"Poster, 'No Nazi Front in Leicester', 1974" [NMLH.2025.38.3]

Catalogue Number
NMLH.2025.38.3

Object Name
poster

Title
No Nazi Front in Leicester

Place
Leicester, UK,

People
Imperial Typewriters, National Front, Inter-Racial Solidarity Campaign

Date
1974

Description
Black and white poster with a drawing of a jack boot printed on to it. Text top and bottom reads 'YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THIS SOUND BEFORE You'll hear it again in Leicester on Saturday 24th August - It's the sound of marching fascists - It's a sound that went out of fashion in 1945. Perhaps you remember why. If you do - join the anti-fascist rally. NO NAZI FRONT IN LEICESTER! ANTI-FASCIST RALLY VICTORIA PARK London Road end LEICESTER 2.00PM SATURDAY 24TH AUGUST'.

On 24 August 1974, 6,000 people marched through the streets of Leicester to oppose a 500-person demonstration by the National Front (NF). The NF were in support of "white workers" at Imperial Typewriters, where a 12-week strike of Asian workers had just ended. The dispute had covered equality of promotion, no discrimination in job allocation, better pay, and bonus payments. The NF described the return to work as a "sell out" and opposed the no vicimisation agreement that had been reached. The march was planned to begin at Imperial Typewriters before moving into areas of the city with high migrant populations.

The Inter-Racial Solidarity Campaign (IRSC) brought together other organisations, to mobilise against the National Front, calling for a counter demonstration. The police refused to allow the NF to assemble outside of Imperial Typewriters, or to march through migrant areas. The IRSC counter demonstration was one of the biggest ever seen in the city, with large sections of the trade union and labout movement present alongside the Asian community.

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