🇬🇧 The Battle of Cable St, London 1936: Brit Fascist Blackshirt March Halted By Antifascist Demonstrators

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- The Battle of Cable Street. On 4th Oct. 1936 the people of the East End of London halted the march of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts through Stepney, in what became known as The Battle of Cable Street.
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The 1930s was a period of seismic political change throughout Europe. Fascist dictators took power in Germany, Italy and Romania and left wing and communist movements rebelled against expanding fascism in countries like Spain. In Britain, this tension culminated in a violent event in the East London area of Stepney, on Cable Street.

The murderous pogroms in Russia and elsewhere in Europe had lead to many Jewish refugees arriving in the East End of London from the early 1900s. Stepney at the time was one of the poorest and most densely populated suburbs of London and many new immigrants settled in the area. By the 1930s the East End had a distinct Jewish population and culture.

Sir Oswald Mosley was the leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). Mosley met Mussolini in early 1932 and very much admired and modelled himself on the dictator. Mosley even created a new, sinister organisation – The Blackshirts – a quasi-military group of around 15,000 thugs, modelled on Mussolini’s Squadrismo. The Blackshirts were known for their violence, after attacking a left-wing Daily Worker meeting in Olympia in June 1934.

Much like elsewhere in Europe, there was growing antisemitism in Britain in the 1930s, partly as a scapegoat for the ongoing effects from the Great Depression. But as the number of fascists was growing, so too was the opposition against them. Trade unionists, communists as well as the Jewish community were becoming increasingly mobilised. When Mosley announced a march in the heart of the Jewish district in London's East End, planned for Sun. 4th Oct. 1936, the community was in disbelief and it was a clear provocation...
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Battle-Of-Cable-Street/

- The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, following the start of the World War II, the party was proscribed by the British government and in 1940 it was disbanded...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Union_of_Fascists

- Oswald Mosley, British Union of Fascists,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Mosley

- Newsreel footage, Battle of Cable Street, Blackshirts March, Mosley, London 1936.

[Joinfortmill]

1. Talk about 'back to the furure'.

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2. For sure! Here we are again...Thanks for posting...

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3. Ubby Cowan (age 90) describes his experiences at the Battle of Cable Street. Posted 2007.

Last edited Thu Mar 19, 2026, 01:19 AM - Edit history (1)

[appalachiablue]

4. British Blackshirts, British Union of Fascists, BUN, Far Rt Political Mvmt est.1931 By Mosley, Interview

The 1930s were difficult in many countries because of the 1929 Financial Crash. Unemployment was massive and many people struggled to obtain shelter and food.

In 1933, Germany made Hitler chancellor, and the U.S. installed president Franklin D. Roosevelt.