In Britain, the reaction to the news was mixed. While some of the more excitable newspapers published pessimistic editorials, the main political parties urged restraint in dealing with Germany. In the general climate of inaction the story was soon eclipsed by other events.
Mosley believed that war with Germany could be avoided and that the dictators could be contained by diplomacy and a strong commitment to the defence of the United Kingdom. There was virtually no anti-fascist sentiment from the leadership of the Labour party, but many voices condemning fascism arose from the rank and file. Appeasement was government policy. The Conservative leadership under Neville Chamberlain essentially agreed, though again, notable voices within the party strongly condemned the dictators. Anthony Eden, for instance, resigned as shadow Foreign Secretary in protest at the party’s stance on the issue. The deeply unpopular John Simon of the National Liberals was an ‘arch appeaser’ and it was only the Liberals under Sir Archibald Sinclair that resolutely condemned fascism as party policy.
Sinclair was a member of the League of Nations Union and served on the Executive Committee of the Peace Ballot. His consistent opposition to rearmament made him a darling of the pacifist movement. But both pacifists and militarists failed to understand his position. He was an ardent opponent of arms proliferation but he was certainly not a unilateralist; he believed that disarmament had to be part of the course of international conciliation and the one could not proceed without the other. Cooperative security and disarmament had been important Liberal foreign policy objectives since the end of the First World War; but as the threat of the dictators grew ever stronger and the League of Nations ever feebler, the Liberal Party were compelled to admit the need for rearmament. A change of direction had somehow to be charted and it was Sinclair who persuaded his party that it was a necessity.
Under Labour’s policies, unemployment continued to fall and the stock market continued to rise. In these favourable circumstances it is hardly surprising that in early July Mosley went to Buckingham palace and asked the King to dissolve parliament.
From the start of the 1936 election campaign, there was little doubt as to the eventual result. The vote was presented by the Labour Party as a vote of confidence in their policies of the previous four years. Turnout was down on the previous election and in many constituencies the reorganised Conservatives were able to present a strong challenge to Labour. However, where they tried to focus the debate on the subject of policy, Labour was often able to shift the emphasis to the two leader’s personalities. Here the patrician, schoolmasterly Chamberlain was clearly at a disadvantage to the youthful, dynamic Mosley.
Though the Conservatives did better than the other parties; Mosley’s government was returned with a reduced overall majority of 5 seats. The Liberals also made small gains, while the Liberal Nationals continued their decline. The results were as follows:
Labour: 312 (–5)
Conservative: 259 (+14)
Liberal: 25 (+3)
National Liberal: 11 (–7)
Others: 8 (–4)
Having won a historic second term, the Government oversaw the passage of the gigantic Government of India Act. This was the outcome of a long and often caustic process of negotiation between the British Government, the princely states of India and the Indian politicians. It foreshadowed the elevation of India to Dominion status and laid the groundwork for the formation of a Federal government. It was the longest bill ever passed by Parliament. [60]
Another vitally important innovation at this time was the setting up of a Ministry of Supply to oversee Britain’s re-armament. [61] Led by Herbert Morrison it was a very small Ministry, but its role was significant in facilitating co-operation between the services, the manufacturers and the banks. [62]
The Berlin Olympics were put on in August over the objections of its critics. A British newspaper, the Manchester Guardian, demanded a boycott and strongly objected when Mosley visited Germany during the games to hold talks with Hitler. The talks were a success, but nothing of practical importance was decided. Relations between the two men were business-like but cordial. It seems that each admired the other despite their differences in purpose and outlook. Some have gone so far as to describe the relationship between the two as friendship but this is stretching what we know of them and it is probably more accurate to describe them as ‘being on convivial terms’.
While in Germany Mosley was invited to attend the ceremonial opening of a new section of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, the central European waterway that was soon to link the North and Black seas. It is possible that Mosley saw this extension of Germany’s eastward communications as further proof of Hitler’s commitment to eastward (rather than westward) expansion.
From ‘The Abdication Crisis’ 1982 ‘O’ Level essay by Samantha Cunningham, Bourne Priory School, Leicester
In the autumn of 1936, the entirety of the British Empire became embroiled in a constitutional crisis that was to shake it to its foundations. The new King, Edward VIII, announced his determination to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who had divorced her first husband and was in the process of divorcing a second.
The Prime Minister, Oswald Mosley was quite comfortable with the notion of Edward’s marriage to Mrs. Simpson and made this known in a speech in Parliament on Tuesday 17th November. But he had completely mis-read the mood of the House, the Country and the Empire. There was an immediate storm of protest and he found himself sharply at odds with most of the chamber, including a large section of his own party. The opposition denounced him and Labour’s whips proved unable to contain a back bench revolt. The governments of the Dominions and those of the Commonwealth countries were also implacably against the union.
The grounds of opposition to the King’s proposed marriage were religious, moral, political and legal. Edward, as British monarch, was the nominal head of the Church of England. At the time, divorced people could not remarry in church if their former spouse was still living. Consequently, they held that Edward could not marry Wallis Simpson and expect to retain the crown. Mrs. Simpson was politically and socially unacceptable as a queen consort. She was perceived as shallow, vain and hedonistic; a social climber, compelled by a desire for wealth and prestige rather than by genuine love for Edward.
By 20th November Mosley realised that his support for the King was undermining his position and was therefore a mistake. The government’s majority of 5 seats began to seem fragile as the Conservatives used the issue to damage their credibility. Shaken, Mosley saw only three options:
1. The couple could enter a morganatic marriage (one where Edward’s titles and privileges would not accrue to Wallis or any children they might have). In this case Wallis would not become queen but would be given a courtesy title.
2. Edward and Wallis could remain unmarried. In this case Edward would remain King but he and Wallis would presumably continue their affair.
3. Edward could abdicate.
In considering the first two, Mosley realised that their outcomes were dangerously unpredictable, particularly the first. The second, relied on co-operation from the press, which might be forthcoming but was far from being guaranteed. Most of his ministers strongly felt that option one was a non-starter. It was constitutionally dangerous and would undermine the government. It was now obvious that Edward could marry Wallis Simpson or remain on the throne, but not both.
Mosley met with Edward again on Sunday 22nd November. The King was not willing to give Mrs. Simpson up and also not willing to do anything other than marry her. As far as Mosley was concerned it was now a question of him or Edward. He informed the King that he had grave misgivings over both the idea of a morganatic marriage and the idea of him not marrying Wallis.
There was no way out for Edward other than to give up the throne. There was too much opposition to the marriage in the country and the Empire for it to precipitate anything other than a disaster. He signed the instrument of abdication at Fort B
elvedere on 10th December 1936. His brothers, The Duke of York, The Duke of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent were all there to witness it. The following day, his final act as King was to give the royal assent to the instrument of abdication. In the evening, he made a broadcast to the nation and the Empire, giving the reasons for his decision. During this broadcast he uttered the famous words, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”
The Labour government breathed a collective sigh of relief. But the Abdication Crisis was an important milestone in the story of its decline.
CHAPTER 12: TUESDAY 25TH JANUARY 1938
“Please state your name and occupation for the record.”
“Me name’s Sergeant George Morris of the Wiltshire Constabulary.”
“Sergeant Morris, please describe the events of the night of Saturday the third of July last.”
“I was the sergeant on duty at Chippenham police station when we received a telephone call at about one o’clock on the Saturday morning.”
“Who was the call from?”
“It was from Tytherton ‘ouse, Lord Ormford’s residence.”
“What was the nature of the call?”
“One of the servants, a man, ‘ad telephoned to inform us that two people ‘ad been shot at the ‘ouse.”
“Did he say who they were?”
“No he didn’t, ‘e seemed quite distraught.”
“What happened then?”
“Constable Giles and myself took the car to Tytherton ‘ouse to investigate.”
“Why did you go yourself? Why not just send two constables?”
“Well sir, it’s not every day two people get shot at the Tytherton manor, I thought I ‘ad better go meself. When we got there, the place was in uproar, all the lights seemed to be on and people were milling around in their night attire.”
“Why were there so many people there?”
“Lord Ormford was entertaining guests; there were about twenty guests as well as eleven servants and the members of Lord Ormford’s family.”
“What did you do then?”
“As soon as we arrived, Lord Ormford informed me that we had to restrain Senor Alvares. ‘e led us to ‘im. Senor Alvares was on the first floor landing, three men ‘ad him pinned on the carpet but ‘e was struggling like a goodun an’ shouting in Spanish. A woman was holding his face in her ‘ands...”
“Was this Senora Alvares?”
“... yes it was, she was a weeping ‘ysterically and speaking to Senor Alvares, but whatever she was saying just seemed to make him more and more angry. When we got Senor Alvares to his feet she tried to throw ‘er arms around his neck but he made to strike ‘er and so we had to wrestle ‘im to the ground again. At this point Lady Ormford ordered one of the servants to restrain Senora Alvares and then she slapped ‘er face quite ‘ard. Senora Alvares fell to the ground, she was still weeping, and the servant picks her up bodily and carries ‘er out. Constable Giles ‘andcuffed Senor Alvares and led ‘im to the car, though ‘e needed some ‘elp to do it, as Senor Alvares continued to struggle.”
“What did you do then?”
“I ask Lord Ormford what ‘ad ‘appened and ‘e says that a shotgun gone off while it was being cleaned. I ask ‘im ‘ow many times it gone off and ‘e looked a bit sheepish and said ‘Twice I think.’ which struck me as an odd response.”
“Did you ask why a shotgun was being cleaned in the middle of the night?”
“I din’t, no. I thought to ask, but it seemed a bit impertinent.”
“I see. What did you do next?”
“I ask Lord Ormford to take me to the injured parties.”
“What did he do?”
“Well, ‘e seemed very agitated and displayed considerable reluctance to do as I asked him.”
“What did he say to you?”
“ ‘e said that I needn’t concern myself and that ‘e would deal with the matter. I replied that I would have to make a report and ‘e said; ‘We really can’t let ourselves get bogged down in all this red tape can we Sergeant?’ I said that it wasn’t a matter of red tape but a matter of my duty and I asked him again to see the injured parties, but at this point the doctor arrived.”
“This was Doctor Greene.”
“Yeah, Dr Greene from the village, ‘e was led into one of the bedrooms so I followed him. I ‘ad to be a bit sharpish like as I got the distinct impression Lord Ormford would have been happier if I didn’t.”
“What did you see in the bedroom?”
“Well I saw the Prime Minister – which was a bit of a shock! ‘e was in a dressing gown lying in bed but ‘e looked very pale, ‘e ‘ad an injury in his right arm, just below the shoulder, it had been bandaged and there was quite a bit of blood on the bedclothes. I was quite surprised I can tell you...”
“I dare say you were. Who else was there?”
“The Prime Minister’s bodyguard was standin’ by the bed. As soon as I come in he walks over and introduces ‘imself, Detective Sergeant Benson was ‘is name.”
“What did Detective Sergeant Benson say?”
“Benson said that there had been an accident and that the Prime Minister and a servant ‘ad been shot but he would deal with it. I said that I would ‘ave to make a report and ‘e said that I would need to submit it to his office for verification before it could be filed.”
“Is such a request unusual?”
“Unusual? It’s ‘unheard of, it’s totally contrary to procedure and I said so.”
“What did he say to that?”
“‘e said there was extenuatin’ circumstances and that I needed to be discreet, ‘e says the investigation would need to be conducted by an ‘igher authority than the Wiltshire Constabulary an’ the Prime Minister’s wound wasn’t life-threatening so I says’ ‘Well what about the other one then?’ and ‘e says that she’s unconscious but ‘e’s sure that she’ll be fine. So I asks him where the gun is and he says not to worry ‘e ‘as it in safe keeping. I ask what kind of gun it was and ‘e says it’s a pistol.”
“But didn’t Lord Ormford describe it as a shotgun?”
“Yes ‘e did.”
“What did you make of all this Sergeant Morris?”
“Well I tell you sir, I’ve been a copper – man and boy – for nigh on thirty years and I know when I’m being given the run–around so I said I needed to see the other person.”
“Now this was Nora Smyth?”
“Yes sir, Nora Smyth, God rest her soul, she was a chambermaid at the ‘ouse.”
“And did you get to see her?”
“Yes I did sir, the doctor, who had been examining the Prime Minister’s injuries, was just finishing up with him and was also asking to see the other injured person so when they led him away I followed.”
“Where did they take you?”
“They took us to the servant’s quarters in the attic, to Mrs Smythe’s room.”
“Now Sergeant, where in the house was Mrs Smythe’s room in relation to the Prime Minister’s bedroom?”
“It was directly above it sir. Nora Smyth was lying in her bed, it was obvious to me that she was dead the minute I laid eyes on her. She’d been shot through the ‘eart, lot of blood, the doctor examined her then said that there was nothin’ he could do and so we went back downstairs.”
“Were you able to examine the room?”
“No sir I wasn’t, Lord Ormford insisted that we leave immediately, I informed Lord Ormford that I would have to investigate and he said that as there was nothing more that could be done and as his guests needed their sleep it could wait till morning. I insisted that he seal the room so as not to disturb the evidence and he said that he would see to it.
“Were you surprised at Lord Ormford’s attitude?”
“Surprised? I was appalled, but, well, he is a Lord...”
“Did you do as he asked?”
“Yes I did sir, it’s not my place to be contradicting a peer of the realm and there didn’t seem to be anything else to do. So I returned to the car.”
“What was Senor Alvares condition at this time?”
“ ‘e had settled down and was a lot calmer. As we drove back to the station ‘e begun weeping and carrying on, he was the worse for drink. I ‘adn’t noticed before but in the confines of the car the smell was quite strong. He kept muttering a phrase in Spanish over and over again.”
“What was that phrase Sergeant?”
“La puta.”
“And do you happen to know what that means Sergeant?”
“Yes sir I looked it up, it means ‘whore’.”
“Did you return to Tytherton House the next day?”
“Yes sir I did, I got there at nine o’clock in the morning.”
“And were you able to investigate the shootings?”
“No sir I was not.”
“Why was that Sergeant?”
“I was met at the door by a Chief Superintendent Mitchell who said he was from Scotland Yard. ‘e informed me that he was taking over the case personally, that I’d done a good job and that ‘e would see to it that ‘e mention it to my superiors.”
“And what did you say to that Sergeant Morris?”
“I said I ‘adn’t done any sort of a job, I ‘adn’t been allowed. But ‘e just smiled at me.”
“What happened to Senor Alvarez, were you able to question him?”
“When I got back to the station Senor Alvarez had been transferred.”
“On whose authority?”
“Chief Superintendent Mitchell’s…”
CHAPTER 13: THE ALVAREZ AFFAIR
“I knew that woman was trouble from the minute I laid eyes on her.” Violet Attlee, speaking of Consuela Alvarez. [63]
The Peace of Amiens Page 12
