Anthony Hancock
| Anthony Hancock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Hancock in Brighton, 1981 | |||
| Born | 5 May 1947 | ||
| Died | 11 June 2012 (aged 65) in Brighton, Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority, East Sussex, England | ||
| Nationality | British | ||
| Occupation | Hotelier | ||
| Party | National Front | ||
| Movement | League of St George | ||
Anthony "Tony" Sanford Hancock (5 May 1947 – 11 June 2012) was a British nationalist, member of various patriotic groups in the United Kingdom, and, as a publisher, produced literature for almost all of Britain's nationalist movements.
Contents
Life
Based in Brighton, where he owned a hotel called the Heidelberg, Anthony Hancock was the son of Alan Hancock, a veteran of the British Union of Fascists who first set up the publishing firm. With his father as a leading member, Anthony Hancock cut his teeth as a member of the Racial Preservation Society and from this group he became a member of the National Front.[1]
As a member of the NF, Hancock became a close associate of Steve Brady of the League of St George and followed him into the National Party in 1976. It was at this time that Hancock stepped up his printing firm and was soon producing not only for the NP and the League, but also for the British Movement and later the NF and the British National Party amongst others.[1] He later became a supporter of the British Democratic Party,[2] although by and large he put his own feelings aside and continued to publish for any patriotic group that asked him to.
A Holocaust revisionist, Hancock set up the Historical Review Press (based in Uckfield) which, funded by Robin Beauclair (formerly of the RPS), became a leading source of revisionist material. The Press published versions of a number of seminal works including Arthur Butz' The Hoax of the Twentieth Century as well as an occasional newspaper The Holocaust News. Most famously Hancock published Did Six Million Really Die? and made a lot of money from doing so, to the point where he was sued for royalties in the High Court in 1982.[3]
David Irving has also acknowledged that Hancock has done some of his printing.[4] Hancock was also a leading member of the Clarendon Club, a debating society active from 1979 to 1981 in which Irivng and members of the League of St. George were joined by more "approved" figures such as Harvey Proctor.[5]
Hancock also built up an extensive range of international contacts and was closely associated with Roberto Fiore for a time during the 1980s.[6] Distributing large quantities of revisionist material, he was investigated by the police of the Federal Republic of Germany in the late 1990s, although no case was brought as he was not breaking UK law and so could not face extradition.
- Anthony Hancock was one of the most important and influential figures in right wing fringe politics in the UK, Europe and in some sense the world. The son of printer Alan Hancock, he followed in his father's footsteps. The two men also founded Historical Review Press which distributed a wide range of political and related literature, including many of its own publications, which the company also printed. Some of this literature fell foul of the censor in countries as far apart as West Germany and South Africa, an occupational hazard for both printers and publishers since the invention of the printing press, and indeed from well before then. Although a man of strong opinions, Tony, as he was known to most of his friends, was a laid back sort of individual who didn't take life too seriously. He never married but had children by two different women - as far as is known - living with both of them. Although a successful businessman running a regular printing business alongside his publishing outfit, in the last few years of his life he became a tragic figure, a victim of both frivolous and at times vexatious litigation, and of diabetes. In 2002, he became caught up in a vendetta against veteran right wing activist Colin Jordan and stood trial for daring to print and publish one of the geriatric Nazi's polemics. Jordan did not appear with him in the dock, having been diagnosed with severe cardiac problems (he died in April 2009). Tony was acquitted at Leeds Crown Court, and rightly so. Early in 2012, he suffered a stroke, possibly as a result of ignoring medical advice. He was admitted to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, but soon suffered a second stroke, which caused his death. He was cremated at a small private funeral in his hometown of Brighton on June 22, 2012.[7]
See also
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 R. Hill & A. Bell, The Other Face of Terror, London: Grafton, 1988, p. 205
- ↑ R. Hill & A. Bell, The Other Face of Terror, London: Grafton, 1988, p. 229
- ↑ R. Hill & A. Bell, The Other Face of Terror, London: Grafton, 1988, p. 228
- ↑ 'Irving and Holocaust Denial'
- ↑ Peter Barberis, John McHugh, Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, 2002, p. 181
- ↑ G. Harris, The Dark Side of Europe, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994, p. 125
- ↑ Anthony Sandford Hancock
