'Arnold Spencer-Leese' (
1877–
1956) was a
fascist politician, born in 1877 in Lytham,
Lancashire,
England.
After qualifying as a
veterinarian, he moved his practice to
British India, where he became an expert on the
camel. He worked there for six years before becoming Camel Specialist for the
East Africa Protectorate of the
British Empire. He would remain an animal lover and
teetotaler throughout his life.
He published numerous articles on the camel and its maladies, the first appearing in ''The Journal of Tropical Veterinary Science'' in 1909. He had the honour of having a camel
parasite named after him; ''Thelazia leesei''.
He joined the
British Army at the start of
World War I and served on the
Western Front. He returned to England where he continued his practice, retiring and publishing a book, ''The One-Humped Camel in Health and in Disease'' (
1928), which would remain a standard work in India for fifty years.
Leese was an
anti-Semite for much of his life, a prejudice reportedly kindled by his disgust for
kashrut, a set of laws dictating the correct form for preparing food and slaughtering animals. He developed
conspiracy theories relating to a perceived
Jewish threat to the
British Empire, and became involved with fascist groups, starting in 1924. His anti-semitism was hysterical in its intensity, even accusing rival fascists of being soft on Jews.
As a member of the
British Fascists he was elected a councillor in
Stamford, Lincolnshire that year, along with fellow fascist Henry Simpson. In his autobiography, Leese wrote "We were the first constitutionally elected Fascists in England".
By 1928, having become disillusioned with the British Fascists, Leese became a founder member of the
Imperial Fascist League.
By 1933, he found his own
Imperial Fascist League being eclipsed and overtaken by
Oswald Mosley and the
British Union of Fascists. He greatly resented Mosley and dubbed him a "
kosher fascist."
Leese's anti-semitism earned him a prison sentence in 1936 when he was indicted along with fellow IFL member Walter Whitehead on six counts relating to two articles published in the July issue of ''The Fascist'' (the IFL newspaper). He was convicted and was jailed for six months in lieu of a fine for causing a public mischief.
He was one of the last leaders of the fascist movement to be interned in the
United Kingdom at the beginning of
World War II under the
Defence Regulation 18B.
Released on conditions in December 1943 because of ill health, Leese again returned to prison in 1947 for six months for his part in aiding escaping members of the
Waffen SS.
In 1951, he published his autobiography ''Out of Step: Events in the Two Lives of an Anti-Jewish Camel-Doctor''.
After the war, Leese also published his own magazine, ''Gothic Ripples'', which was largely concerned with attacking the Jews. A mentor of the young
Colin Jordan, Leese left Jordan his
Holland Park house (74 Princedale Road, London W11) on his death (although his widow retained the usufructuary), which, known for a very short spell as Arnold Leese House, would become Jordan's base of operations. Jordan later sold the house while the
Notting Hill area was still malfamed but estimations of the property reached well over £1 million in 2003.
External links
★
Out of Step: Events in the Two Lives of an Anti-Jewish Camel Doctor On-line extracts from Leese's autobiography regarding his political awakening
★
My Irrelevant Defence: Meditations Inside Gaol and Out on Jewish Ritual Murder A booklet by Leese on Jewish Ritual Murder first published in 1938.
★
Chinese Communism?Article by Leese reprinted from ''Gothic Ripples'', No.49, dated 28th February, 1949.