempt to kill or capture Churchill and other Cabinet Ministers, thus
leaving Britain without its leaders at a vital moment.
A simultaneous plot to assassinate General Eisenhower was discovered
during the Battle of the Bulge - it was known as "Eisenhower Aktion",
and involved English speaking Germans disguised as US soldiers and
driving US vehicles.
This is the incredible, disturbing story of how close British Fascists
came to impacting the outcome of the Second World War. It is also a
comprehensive investigation into the Break Out Plot as it unfolded
across Britain: how it came to fruition and how it was quashed, its
repercussions and the many little-known stories of escape and recapture
which took place throughout the country.
