The parish gossip and the fascist vicar

In the summer of 1940, the sleepy parish of Teigh, barely a smudge on the map of Leicestershire, denounced their vicar as a traitor and a fascist.

The Reverend Henry Stanley Tibbs, who had ministered to his 72-strong flock for 15 years, was sent to prison accused of being a foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Semite who promoted Hitler from the Harvest Festival pulpit.

Their vicar, parishioners said, was a member of the British Union of Fascists, harboured German spies, denounced Churchill and pledged allegiance to the Fuhrer.

The case against Mr Tibbs, just revealed in newly declassified National Archive files, did not look good.

But there was also another side to the story - a tale of small-town grudges, back-biting gossip and anti-fascist fervour.

Read more here.