The War Comes to Leicestershire and Rutland

[PanzerKaput]

I have been doing a spot of thinking about the war in Leicestershire and Rutlandshire and this has led to thinking about the major players and characters involved in the conflict. Strangely though I have thought about this and have come from the Royalist forces angle first and I am not sure why. So I am planning to write up the Royalist characters, their background, motives and personality and then the Socialist characters. With this I will also add what has happened, whats going on and what the future will bring on the East Midland Front. But first of all here is the start and may I introduce the Duke of Rutland.

The Duke of Rutland, Lord Tredgast Strapleton-Mallet

Lord Tredgast Strapleton-Mallet, is the 10th Duke of Rutland, personal friend to King Edward VIII and loyal supporter of him and Mosley’s Government. The Duke is a member of the King’s Inner Circle after arranging secret meetings between The King and then Mrs Simpson just outside of Leicester at Ingarsby Hall, before the war started. The Duke is a member of the British Union of Fascists holding the rank of Staff Officer 4, District Inspecting Officer. He has personally raised his own company of BUF troopers, The Duke of Rutland’s Own BUF, which is semi-independent, but is part of the BUF Legion VI “Ironsides” and is part of Severn Valley and Midlands Division regional command. He is one of the more capable Royalist commanders in the East, mainly fighting around Leicester, trying up the Socialist forces in the city, but also he has held commands in East Anglian and Lincolnshire.

The duke is a rather ambitious man, seeing his way to advance his social standing by standing loyal to the King and to the King’s Government. He is a rather capable commander, even though he has had little actually military experience, mainly gained from his command of the Rutlandshire Territorials and Yeomanry. He is a gifted leader, with good interpersonal skills and a likable personality, but he does suffer from a bit of vanity and he does like to socialise more than perform his civic duties. However, people do like him and he is perceived as being a man of the people and rather like the King.

A part of the Dukes success he small group of commanders that he has around him, in which he give them freedom to carry out The Royalists plans, though at times this does bring him into conflict with them but he has the good sense to never sack again of them.

His motto Deo et Regi Fidelis, Loyal to God and King, and happily uses the symbols, history and legend of Richard III to help unify and installed pride in his forces.

Ta

PK

[Ray Earle]

Although not Rutland or Leicestershire the Steel works in Corby, just over the border in Northants could be a major target for any of the local forces. 

[PanzerKaput]

I agree you there there and I would say that the town would be very socialist and have a strong mix of Scots and Irish too

[PanzerKaput]

Next up is the Duke's BUF commander

Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache, BUF Commander

Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache, is the local British Union of Fascists Company Commander, commanding the Duke of Rutland’s Own BUF Company as well the Belvoir Command. He is one of the more efficient officer in BUF Legion VI “Ironsides” and as he is a rather competent commander, very good administration and logistics skills and has actually military experience, which he puts to good use.

Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache has always been a military man serving in the Great War as a Captain in Leicestershire Regiment during the last year of the war and also served in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence. During this time he gained his dislike of Socialism seeing it as a threat and menace to British way of life and rebellion against what he perceived as the natural order of things. He transferred to the Indian Army, 11th Sikh Infantry, to fight in the 3rd Afghan War where he rapidly rose thought the ranks to Lt Colonel. After this war he has transferred with his regiment to Palestine where he was involved in an incident involving the capturing of a village and a cache of arms which led to him massacring the men of the village following the deaths of some of his soldiers which had been billeted around and in the village. Following an enquiry of this he was transferred back to Britain with the Royal Army Service Corp where is learnt his skills in logistics and administration but after ten years he retired from the regular army to take up a position in the Leicestershire Territorials where he meet the Duke of Rutland.

With this meeting the Duke introduced him to the British Union of Fascists party and he liked there politic vision and it gave him a drive and prepuce again, where is got involved deeply into their politics. He joined the BUF “I Squad” organising them and when Mosley formed Government at the King’s request, he helped in organising the military wing of the party in the reforms in 1936 to help defend the King and state.

He is a very motivated man with very strong politic views with a complete dislike and trust of Socialist and a deep hated to anything rebellious or not British or Empire. He is an abrasive man, very driven to get things done at all costs and will use anyone or anything in pursuit of this. This has caused him to come into conflict with the other commanders under the Duke and even the Duke himself, but the Duke knows he is the man for the job and often refers to him as his Bulldog.

He has a very good information network where he keeps tabs on both the Kings enemies in Rutland and Leicestershire but also on others in the local area that he thinks are not loyal enough.

[PanzerKaput]

The next in the series

Timothy Melville, BUF Propaganda Officer

Timothy Melville is the County Propaganda Officer, for the BUF and for the Duke. He is a rather unassuming gentleman but this hides a very clever and shrewd mind who masterminds both the propaganda war for the BUF and the Duke as well as being the spy master for the area. In fact he is so good at this that only the local BUF Commander, Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache, is aware of his actions, as it is Timothy Melville who supplies the information and lists of people that Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache uses to keep tries on.

He is a devoted BUF party member and fascist, actually joining the party in 1932, being the oldest serving party member in the area. Before this he was a member of the British Fascasti Party but he was captured by the personality of Mosley and saw the BUF as the only party that could bring order to Britain. He started in the administration for the BUF at Central Office in London but before long he was noted for his writing and propaganda skills and was to good use writing this for the party. Timothy Melville joined the “I Squad” where he met Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache and a friendship delivered between them and Lt Col (Rtd) Denis Plantagenet Tollemache included him to the Duke.

With the coming storm of civil war, he was sent out by Central Office to lead the propaganda war in the counties and Timothy Melville requested to operate in the Midlands where the Socialist Horde was strongest and was based with the Duke in Belvoir Castle. This proved to be a good base for him and developed a network of informants and spies throughout the East Midlands feeding this information to Central Office and to Lord Cirencester.

[Red Orc]

Good to say my (adopted) home getting some VBCW love... more please!

I'm hoping to re-activate my own stalled VBCW project and though I've mostly thought of it in terms of where I was brought up, levering it in to where I am is also a possibility so I'm somewhat intrigued by the Leicestershirey action!