10. Henry Williamson penned one of the world’s most-loved children’s books, but the man behind the words was an unrepentant Nazi supporter.
His book Tarka the Otter has been read – and loved – by millions of children the world over ever since it was published in 1928. However, there was a darker side to author and naturalist Henry William Williamson. Throughout the 1930s, he was an enthusiastic admirer of Nazism. This grew out of a 1935 trip to Germany. There, Williamson attended the infamous Nuremberg Rally and was dazzled by the Hitler Youth movement in particular. He returned to his native London convinced that Nazism was the future, and he promptly joined the British Union of Fascists and threw his weight behind the movement’s leader Oswald Mosely.
When war broke out in 1939, Williamson was convinced he would be able to talk Hitler round, if only he could get to Berlin. However, even Mosely, by then his good friend, believed this was futile. Williamson was arrested for suspected treason. However, he was released after just a week in protective custody, with the authorities feeling that, regardless of his pro-fascist leanings, the writer posed no threat to national security. Even after the war, Williamson continued to express his admiration for the orderliness of Nazi Germany while at the same time continuing to write best-selling children’s books.