Insurgency Overview
Blood & Honour (the British spelling is typically used, even in America) is an international racist skinhead umbrella group (1) started in 1987 by founder Ian Stuart Donaldson, who later dropped his surname to become Ian Stuart (2). The group came out of the skinhead music scene in England, and Stuart himself was the lead singer of the seminal hate rock band, Skrewdriver. Blood & Honour’s formation was driven by a disillusionment with the British far-right group National Front, where previously racist music groups had found their home. As the National Front became what many saw as more racially tolerant, Stuart and others broke away from its ranks. The National Front had also been known to use profits made from skinhead music for their own political gain. In the years following their founding, Blood & Honour have developed into an international neo-Nazi network distributing music and ideological texts. While the group has no official membership, it acts as a very effective international network through which ideology and information can travel. Some sources say Blood & Honour seeks the creation of a ‘Fourth Reich’. (3)
History & Foundations
Blood & Honour were founded in 1987, during a meeting organized by Stuart, which was attended by multiple racist punk bands active at the time. This included Brutal Attack, No Remorse, Squadron and Sudden Impact, as well as “representatives of political parties who would normally distance themselves from each other” as described on the Blood & Honour Worldwide website. The name ‘Blood & Honour’ comes from the slogan of the Hitler Youth movement. The group went on to help develop a racist movement internationally, well beyond Britain. Stuart later died in a car crash; until his death, a group called Combat 18 (sometimes called simply C-18) had served as a type of armed security for Blood & Honour, but with Stuart gone they took control of the group in England. Combat 18 kept control of Blood & Honour but by 1996, many skinhead musicians objected to this group profiteering from their art, and this caused a split within the wider group. One half favored the original ideology of promoting white power thorugh music, but the other faction wanted to use more extreme tactics to achieve their political aims, such as terrorism and assassinations. (2)
This split in the UK was further echoed in other areas: two factions emerged in the US, named Blood & Honour America Division and Blood & Honour USA. Both believed they were fulfilling Stuart’s original dream of a skinhead movement. (2) Blood & Honour has spread internationally, and now has a presence in a number of countries, primarily within Europe. (1) The group’s ideology can be seen in action in cities such as Poland’s Bialystok, close to the country’s border with Belarus, where hooligans linked to Blood & Honour have enacted violence against their left-wing opposition and the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Blood & Honour were banned in Russia in 2012 for allegedly planning a ‘state coup’. (4) Blood & Honour is a network rather than a formal organization, meaning that being linked to the group does not connote membership of a specific body. (1)
Ideology & Objectives
Blood & Honour ideology centers on neo-Nazism and many members seek the creation of a ‘Fourth Reich’. Multiple Blood & Honour texts glorify acts of violence against minorities. Many of the CDs sold by the group incite racial hatred and violence, and exalt neo-Nazism. Notable record labels connected to Blood & Honour included Highlander East Coast and Rune and Sword Productions, both of which sold ‘white power’ rock music; these sales were the main source of income for the Blood & Honour network. The group is committed to the use of extreme violence to further its white supremacist beliefs, and has been known to openly call for violence to further the neo-Nazi cause. There is lots of crossover in those present in Blood & Honour and the membership of various other white nationalist or far-right organizations throughout Britain and internationally. The broader aim of these people is to put Nazi ideology into practice and to ‘ethnically cleanse’ majority white nations.
According to the Blood & Honour Worldwide website, the group is also known as the Brotherhood 28. (5) The name Brotherhood 28 likely references the fact that ‘B’ and ‘H’ are the second and eighth letters of the alphabet respectively; it is common for far-right and neo-Nazi groups to use numerical codes, such as 88 for ‘heil Hitler’(6).The founding statement on the group’s website describes them as “an independent National Socialist movement supporting all active NS/ Nationalist parties and groups in the White World.” It commits the network to the ideology of National Socialism and uniting white youth, as well as promoting ‘white power and white pride’. They also aim to ‘win back our nations, for once and for all’. (7) The founder of the movement has also been quoted as saying: “Eventually there will be a race war and we have to be strong enough in numbers to win it. I'll die to keep this country pure and if it means bloodshed at the end of the day, then let it be.” (2). The focus on white supremacy has remained constant throughout the development of Blood & Honour, and has persisted in its spread across many countries from the UK.
Approach to Resistance
The operational methods of Blood & Honour can be seen to draw heavily on its origins as a
promotion network for musicians: there is an emphasis on word of mouth, and a lack of official membership. In the late ‘80s, Blood & Honour produced a quarterly zine and promoted a range of bands all committed to Nazi ideology or white supremacist beliefs. The Blood & Honour magazine is still running, with issues available on a monthly subscription and featuring information about the “White Rock n Roll Resistance Movement… Cede Nullis!” (8). They also organized concerts, providing a space for those with similar tastes in politics, as well as music, to meet and gather. This model of promotion and socializing continued into other countries, and developed into an international network through which many neo-Nazis are able to communicate about their ideology. As there is no official membership for Blood & Honour, they tend to function more as an informal communications structure, rather than an organized political force. This is partly why association with Bloody & Honour often coincides with membership of one or more other neo-Nazi or fascist organizations, which may be more focused on political actions.
Blood & Honour have also organized other events, such as a rally held in 2016 in Cambridgeshire, England, to commemorate the death of Ian Stuart Donaldson, which was attended by 350 people.Ahead of the event, a temporary event notice was obtained for a ‘private party with music’ and police said that they had been informed the event was in aid of the veterans charity, Help for Heroes (9). In December 2022, a family from Essex in England stood trial for accusations of conspiring to inspire hate through the distribution of sound recordings; Robert Talland, 56, is an alleged neo-Nazi music producer. His daughter, Rosie Talland, 30, and his son Stephen Talland, 33, also stood trial with him. Stephen and Rosie are accused of being members of a band named Embers of an Empire associated with Blood & Honour, while Robert is also accused of possessing the songs “Flame of the gods” by Mistreat and “Decade of defiance” by Squadron which are allegedly threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to stir up racial hatred (10). This case draws attention to not only the fact that Blood & Honour are still a functioning network, but also to the importance of music and other media in the dissemination of their ideology.
Relations & Alliances
It is difficult to identify all the specific relationships and alliances held by Blood & Honour, firstly because they lack an official membership system, and secondly because there is so much crossover between associates of Blood & Honour and other white supremacist groups. However, it is very clear that Blood & Honour is entwined with the more explicitly violent Combat 18 group, as well as being linked to individual right-wing terrorists such as Neil Lewington and Martyn Gilleard(3). The group’s origins within the membership of the Britain fascist group National Front mean it also has crossover with members from this organization.
In America, Blood & Honour have been seen to join forces with the National Alliance, (2) which is an explicitly genocidal white supremacist organization calling for the eradication of Jews and other races, describing them as a “temporary unpleasantness”(11). Additional alliances of the American Blood & Honour division have included assisting the Imperial Klans of America (IKA) to coordinate their 2006 Nordic Fest. This was a white power festival held on land owned by the IKA in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, in the United States. There has been decreased attendance at these events since around 2007, though it is unclear if this is due to a brawl caused by an internal disagreement, or an outstanding lawsuit filed against the IKA by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an American legal advocacy organization known for its lawsuits against white supremacist groups (2).
Works Cited (Chicago-style)
‘Hate on Display: Blood & Honour’, ADL. Accessed 25 May 2023. https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/blood-honour
‘Blood & Honour.’ Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed 25 May 2023. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/blood-honour
Meleagrou-Hitchens, Alexanda; Standing, Edmund. ‘Blood & Honour: Britain’s Far-Right Militants’. The Centre for Social Cohesion. 2010. Accessed 25 May 2023. https://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BLOOD-AND-HNOUR.pdf
Whelan, Brian. ‘Ian Stuart Donaldson and a legacy of hate’. Channel 4. 2013. Accessed 27 May 2023. https://www.channel4.com/news/ian-stuart-donaldson-a-legacy-of-hate
Homepage. Blood & Honour Worldwide website. Accessed 27 May 2023. https://www.bloodandhonourworldwide.co.uk/bhww/
‘Far-right logos & symbols’. Birmingham City Council. Accessed 27 May 2023. Far Right Logos & Symbolshttps://www.birmingham.gov.uk › downloads › fa…
‘Founding Statement’. Blood & Honour Worldwide website. Accessed 27 May 2023. https://www.bloodandhonourworldwide.co.uk/bhww/b-h-history/b-h-founding-statement/
Blood & Honour Magazine, current issue. Blood & Honour Worldwide website. Accessed 17 June 2023. https://www.bloodandhonourworldwide.co.uk/bhww/b-h-magazine/current/
Chidzoy, Sally. ‘Cambridgeshire neo-Nazi rally allowed as 'charity' event’. BBC. 2016. Accessed 17 June 2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-37575508
Kirk, Tristan. ‘Essex family accused of spreading race hate through ‘Neo-Nazi music network’. 2022. Accessed 17 June 2023. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/talland-family-neo-nazi-music-blood-and-honour-rampage-ian-donaldson-embers-empire-b1044388.html
‘National Alliance’. Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed 17 June 2023. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/national-alliance
Additional Resources