Right-wing activists cash in on the KOSB

| Thursday, 18 September 2008 Source: Southern Reporter

BORDER army veterans will be shocked this week to learn that copies of a CD featuring the regimental pipes and drums of the King's Own Scottish Borderers are being sold to raise money for the right-wing British National Party.

An investigation by TheSouthern discovered the CD – entitled The Bluebells of Scotland – for sale on the website of the BNP's merchandising arm, called Excalibur, which sells items to raise funds for the party.

As well as CDs, Excalibur sells a large catalogue of white supremacist literature, as well as everything from Union Jack bedspreads and Enoch Powell T-shirts to the replica Victoria Crosses that recently caused so much furore.

Regarding the CDs, the Excalibur website boasts: "In keeping with our purpose of encouraging and promoting British culture, Excalibur is today proud to announce the launch of a new range of music CDs. They have all been specially chosen to reflect the richness of European British culture." And it also goes on to state: "Excalibur is the merchandising arm of the British National Party. Our aim is to promote the survival of the British people by providing educational material and culturally-valuable items which will reinforce our claim to freedom and independence on our island."

The pipes and drums of the KOSB – now merged into the Royal Scots Borderers battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland – are also referred to by Excalibur as the 'Scottish Borders Military Band'.

Brigadier Allan Alstead, a former commanding officer of the KOSB and a regimental trustee, was disturbed to hear of the link with the BNP.

He told TheSouthern: "I have a copy of The Bluebells of Scotland which I have had for many years and which I like very much, but how copies got into the hands of Excalibur I have no idea.

"Personally I would not wish to see the record being sold to aid the BNP. Certainly we would never regimentally ever sell records or anything else for that matter in aid of any political party.

"All money we generate is for charitable purposes and used to provide help for those in need.In this we work with SSAFA and the Army Benevolent Fund.

“I think you would need to ask the KOSB headquarters at Berwick to confirm the status of the recording and for their views on Excalibur and how the company got copies of the record – probably from the distributor or manufacturer.”

Colonel Colin Hogg, of the official KOSB museum and barracks at Berwick, says the original recording of The Bluebells of Scotland by the KOSB was produced in 1978.

“I don’t know where the BNP got their copies from, or how it came to be in its present format, but obviously we would certainly not be selling them on to any political party for fund-raising purposes,” he added.

And there was outrage from South of Scotland SNP MSP Christine Grahame, who blasted: “My own father served with the KOSB during the Second World War, fighting the type of fascist ideology that the BNP promotes and condones.

“The type of hate and fear politics promoted by the BNP is not only at odds with what the KOSB represented and fought for, but will be regarded as utterly abhorrent to the majority of Borderers.

“It is not the first, nor sadly will it be be the last time the BNP misuse and misrepresent respected organisations and institutions for their own ends.”

However, BNP deputy leader Simon Darby says no-one would be complaining if it was a mainstream political party such as the Conservatives, Labour or the Lib Dems which was selling the CD.

“That aside, lots of people like the sound of the bagpipes – I do and I am English,” he told TheSouthern this week. “And it’s often very difficult to get your hands on this kind of music. We have a lot of members in Scotland and a lot of members who are ex-military who will also enjoy pipe band music and that’s why we have it for sale on our website.”

Tunes included on the CD include such famous ones as Scotland the Brave, Highland Laddie, Flower of Scotland, Dark Island and Ho Ro My Nut Brown Maiden.