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 After
the notorious brutality of the fascist meeting earlier in 1934
Mosley thought he would have a repeat performance in Manchester.
To combat this threat an anti-fascist co-ordinating committee
was created to counter the fascist thugs. A dynamic campaign
of leafleting, fly-posting and public meetings were organised
to mobilise the opposition. Deputations were organised representing
the broadest possible democratic coalition to demand the banning
of the fascist meeting. In the face of all the protests the
meeting was allowed, and to add insult to injury the Chief Constable
banned all marches, a decision clearly taken to make anti-fascist
mobilisation more difficult.
However,
the anti-fascists were determined that there would be no repeat
of fascist violence and intimidation. Saturday 29th September
the opposition mobilised. Three marches from Openshaw, Miles
Platting, and Cheetham marched to meet the hundreds already
waiting to meet them at Ardwick Green to form a united demonstration
of over 3,000 who would march along Hyde road to join the protest
meeting outside Belle Vue. The contingent from Cheetah comprised
in the main young working class Jewish activists from the Challenge
Club, the Youth Front Against War & Fascism and the Young
Communist League formed the backbone of the group that was to
rout the fascists later in the day. When the marchers arrived
at Belle Vue they were greeted by the hundreds already assembled
for the protest meeting. The marchers however had not come to
listen to speeches. They had come to stop Mosley.
At
the agreed time they left the meeting, crossed the road and
in orderly fashion queued up to pay their entrance fee for Belle
Vie. Once inside the amusement park scouting parties tried to
find the fascists. They had no success, as these examples of
the "master race" were hiding in the halls hired for
them.
Mosley
was to speak from The Gallery which was protected by the lake,
his supporters were to assemble on the open air dance floor
which was in front of the lake. Even so the fascist leader did
not feel safe and in addition to the gang of thugs he called
his bodyguard, there were wooden barriers and the police. In
case this was not enough searchlights were available to be directed
against the anti-fascists and fire engines with water cannon
at the ready. The scene was set.
500
blackshirts marched from a hall under The Gallery and formed
up military style. Mosley, aping Mussolini stepped forward to
the microphone to speak. He was greeted by a wall of sound that
completely drowned his speech. "Down with fascism",
"Down with the blackshirt thugs!", "The rats
the rats clear out the rats!", "One two three four
five we want Mosley, dead or alive!". Anti fascist songs,
the Red Flag, and the Internationale. The sound never stopped
for over an hour. In spite of the powerful amplifiers turned
up to maximum Mosley could not be heard.
To
quote The Manchester Guardian, "Sitting in the midst of
Sir Oswald’s personal bodyguard within three yards of where
he was speaking one barely able to catch two consecutive sentences."
Mosley
tried all the theatrical tricks he knew to try and make an impression
but without any effective sound he appeared like a demented
marionette. Defeat stared him in the face and he knew it, as
did his audience which slunk away as soon as the police bodyguard
was removed. The humiliation of the fascists was complete. The
only sound they could now here was the singing of ‘bye bye blackshirt’
to the tune ‘bye ’bye blackbird’, a popular song of the time.
With
the fascists defeated and demoralised, the protesters raised
their banners and posters high and proudly rejoined the meeting
outside Belle Vue.
Mosley’s
humiliation was complete, what was supposed to have been his
most important meeting since Olympia was in fact the first of
a series of defeats he was to suffer in Manchester.
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