British Brothers' League

[5] The group was formed in May 1901[6] in east London as a response to waves of immigration that had begun in 1880 and had seen a rapid increase in the numbers of Russian and Polish Jews, as well as others from Eastern Europe, into the area.

[8] Initially the League was not antisemitic and was more interested in keeping out the poorest immigrants regardless of background, although eventually Jews became the main focus.

[9] The organisation promoted their cause with large meetings, which were stewarded by guards whose role was to eject opponents who entered and raised objections.

As a result of this, attempts to militarise the group were largely a failure, although the movement continued to organise demonstrations against immigrants.

[11] Nonetheless, they would resurface from time to time as new immigrant scares and shortly before the outbreak of the First World War they were even given a public donation of ten shillings by Arthur Conan Doyle, who had been caught up in a growing public swell of Germanophobia as war loomed.