The rejection of the merger resulted in a sharp division between Francis Hawkins and Lintorn-Orman and as a result he split the organisation in 1932 and took the bulk of the membership with him into
Oswald Mosley's
British Union of Fascists, the name under which the New Party had been reconstituted. Francis Hawkins had met with both Mosley and Forgan and had been so impressed with their setup that he split the British Fascists to join them. Francis Hawkins was appointed National Defence Force Adjutant upon joining the party, making him deputy head of the group's paramilitary Blackshirts under the command of Eric Hamilton Piercy. He rose quickly through the ranks, holding the posts of Officer in Charge of the London Area and Chief Administrative Officer before being appointed Director-General of Organisation, a post that made him effectively second in command behind Mosley. On 22 June 1935, he replaced Piercy as head of the Blackshirts. In July 1935, he briefly became head of the BUF Women's Section during a period of restructuring for the movement and became the only man to hold that position. As the leading member of the movement after Mosley, it was Francis Hawkins who developed the notion of BUF members wearing a black shirt under an ordinary suit, an important step for the movement to retain its identity following the banning of uniforms in the
Public Order Act 1936. A firm believer in
militarism, Francis Hawkins led the military faction within the BUF that successfully resisted the attempts of the likes of
John Beckett, Bill Risdon and F.M. Box to convert the BUF into a more normal political party. His power was consolidated by his appointment as Director-General in 1936, a newly created post that gave him power both the political and administrative aspects of the BUF. He advocated a membership based on unmarried men, like himself, and argued that they would give the most fanatical devotion to the movement. He gained a reputation as a workaholic at BUF HQ and he was equally noted for his personal loyalty to Mosley, but he also had a strong influence over his leader and was identified by
Special Branch as being responsible, along with
William Joyce, for convincing Mosley to embrace
anti-Semitism. Mosley would later describe him as "a man of outstanding character and ability". He was particularly valued by Mosley for his skill as an organiser and bureaucrat. In 1936, F.M. Box, who had been deputy leader and Francis Hawkins's main rival, left the movement because of the growing influence of the militarists on Mosley. That decision left Francis Hawkins in effective control of the organisation of the BUF. He was thus appointed Director General of Organisation. His power ensured he undertook a reorganisation of the structure of the BUF by setting up training programmes for local election agents and adding a more intellectual party organ
Action alongside the existing and more low-brow
Blackshirt, in an attempt to attract more middle-class party members. His overall control of BUF organisation led to clashes with other leading figures, particularly the party's failure in the
1937 London County Council election, which led to criticism of his methods by William Joyce and John Beckett. A few days after this public clash, Francis Hawkins announced a series of cost-cutting measures at BUF headquarters, including the dismissal of several paid officials, including Joyce and Beckett, who established the
National Socialist League the following month. Francis Hawkins continued to increase his power base with his two main internal rivals removed by spring 1938.
A. K. Chesterton, one of the BUF's younger propagandists, had also resigned and cited Francis Hawkins' increasing role in policy development as a major reason. ==Later life==