R. B. D. Blakeney

He served in the Dongola Expedition under Sir Herbert Kitchener in 1896, and was involved in the 1898 Battle of Omdurman,[2] for which he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

[8] An early member of the British Fascisti, Blakeney succeeded Leopold Ernest Stratford George Canning, 4th Baron Garvagh as president of the movement in 1924, and at the same time was made editor of their journal The Fascist Bulletin.

[7] In his role as president he developed a rigid military style structure for the BF, whilst also ensuring that it altered its name from the Italian "Fascisti" to the more English "Fascists".

[9] He insisted that the BF be run in "the spirit of intelligent patriotism" and sought to build links with mainstream right-wing pressure groups such as the Anti-Socialist Union.

[14] Along with his close ally Rear Admiral A. E. Armstrong, Blakeney supported BF involvement with the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies and accepted government terms that the movement should, at least temporarily, abandon references to fascism in order to participate in the government-backed group.

[17] At one such engagement in November 1933, Blakeney, along with League leader Arnold Leese, was beaten up by supporters of the British Union of Fascists (BUF) at a time when this movement was striking out at its rivals on the far right.