Features

They said it couldn't happen here, but for a short time in the 1930s Devon was a fertile breeding ground for the growth of fascism.

Sir Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts arrived in Plymouth in the summer of 1933 and quickly became a vibrant political force in the city. Mosley spoke to packed meetings in Plymouth's Guildhall and the Drill Hall in Millbay.

Activity spread throughout Devon, particularly among farmers in the north of the county.

The notorious traitor, William Joyce, who later broadcast from Hitler's Germany as Lord Haw Haw, received enthusiastic reviews in the Bideford Gazette after a speaking tour in Mid and North Devon

South West support for Mosley waned following violent scenes in the Drill Hall and London's East End.

It didn't help that Mosley became a fervent supporter of the new German chancellor, Adolf Hitler.

Plymothians in particular found it difficult to follow a politician who admired the leader of a country that so many of them had been at war with not so long before.

The revelations are contained in a new book by Dr Todd Gray, the first to examine this unique aspect of Devon's history.

'Blackshirts in Devon' covers events up to June 1940 when leading members of the Fascist movement were arrested and interned.

The story of fascism in Devon is the subject of a BBC South West Inside Out investigation to be broadcast this autumn - presented by BBC Radio Devon's Judi Spiers.

As part of research for the programme, Judi is trying to solve a mystery. The picture above was found with several others among the possessions of a Devon fascist interned during the war.

The other pictures included Mosley speaking at Exeter's Belmont Park, but the exact location of this one is unknown.

If you look closely you can see 'Autodrome' and what looks like 'Eagle Star' written above two of the premises. Could it also be near Belmont Park? Or is it somewhere else in the region?

If you know, please contact the BBC Inside Out office on 01752 234549, or e-mail the producer, mick.catmull@bbc.co.uk