Grandmaster Ray

January’s Searchlight has an article by Simon Cressy about divisions within the English Defence League, noting conflict between “moderate” members and those who are “prepared to accept members of Nazi groups as long as they behave themselves”. The report also mentions a spat between Chris Renton (who was blogged by me here) and a certain Jerrry “Wurzel” Watson:

This led Watson to side with Paul Ray, the increasingly flaky self-styled “spiritual leader” of the EDL. Ray has formed his own St George’s Division of the EDL and has titled himself “Grandmaster Ray”, despite being disowned by the offical EDL.

The official EDL website carries an anathema against the St George Division:

It has been brought to our attention that various groups have been popping up across the internet, including various social networking sites and are using the names “EDL” or “English Defence League”. We believe that these groups are planning to hold false demonstrations in our name. Some of these groups are genuine, but some are also hoax groups, such as “EDL: St George Division”. We would recommend that any EDL members leave the hoax group “EDL: St George Division” immediately to limit confusion.

However, as I have blogged previously, Ray does have one close associate in Nick Greger, a German former neo-Nazi who now has an Tanzanian wife and links withh Northern Ireland loyalists. Here’s Greger modelling the “Grandmaster Ray” t-shirt:

Greger also maintains a YouTube channel, where on one video he describes himself as a “former neo-nazi-leader, convicted terrorist, militaman, artist, book writer and preacher”. The video is rather disturbing, featuring footage of buildings being fire-bombed and of Greger posing with guns and loyalists – juxtaposed, rather unexpectedly, with a call to free the former Liberian leader Charles Taylor (Taylor is currently on trial for war crimes, but to supporters he was a Christian president who battled Muslims). Greger also uses the comments feature on YouTube to have frank exchanges with critics:

would like to meet you to smash your face cause you got a big moth.find me on facebook and we make appointment for fight you lil PLO-loving irish wanker,or are you even muslim?

…if you would have watched the whole movie then you would know that im not a nazi at all you small brained low educated PLO-loving irish catholic wankers.and you so-called ALIANDTHETALIBAN let me tell you i would not even waste a bullet for your fucking muslim headt,i would just hack you with a machete if i should ever get my hands on you

17 Responses

  1. Painful, painful daft racist stuff. How do these people get to that ideology?

  2. Yes, Greger is clearly a reformed character and a good Christian, on the evidence of his comment. Wonder what he “preaches”?

  3. Can I ask you to correct the reference to “Dave Renton” in your second line? You mean “Chris Renton”. Dave is an anti-Nazi activist in London. I was happy to find by Googling his website that he hasn’t had a sudden disastrous change in philosophy.

  4. Hope he can shoot better than he spells.

  5. Good to know Herr Greger “is not a nazi at all” reserving his hatred for Catholics and Muslims is, I suppose a far more ‘Christian’ approach!

  6. This is the half-wit who appeared on Donal Mcintyres documentary about the drug dealing scumbag johnny adair. Still the same. Full of it.

  7. Painful, painful daft racist stuff. How do these people get to that ideology?

    Some get paid, look into “Operation Gladio,” that was part of Europe for decades and is still rumored to be around.

  8. Postings like this add fuel to these groups because they present a skewed and distorted portrait of what is actually going on.

    Why should an EDL even exist?

    What are the reasons for its establishment and growth?

    What conditions -economic, social, political – are responsable for its robust support?

    When you attempt to portray the EDL as nothing more that a vulgar racist reaction to few current social problemes, you’re sadly mistaken and edging towards dangerous territory.

    Look at what’s happening in Holland. Utterly unable to deal with the country’s growing ‘integration’ dificulties, the Dutch elites have decided to prosecute a popular politican who DOES discuss these issues. But by the very act of doing so, Holland’s elites will inadvertently deligitimise not just themselves, but the entire political edifice.

    If the only answer to this growing crisis on the part of mainstream, fear-fuelled politicians is crass censorship via abusive and oppressive “lawfare” (or endless blog postings about a handful of irrelevant loonies), then the gloves will really come off and the Far Right’s growth will be exponential.

    How stupid do they think people are?

  9. June,

    Why do Islamists exist? What are the reasons for their establishment and growth? What conditions are responsible for their support? When you try to portray militant Islamism as nothing more than a vulgar theocratic movement in response to a few features of western society, you’re sadly mistaken and edging towards dangerous territory.

  10. Why do Islamists exist?

    Because they follow the basic precetps of Islam

    What are the reasons for their establishment and growth?

    Petrol dollars, corrupt Western politicians, indifferent leftists and misguided, misinformed academics

    What conditions are responsible for their support?

    See response above.

    When you try to portray militant Islamism as nothing more than a vulgar theocratic movement in response to a few features of western society, you’re sadly mistaken and edging towards dangerous territory.

    I,ve never portrayed militant Islamism as a response to a few features of western society, because that,s incorrect.

    Although it IS vulgar.

    Militant “Islamism” is inspired by the hatreds to be found everywhere in Islam’s core texts ( ever read them?)

    It’s been around for 1400 years, has killed tens of millions, destroyed countless artworks, has thrown whole areas of the globe into a theocratic Dark Age, and is inimical to basic human rights and basic human decency

    The folks at EDL can see that, whereas our ( as I mentioned above) CORRUPT politicians cannot or will not.

    Thank-you; June

  11. […] he would conquer through the sign of the Cross; and that’s the main EDL, not Paul Ray’s weird spin-off. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Radio 4 Piece on English Defence LeagueEnglish […]

  12. […] not mentioned by Max anywhere in his post. Ray was the originator of the EDL, although he has since been sidelined, and he has launched a number of bitter attacks on the EDL leadership. She writes that: I have seen […]

  13. […] (1). He styles himself as the EDL’s “spiritual leader” and “Grandmaster“, and he and Greger have just issued an “expulsion” of the EDL’s leaders, […]

  14. […] 14 August 2009: An email arrives in the name of Paul Ray. Ray, as I’ve blogged a number of times, is the self-styled “spiritual leader” of the English Defence League, although he has […]

  15. […] the same time, Ray styled himself as the EDL’s “spiritual leader” and “Grandmaster“. In late 2009, he announced the launch of the “The Ancient Order of Templar […]

  16. […] the founders of the English Defence League in 2009, although he was sidelined soon afterwards and broke away. Ray’s blog fulminates against the current EDL leadership, and against Alan Lake, who has […]

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