Neil Francis Hawkins
| Neil Francis Hawkins | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Neil Francis Hawkins 1903 |
| Died | 25 December 1950 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Salesman |
| Known for | Fascist politician and writer |
| Title | Director-General of Organisation |
| Political party |
British Fascisti British Union of Fascists Union Movement |
| Spouse(s) | none |
| Relatives | Lilian Bristol (sister), John Hawkins (ancestor) |
Neil L. M. Francis Hawkins (1903 – 25 December 1950) was a leading British fascist, both before and after the Second World War. He played a leading role in the British Union of Fascists, controlling the organisational structure of the movement.
Francis Hawkins joined the British Fascisti (BF) around the time of its inception and became a member of the three-man Headquarters Committee, being seen by many of the male members as a preferable leader to Rotha Lintorn-Orman. Under the influence of Francis Hawkins and his close ally E.G. Mandeville Roe, the BF, which despite its name had been fairly conservative in nature, moved towards a more genuinely fascist position by emphasising the corporate state and anti-Semitism. Without Lintorn-Orman's approval he held a series of talks with Robert Forgan in which he agreed in principle the idea of merging the BF into the New Party. However, when Francis Hawkins presented the plan to the BF Grand Council, it was rejected by a single vote.
The rejection of the merger resulted in a sharp division between Francis Hawkins and Lintorn-Orman and as a result he split the organisation in 1932 and took the bulk of the membership with him into Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (the name under which the New Party had been reconstituted). Francis Hawkins had met with both Mosley and Forgan and had been so impressed with their set-up that he split the British Fascists in order to join them. Francis Hawkins was appointed National Defence Force Adjutant upon joining the party, making him deputy head of the group's paramilitary Blackshirts, under the command of Eric Hamilton Piercy. He rose quickly through the ranks, holding the posts of Officer in Charge of the London Area and Chief Administrative Officer before being appointed Director-General of Organisation, a post that made him effectively second in command behind Mosley. On 22 June 1935 he replaced Piercy as head of the Blackshirts. In July 1935 he briefly became head of the BUF Women's Section during a period of restructuring for the movement, becoming the only man to hold the position.
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