Veteran MPs and Conservative Politics in the Aftermath of the Great War: The Memory of All That

245 Pages·2013·1.78 MB·English

by  Richard Carr

Veteran MPs and ConserVatiVe PolitiCs
in the afterMath of the Great War
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Veteran MPs and Conservative
Politics in the aftermath of
the Great War
the Memory of all that
riChard Carr
Anglia Ruskin University, UK
© richard Carr 2013
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
richard Carr has asserted his right under the Copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing Company
Wey Court east 110 Cherry street
Union road suite 3-1
farnham Burlington, Vt 05401-3818
surrey, GU9 7Pt Usa
england
www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British library.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Carr, richard, 1985-
Veteran MPs and Conservative politics in the aftermath of the Great War : the memory of
all that / by richard Carr.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn 978-1-4094-4103-8 (hardcover) -- isBn 978-1-4094-4104-5 (ebook) 1.
Conservative Party (Great Britain)--history--20th century. 2. legislators--Great
Britain--History--20th century. 3. World War, 1914-1918--Great Britain--Influence.
4. Great Britain--Politics and government--1910-1936. 5. Great Britain--Politics and
government--1936-1945. i. title.
da578.C34 2013
328.41'07209041--dc23
2012033536
isBn 9781409441038 (hbk)
isBn 9781409441045 (ebk – Pdf)
isBn 9781409465010 (ebk – ePUB)
V
Printed and bound in Great Britain by the
MPG Books Group, UK.
Contents
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 The Meaning of Conflict 13
2 Reaching Westminster 43
3 The Impact of Baldwin and
the Search for Dynamism, c.1918–1929 71
4 Logical Tories? Reflecting on Mosley and
the Democratic Process, c.1929–1935 107
5 Dictatorship, Empire and Foreign Policy 135
6 A Second War and Debates Over Reform 171
Conclusion 191
Appendix 199
Bibliography 215
Index 231
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List of Tables
1.1 Great War death rate amongst seven public schools 20
2.1 Great War veterans elected in British general elections,
1918–1935 50
2.2 The above expressed as percentages of
the total parliamentary party 50
2.3 Number of Military Crosses, DSOs, Victoria Crosses and
French Croix de Guerres in Parliament 51
2.4 MPs elected in British general elections having seen service
on the Western Front 53
5.1 Percentage of MPs who back the government on foreign policy 164
5.2 Percentage of parliamentary ex-servicemen who
oppose – vote against or abstain – their party line 166
5.3 Percentage of national ex-servicemen support for foreign policy 167
Appendix
A.1 Conservative Great War veterans elected between
1918 and 1939 200
A.2 Control sample of non-veteran Tory politicians
born 1875–1900 210
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Acknowledgements
The initial research for this project began in the autumn of 2006 and thus the
author has incurred numerous debts along the way to publication.
The University of East Anglia and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
have provided funding without which this book would not have been possible.
It would be remiss not to acknowledge the many faculty members at UEA who
have provided kind assistance during my doctoral and postdoctoral work. Dr Larry
Butler, Dr Steve Cherry, Dr Malcolm Gaskill, Dr Geoff Hicks and Dr Thomas
Otte all helped in various ways. Professor John Charmley supervised the doctorate
from which this work emerged, and particular thanks are due to him. Students
who received my undergraduate supervision may recognise some of the opinions
expressed here, and my thanks to them for helping shape my views.
Churchill College, Cambridge, generously hosted me during a By-Fellowship,
and Allen Packwood, Andrew Riley and the entire staff at the Archives Centre have
been unfailing in helping with any request. The Master of that College, Sir David
Wallace, was extremely helpful in the co-ordination of a conference that helped
me rethink some of the views expressed here. Dr Jon Lawrence’s supervision of
my MPhil dissertation at Cambridge also played an important role in the early
stages of this work, particularly with the chapters dealing with electioneering and
Ireland.
Dr Adrian Gregory and Professor John Greenaway improved my analysis by
suggesting further avenues for exploration during my doctoral viva. Dr Bradley
Hart has read a few iterations of this work, and helpfully discussed them over
a Naz or three. Anonymous reviewers of both this and previous publications
have no doubt helped argue me out of some blind alleys. Ashgate have been very
accommodating throughout and any errors here, of course, remain my own. John
Colfox also very kindly shared memories of his father to the author.
Finally, I must thank the two people to whom I owe the most. My mother has
always provided a level of love and support to which no son could ask more, and
I am immensely grateful for that. Lastly, Sarah Barnes has been and remains a
constant source of joy in every single way. Her love makes it all worthwhile.