I decided to do a TL based around the Harold Wilson coup plot conspiracy. Now, I don't think such a plot would have succeeded if it was actually attempted OTL, but I think with the changes seen in this timeline it would have been a very real possibility.
Thanks for reading, everyone who does. Any comments are appreciated.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 17
The fall of Edward Heath’s Conservative government in October 1973, largely due to the strikes by miners and power workers, was the first of three major occurrences which contributed to the Armed Forces losing confidence in the civilian government. When Heath called a general election as a result of industrial action, many mid-level officers began to ponder if they would one day be required to step in and restore order in the event of a revolution. For now, at least, such talk was the result of lips loosened by gin-and-tonic in the backrooms of officers clubs.
Yet, when Harold Wilson again rose to power with a majority of seven in the resulting general election of November 1973, it only served to infuriate the Armed Forces further. Dozens of senior and junior officers alike were outraged that the Trade Unions – believed to be riddled with communist agents - could orchestrate the fall of any civilian government they liked. Those Army, Navy and Royal Air Force officers were joined in their fury by several serving and retired members of MI-5, which lead to Operation Clockwork Orange, the attempt by MI-5 – with the tactic cooperation of the British Army press office in Northern Ireland – to discredit Wilson, along with several Labour, Liberal and even left-leaning Tory Members of Parliament.
“A History of Britain” - Peter Hennessy –Page 512
The Conservative Party was the victim of a long and bloody leadership election, which soon degenerated to a savage struggle between Margaret Thatcher and William Whitelaw. After witnessing the fall of Ted Heath’s government at the hand of the Unions, those orchestrating Operation Clockwork Orange believed that Thatcher was the only candidate who was “truly alive to the threat of communism.” Both MI-5 and Army Intelligence moved to discredit Whitelaw throughout early 1974, along with several other politicians including Prime Minister Wilson.
Despite the best efforts of MI-5 and Defence Intelligence, Whitelaw won the leadership election, becoming the Leader of the Opposition to Wilson. In the climate of economic depression and with a dramatic increase in IRA-plotted terrorist attacks both in Northern Ireland and on the UK mainland, there was talk of the government forming a national unity coalition.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 56
The election of William Whitelaw as leader of the Conservative Party confirmed – that is, confirmed in their minds - the belief in the Armed Forces and MI-5 that both major parties would be incapable of saving Great Britain from the threat of Communism. They saw Whitelaw as soft and weak, unlike Thatcher. Many officers now believed that nothing would change, no matter who was in power.
“Britain’s Private Armies” – James Bloodworth – Page 129
Witnessing what they thought was the nation sliding towards anarchy at the hands of the left, several former soldiers, led by General Sir Walter Walker, Colonels David Stirling and Robert Butler, and Major Alexander Greenwood, moved to form their own ‘private armies’. Civil Assistance was the name of Walker’s organisation, which had about nine-hundred members by the summer of 1975. Support from within the police allowed its members to gain firearms qualifications with ease, and there were several instances of the Army ‘losing’ crates of SLR assault rifles and Browning pistols.
Another organisation was GB-75, which had a slightly smaller membership pool than Walkers organisation. However, this was because the outfit was formed almost entirely of former servicemen, intelligence officers or police constables, the vast majority of whom were well-versed in military tactics and training. Colonel David Stirling wrote to Conservative Member of Parliament Airey Neave in October 1974, saying that he had formed an organisation of about five hundred “men of such calibre that they would be part of the resistance, should the circumstances require it.” Neave was quick to assist Stirling with weapons and money, often musing that it could be used to maintain order in the event of a general strike.
“A History of Britain” – Peter Hennessy – Page 631
The government was further discredited by the wave of strikes that occurred throughout 1974-1976, and by the surge in IRA-planned terrorist attacks, which killed 219 people in mainland Britain. Bombs detonated in Liverpool in 1974, outside Parliament in 1975, and Trafalgar Square in 1976 were given little attention by the government, and the authorities, in the view of the Military, did far too little in terms of counter-terrorism policies.
This belief was exacerbated by the shooting down of an airliner during its take-off from Heathrow Airport, by an IRA team armed with SA-7 missiles. Although the assailants were hastily tracked and killed by the SAS, the government failed to introduce new counter-terrorism legislation to prevent such atrocities from happening again.
“The Death of a Queen” – John Ashmore – Page 216
The assassination of Queen Elizabeth II, occurring on October 3rd, 1976, bought Britain one step closer to the rule of the gun. When Irish Republican Army terrorists managed to fire a rocket propelled grenade through at the Queen’s carriage as she left Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth and three of her bodyguards were killed.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 172
The third and final incident which served to destroy the Military’s confidence in the government was Queen Elizabeth II’s murder at the hands of the IRA, on October 3rd, 1976. Elizabeth’s death utterly wrecked the belief that the government could hold the country together, and despite the formation of a government of national unity led by Wilson and Whitelaw, several serving general officers, including Admiral Terrence Lewin, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Frank King, Chief of the General Staff, and General Sir Hugh Beach, Commander, Land Forces, gave up hope on the civilian government.
They, amongst other officers and joined by Sir Michael Hanley, the Director-General of MI-5, began plotting to depose Wilson’s government. Hanley had at first disagreed with the plotters, but the death of Queen Elizabeth convinced him that the government could not hold the country together, and that they, for the good of both the nation and the people, had to be deposed.
“A New Revolution” – Tony Blair – Page 325
The military and intelligence service plotters, which included Sir Michael Hanley, Admiral Terrence Lewin, General Frank King, General Hugh Beach, Air Chief Marshal Neil Cameron, and Lieutenant-General David Willison, worked on their plot at a remote country manor house which the five of them rented. Throughout that winter, they worked on their coup d’état, with the conspiracy shifting from an assassination to a full-blown takeover, then back to an assassination and so forth.
In December, MI-5 officer Peter Wright – on the orders of Sir Michael Hanley – approached both Sir Walter Walker and David Stirling, asking for their assistance in the plot. Both agreed, providing that there was no long-term military government. As the plot was formalised and the units to be used decided upon, the conspirators agreed that they would approach Lord Louis Mountbatten and ask him to lead the interim government following the coup. Mountbatten, when approached by Lewin and Hanley, agreed to lead the interim government. Although he was unsure about whether this was the correct choice, Mountbatten felt that the government was losing control of the situation, and that their failure to curb the IRA had been responsible for Queen Elizabeth’s death earlier that year.
By February, the plotters had formulated a plan which involved both GB-75 and elements of the Army…
Thanks for reading, everyone who does. Any comments are appreciated.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 17
The fall of Edward Heath’s Conservative government in October 1973, largely due to the strikes by miners and power workers, was the first of three major occurrences which contributed to the Armed Forces losing confidence in the civilian government. When Heath called a general election as a result of industrial action, many mid-level officers began to ponder if they would one day be required to step in and restore order in the event of a revolution. For now, at least, such talk was the result of lips loosened by gin-and-tonic in the backrooms of officers clubs.
Yet, when Harold Wilson again rose to power with a majority of seven in the resulting general election of November 1973, it only served to infuriate the Armed Forces further. Dozens of senior and junior officers alike were outraged that the Trade Unions – believed to be riddled with communist agents - could orchestrate the fall of any civilian government they liked. Those Army, Navy and Royal Air Force officers were joined in their fury by several serving and retired members of MI-5, which lead to Operation Clockwork Orange, the attempt by MI-5 – with the tactic cooperation of the British Army press office in Northern Ireland – to discredit Wilson, along with several Labour, Liberal and even left-leaning Tory Members of Parliament.
“A History of Britain” - Peter Hennessy –Page 512
The Conservative Party was the victim of a long and bloody leadership election, which soon degenerated to a savage struggle between Margaret Thatcher and William Whitelaw. After witnessing the fall of Ted Heath’s government at the hand of the Unions, those orchestrating Operation Clockwork Orange believed that Thatcher was the only candidate who was “truly alive to the threat of communism.” Both MI-5 and Army Intelligence moved to discredit Whitelaw throughout early 1974, along with several other politicians including Prime Minister Wilson.
Despite the best efforts of MI-5 and Defence Intelligence, Whitelaw won the leadership election, becoming the Leader of the Opposition to Wilson. In the climate of economic depression and with a dramatic increase in IRA-plotted terrorist attacks both in Northern Ireland and on the UK mainland, there was talk of the government forming a national unity coalition.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 56
The election of William Whitelaw as leader of the Conservative Party confirmed – that is, confirmed in their minds - the belief in the Armed Forces and MI-5 that both major parties would be incapable of saving Great Britain from the threat of Communism. They saw Whitelaw as soft and weak, unlike Thatcher. Many officers now believed that nothing would change, no matter who was in power.
“Britain’s Private Armies” – James Bloodworth – Page 129
Witnessing what they thought was the nation sliding towards anarchy at the hands of the left, several former soldiers, led by General Sir Walter Walker, Colonels David Stirling and Robert Butler, and Major Alexander Greenwood, moved to form their own ‘private armies’. Civil Assistance was the name of Walker’s organisation, which had about nine-hundred members by the summer of 1975. Support from within the police allowed its members to gain firearms qualifications with ease, and there were several instances of the Army ‘losing’ crates of SLR assault rifles and Browning pistols.
Another organisation was GB-75, which had a slightly smaller membership pool than Walkers organisation. However, this was because the outfit was formed almost entirely of former servicemen, intelligence officers or police constables, the vast majority of whom were well-versed in military tactics and training. Colonel David Stirling wrote to Conservative Member of Parliament Airey Neave in October 1974, saying that he had formed an organisation of about five hundred “men of such calibre that they would be part of the resistance, should the circumstances require it.” Neave was quick to assist Stirling with weapons and money, often musing that it could be used to maintain order in the event of a general strike.
“A History of Britain” – Peter Hennessy – Page 631
The government was further discredited by the wave of strikes that occurred throughout 1974-1976, and by the surge in IRA-planned terrorist attacks, which killed 219 people in mainland Britain. Bombs detonated in Liverpool in 1974, outside Parliament in 1975, and Trafalgar Square in 1976 were given little attention by the government, and the authorities, in the view of the Military, did far too little in terms of counter-terrorism policies.
This belief was exacerbated by the shooting down of an airliner during its take-off from Heathrow Airport, by an IRA team armed with SA-7 missiles. Although the assailants were hastily tracked and killed by the SAS, the government failed to introduce new counter-terrorism legislation to prevent such atrocities from happening again.
“The Death of a Queen” – John Ashmore – Page 216
The assassination of Queen Elizabeth II, occurring on October 3rd, 1976, bought Britain one step closer to the rule of the gun. When Irish Republican Army terrorists managed to fire a rocket propelled grenade through at the Queen’s carriage as she left Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth and three of her bodyguards were killed.
“A Very British Coup” – Chris Mullin – Page 172
The third and final incident which served to destroy the Military’s confidence in the government was Queen Elizabeth II’s murder at the hands of the IRA, on October 3rd, 1976. Elizabeth’s death utterly wrecked the belief that the government could hold the country together, and despite the formation of a government of national unity led by Wilson and Whitelaw, several serving general officers, including Admiral Terrence Lewin, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Frank King, Chief of the General Staff, and General Sir Hugh Beach, Commander, Land Forces, gave up hope on the civilian government.
They, amongst other officers and joined by Sir Michael Hanley, the Director-General of MI-5, began plotting to depose Wilson’s government. Hanley had at first disagreed with the plotters, but the death of Queen Elizabeth convinced him that the government could not hold the country together, and that they, for the good of both the nation and the people, had to be deposed.
“A New Revolution” – Tony Blair – Page 325
The military and intelligence service plotters, which included Sir Michael Hanley, Admiral Terrence Lewin, General Frank King, General Hugh Beach, Air Chief Marshal Neil Cameron, and Lieutenant-General David Willison, worked on their plot at a remote country manor house which the five of them rented. Throughout that winter, they worked on their coup d’état, with the conspiracy shifting from an assassination to a full-blown takeover, then back to an assassination and so forth.
In December, MI-5 officer Peter Wright – on the orders of Sir Michael Hanley – approached both Sir Walter Walker and David Stirling, asking for their assistance in the plot. Both agreed, providing that there was no long-term military government. As the plot was formalised and the units to be used decided upon, the conspirators agreed that they would approach Lord Louis Mountbatten and ask him to lead the interim government following the coup. Mountbatten, when approached by Lewin and Hanley, agreed to lead the interim government. Although he was unsure about whether this was the correct choice, Mountbatten felt that the government was losing control of the situation, and that their failure to curb the IRA had been responsible for Queen Elizabeth’s death earlier that year.
By February, the plotters had formulated a plan which involved both GB-75 and elements of the Army…
