Six men and two women members of the British Ku Klux Klan were found guilty yesterday of charges growing out of a meeting at which they were reportedly told that the goal of the group was to “rid Britain of Jewish control.”
Seven were found guilty of wearing a uniform at a public meeting signifying association with a political organization, in violation of the 1936 Public Order Act. All eight were found guilty of aiding and abetting two of the other defendants. Patrick Webb, 36, and William Duncan, 45, each were sentenced to three months imprisonment for wearing uniforms. Robert Relf, 42, received a three-months jail term for aiding and abetting. Others received fines of 20 pounds ($56) to 25 pounds ($70). All eight had pleaded innocent.
During the trial, the prosecutor also told the court about a list of Jewish leaders, including Labor leader and Minister Mrs. Barbara Castle and the Jewish wife of Labor leader George Brown, of whom the movement planned “to get rid.” The prosecutor said that the eight defendants met on June 19 at Rugby near London, all wearing long white robes with a black cross over the heart, and cloth head covers with slits for the eyes and mouth. The aims of the British KKK were explained by a man named Newly, who is a member of the tiny British National Socialist movement which split with Colin Jordan’s slightly larger Nazi group.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
