8 JACK CRANGLE
Italian Perspectives
The draconian crackdown on UK-Italians, both fascist and otherwise, emphasises that
authorities had become acutely conscious of Italian fascism’s political element.
However, it also poses the question as to whether members of the fasci had - as
intelligence reports declared - become fanatical exponents of fascist ideology.
Evidence suggests this to be unlikely. When police raided Edinburgh’s fascio, they
expected to discover arms, explosives and other incriminating weaponry (Edinburgh
City Police 1940: 2). Instead, all that was found were legal documents and records of
the group’s sporting and charitable activities (Edinburgh City Police 1940: 2).
Although an Edinburgh detective sergeant reported his suspicion that fascist officials
had been burning files, this was likely a reaction of panic; as Bowd (2013: 90) notes,
there is no evidence of subversive activity within the fasci or of a fascist Italian fifth
column. Some members immediately renounced any association with fascist politics.
In 1940 a Scottish-Italian named Umberto Filippi was interned at Barlinnie prison
near Glasgow. Soon after his detainment, he wrote a letter to the prison’s governor,
stating:
Although I was considered a Fascist and recognised as such, the reason
for my membership was solely because of the advantages membership
gives. I certainly listened to Fascist politics and I suppose some of these
doctrines may have been impressed on my mind. However, as far as
enmity to Great Britain goes, I am certain that I have none, for it is here
that I have my home (Filippi 1940).
The cynical interpretation of Filippi’s plea of innocence is that he was attempting to
secure an early release. However, cases such as Filippi’s were genuine and common.
Many Italians joined the fasci simply to avail of social and business opportunities.
Ugolini (2011: 81) argues that hundreds of loyal British-Italians were arrested despite
having only a tenuous and “innocuous” association with fascism.
The surprise and shock displayed by Fascist Party members upon their arrest
demonstrates that Italians believed involvement with the fasci to be compatible with