The Blackshirt Controversy: Thomas Harding (1934)
Viscount Rothermere, Oswald Mosley and Isidore Salmon
The rise of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) lent a sinister edge to the 1930s. By mid-1934 the hard-right political movement were drawing thousands to their rallies in London. and Mosley was claiming that as many as 700 party members were working round the clock at their headquarters on the Kings Road.
Increasingly vicious anti-Semitism was at the heart of Mosley’s political message, a fact that was causing tension among the country’s ruling elite. One of those seduced by Mosley’s rhetoric was Viscount Rothermere, proprietor of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. Another, though, who was disturbed by the escalation was Isidore Salmon, the Jewish businessman who led the colossal J. Lyons & Co. catering and hotel empire. In the summer of 1934, Mosley’s politics led to a showdown between these influential two men.
J. Lyons & Co.
In this episode of our podcast Travels Through Time, the bestselling author Thomas Harding takes us back to this fractious year. Thomas is the great grandson of Isidore Salmon, an assiduous MP with huge power but a very low profile.
He explains how his grandfather stood up to the press baron Viscount Rothermere at a crucial moment. He also tells us about the extraordinary and unique history of J. Lyons & Co., the firm who supplied ‘millions of families across the Empire with affordable and high-quality packets of tea, cartons of coffee, loaves of bread and an endless supply of Swiss rolls and other sweet delights.’
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Find out more about Thomas Harding’s Legacy: One Family, a Cup of Tea and the Company that Took on the World
Show notes
Scene One: Christmas 1933/1934. Opening of the Lyons' Cumberland Hotel, largest in Europe, royal visit, and then launch party with Viscount Rothermere and Isidore Salmon. J Lyons at its heyday.
Scene Two: 7 June 1934. Oswald Mosely’s infamous ‘Olympia Rally’
Scene Three: (Shortly after) Isidore Salmon confront Viscount Rothermere
Memento: The cup used by Viscount Rothermere to toast Isidore Salmon
People / Social
Presenter: Peter Moore
Guest: Thomas Harding
Producer: Maria Nolan
Titles: Jon O.
Digital Producer: John Hillman
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