'Peaky Blinders' season 5: Was Sir Oswald Mosley assassinated in real life?
If you've been religiously following the fifth season of 'Peaky Blinders', you'll know that a war is coming! The fifth episode ended on a brutal note with a master assassination plot brewing for British politician Oswald Mosley (Sam Claflin). Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) seems to have imagined a cruel end for the fascist leader, but only time will tell whether it actually pans out as planned.
Until then, it is time to revisit the past and turn a few history pages to find out how the real Mosley saw his end. The politician rose to fame in the 1920s as a Member of Parliament and later in the 1930s became the leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). By 1924, he was increasingly attracted to the Labour Party and joined it in March.
"When the new decade begins, there will be the birth of a new political party."#PeakyBlinders Series 5 concludes on Sunday at 9pm on @bbcone. Watch the series so far on @bbciplayer: https://t.co/GBT4N6EhRv pic.twitter.com/YxWcEsiGR0
— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) September 18, 2019
Once considered a potential Labour Prime Minister, he resigned due to discord with the Government's unemployment policies. He then founded the New Party which was named the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932. However, in 1940, he was imprisoned and the BUF was banned. Released only after three years, he moved to Paris, France in 1951 but his political beliefs were highly condemned and criticized. He stood for Parliament twice in the post-war era, garnering very little support.
Isn't it clear now that the real Sir Oswald Mosley was not assassinated early in his fascist political career? Mosley retired and moved to France where he wrote his autobiography 'My Life' in 1968. He was suffering from Parkinson's disease in 1977 and lost his life to his poor health on December 3, 1980, at Orsay.
His body was cremated in a ceremony held at the Père Lachaise Cemetery, and his ashes were scattered on the pond at Orsay. His son Alexander stated that they had received many messages of condolences but no abusive words.
The countdown has begun. The season finale of #PeakyBlinders Series 5 is on Sunday at 9pm on @bbcone. Catch up on the series so far with @bbciplayer: https://t.co/GBT4N6EhRv pic.twitter.com/wIoCghVtCx
— Peaky Blinders (@ThePeakyBlinder) September 19, 2019
The real politician was not assassinated and going by the summary of the season finale, it seems like Tommy's plans will be overpowered by someone else. "News of Tommy’s activities have reached Winston Churchill (Neil Maskell). At a family meeting, Tommy lays out his plans for Mosley, which will take place at a rally Sir Oswald is leading. Tommy is surprised by another strategy, coming from an unexpected corner," the synopsis reads.
As the final episode of season 5 premieres on BBC One on Sunday, September 22, it is to be seen how the cold war between Thomas Shelby and Oswald Mosley culminates.