An unsung hero - William 'Bill' Lockett. Oldham BNP.

Whilst looking through some papers, this pic dropped out. A truly forgotten hero. This pic was for both his Oldham Chronicle press statements, but also for his election addresses.

The very first BNP man to stand for the BNP in Oldham was this man, Bill Lockett. 

Bill had been an ordinary working class man in Oldham, but could foresee what was happening to his town.  This man stood up where many in Oldham would not do so. In fact, it was a bit of a standing joke in nationalist circles from the days of the National Front, that Oldham folk used to attend meetings, but when it came to joining marches , they used to watch the march from the sidelines and not join in the march. In those days, our marches were vociferously attacked by communist mobs without hindrance from the Police.

Bill Lockett was something else. He meant what he said, and he said what he meant.

Bill lived not too far from Oldham Royal Infirmary. His health was not good. When he stood for election, he had major health issues with his heart. We can do no better than report this excerpt from Pete Rushton, a comrade from those times.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill Lockett wasn't in 100% health when he fought Hollinwood ward at the May 2000 election - the first Oldham BNP election campaign. The count was packed with very young, aggressive Asians, some of whom later went to prison for election fraud. 

But that night the main police focus was on us. Chris Jackson was stitched up by a Labour counting agent who claimed he had "racially abused" her. All nonsense of course, but Chris was arrested and taken out of the count to the cells  No charges were brought.

Bill Lockett won 229 votes that night (9.7%), putting the new Oldham branch on the electoral map.

By the time of the next local election in May 2002 the Oldham race riots had occurred and the BNP had fought both Oldham constituencies at the 2001 general election, with great success.

Bill Lockett was in hospital having a heart operation in the week of the election, but he stood as a candidate in the ward on the very frontline of Oldham's race war: Alexandra, on its then boundaries perhaps the most racially divided ward in Britain.

Alexandra ward then contained both the solidly white Fitton Hill estate, home to some of Oldham's strongest BNP supporters, and the infamous riot-scarred Asian ghetto of Glodwick, where corrupt Asian landlords and "community leaders" registered 15 or 20 voters to a house - all of whom turned out come election time of course 

It takes courage to stand anywhere as a racial nationalist candidate; it takes even more courage to do so if you are seriously ill; but to do so in a ward like Alexandra in 2002 takes a very special kind of courage indeed. Bill Lockett was the man who did it.

One of my strongest memories of my BNP days was the night of the Alexandra count. I was the BNP agent at that count - and there weren't too many other white faces, especially since the next door count was the heavily Asian Coldhurst ward.

Michael Meacher, Oldham MP and then a minister in Tony Blair's cabinet, was standing on the other side of the table, looking nervous, then triumphant as the first two ballot boxes opened showed a massive turnout of Asian voters for Labour. Overall 49.2% of the electorate had voted: up from 31.8% the previous year.

We wiped the smile off Meacher's face when the white areas voted massively BNP - Fitton Hill by six or seven BNP for each one Labour.

Of course it wasn't enough, but Bill Lockett and Oldham BNP had won a great moral victory - runner-up in Alexandra ward with 788 votes (23.6%).

Rest in peace comrade.

"Together in Britain we have lit a flame that the ages shall not extinguish. Guard that sacred flame my brother Blackshirts until it illumines Britain and lights again the paths of Mankind."

OM, 1938

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oldham became a major dynamo in the then nationalist struggle, as did Burnley slightly later, due to fine people like Steve Smith and Simon Bennett, not forgetting Sharon P.

Oldham however got the major issue of the crook Nick Griffin initially 'worming' his way in, and turning naive people like Mick Treacy to his way of thinking. Griffin did the very same with the then very promising Chris Jackson. Jackson had been 'pushed' by old time nationalist Ken Henderson. Henderson now spends his time living as a fake country squire, with upper class tories.

Unfortunately, both turned out to be well out of their depth. Jackson even accepted a 'wage' then from Griffin as the BNP NW Regional Organiser. 

Treacy was invited to Griffins abode in Welshpool,Wales, several times. He had only just joined the BNP, but for some obscure reason, Jackson pushed him to be the Organiser of Oldham BNP. For some strange reason, Griffin also invited Treacy to his Welsh home.

Oldham originally started from Rochdale BNP, and their meetings /socials.. 

When Oldham BNP members  were big enough, they had to 'fly on their own'. Unfortunately , Griffin and Jackson had got their wish for cheap cigar smoking taxi driver Treacy, to be the man who got the job of Oldham BNP Organiser.

Griffin parachuted himself into standing in Oldham for a parliamentary seat . Treacy also stood then in 2001.

The 'die' was set. 

OldhamBNP was doomed, and so it was.

At the very same time, North West BNP was being led by TWO University graduates who even then, both had their regrets and misgivings about Nick Griffin, and his corrupt practices. Griffin obviously saw these two as serious threats to himself, especially since the riots that occurred in both Burnley and Oldham and the huge support for BNP candidates in elections in the North West. Both of these University graduates were hounded out of the BNP by Griffin and his 'lapdogs'.No doubt these 'dumb bells' haven't got a clue about what they did? It was at the same time when Griffin decided to 'parachute' himself into Oldham as an election candidate, and he set about destroying Burnley BNP too.

The North West was THE beacon of nationalism at that time. In fact, Derek Beackon used to drop the papers/propaganda for the BNP then, on his own from a bashed up van .

Treacy also allowed decent people to leave the BNP,  who had railed against a criminal underclass who became the majority in Oldham BNP. These people destroyed a so promising grass roots 'fight back'.

Within a couple of years of Bill Lockett standing, the Oldham BNP were having meetings with a couple of hundred attending meetings and collections always over £1,000+.

Real nationalist men like Bill Lockett, deserve to be remembered with honour. He meant well. He and we, deserved better.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The very first nationalists in Oldham of the modern era were Mike Sellors, a former British Campaign to Stop Immigration chap who was then an accountant in the mid 1970's. Sellors stood for election in Rochdale. But more directly, there was a chap, a printer by profession called Granville Halliwell. Granville started a National Front unit in the town of Oldham in the 1970's.