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3 THE AIR MINISTRY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2022

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Extract

Strachey writes to Londonderry on nationalization and Lloyd George.

Thanks for your letter. It was most interesting. I should like to lunch with you next Wednesday very much. You don't say what time so I shall presume 1.30 p.m. as zero, unless you write to the contrary.

Type
Primary source material
Information
Royal Historical Society Camden Fifth Series , Volume 63: ARISTOCRACY, DEMOCRACY, AND DICTATORSHIP , July 2022 , pp. 141 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Historical Society

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References

1 John St Loe Strachey (1860–1927), journalist and prop. of The Spectator.

2 Spectator, 24 May 1919, pp. 652–654.

3 Rufus Daniel Isaacs (1860–1935), Lib. MP Reading 1904–1913; Solicitor Gen. 1910; Attorney Gen. 1910–1913; Viceroy of India 1921–1926; For. Sec. 1931; kt. 1910, cr. Baron Reading 1914, Viscount Reading 1916, Earl of Reading 1917, Marquess of Reading 1926.

4 Hugh Montague Trenchard (1873–1956), Chief of Air Staff 1919–1929; 1st Marshal of the RAF 1927; Comm. of Metropolitan Police 1931–1935; chair. United Africa Co. 1936–1953; kt. 1918, cr. Bart. 1919, Baron Trenchard 1930, Viscount 1936.

5 George Barstow (1874–1966), Controller of Supply Services to Treasury, 1919–1927; kt. 1920.

6 William Archdale Bland (1862–1934), Dep. Sec. and Accounting Officer, Air Ministry 1921–1923.

7 John Edward Bernard Seely (1868–1947), soldier and politician; MP Isle of Wight 1900–1906 (Con. to 1904 then Lib.), Lib. MP Abercromby 1906–1910, Ikeston 1910–1922, Isle of Wight 1923–1924; Under-Sec. for Colonies 1908–1911; Under-Sec. for War 1911–1912; Sec. for War 1912–1914; Min. of Munitions 1918–1919; Under-Sec. for Air 1919; cr. Baron Mottistone 1933.

8 Henry Hughes Wilson (1864–1922), Irish soldier and politician; CIGS 1918–1922; Field Marshal 1919; Ulster Unionist MP North Down 1922; kt. 1915, cr. Bart. 1919; assassinated 1922.

9 Sec. of State for War and Air, Winston Churchill.

10 Walter Frederick Nicholson (1876–1946), civil servant; Perm. Sec. Air Ministry 1920–1930; dir. Imperial Airways 1931–1937; kt. 1922.

11 James Stevenson (1873–1926), businessman and civil servant, member of Air Council 1919–1921; kt. 1922, cr. Bart. 1917, Baron Stevenson of Holmbury 1924.

12 Frederick Handley Page (1885–1962), aircraft designer; kt. 1942.

13 Frederick Edward Guest (1875–1937), Lib. MP East Dorset 1910–1922, Stroud 1923–1924, Bristol North 1924–1929, Con. MP Plymouth Drake 1931–1937; Sec. for Air 1921–1922.

14 Claud Pearce Serocold (1875–1959), stockbroker; personal broker to Lord Revelstoke in the 1920s.

15 John Baring (1863–1929), financier, suc. 2nd Baron Revelstoke 1897.

16 Samuel Instone (1878–1937), shipping and aviation entrepreneur; dir. Imperial Airways 1924–1937; kt. 1921.

17 Winston Churchill.

18 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1888–1963), Under-Sec. for Air 1922–1924; Paymaster Gen. 1925–1928; Under-Sec. for War 1928–1929; KT 1929, suc. 5th Duke of Sutherland 1913.

19 On a single number, side, or chance.

20 Henry White Smith (1878–1943), chair. Society of British Aircraft Constructors; kt. 1921.

21 Frederick (Hugh) Sykes (1877–1954), army and air force officer; 1st commanding officer Royal Flying Corps, Chief of Air Staff 1918–1919, Controller Gen. of Civil Aviation 1919–1922; Con. MP Sheffield Hallam 1922–1928; Gov. of Bombay 1928–1933; kt. 1919.

22 Henry Rawlinson (1864–1925), commander of Indian Army; suc. Bart 1895, cr. Baron Rawlinson of Trent 1919.

23 Mansel Halkett Jackson (dates unknown).

24 Freeman Freeman-Thomas (1866–1941), Lib. MP Hastings 1900–1906, Bodmin 1906–1910; Gov. of Bombay 1913–1919, of Madras 1919–1924; Gov. Gen. of Canada 1926–1931; Viceroy of India 1931–1936; cr. Baron Willingdon 1910, Viscount Willingdon 1924, Earl of Willingdon 1931, Marquess of Willingdon 1936; kt. 1918.

25 Possibly Wilfred Henry Montgomery Finch (1883–1939), of Burley-on-the-Hill, Rutlandshire.

26 John Maitland Salmond (1881–1968), Air Marshal 1923, Air Chief Marshal 1929; Chief of Air Staff 1930–1933; Marshal of the RAF 1933; dir. Imperial Airways 1933–1939; Dir. of Armament Production, Ministry of Aircraft Production 1939–1945; kt. 1919.

27 In February 1923 the Hambling Committee recommended the formation of a monopoly civil aviation company, with government nominees on its board of directors as well as a significant state subsidy, to replace a scheme that granted subsidies to several civil aviation companies to operate specific air routes. The government accepted the committee's proposals and in Nov. 1923 Imperial Airways was established as a result.

28 Samuel John Gurney Hoare (1880–1959), Con. MP Chelsea 1910–1944; Sec. for Air 1922–1924, 1924–1929, 1940; India Sec. 1931–1935; For. Sec. 1935; 1st Lord of Admiralty 1936–1937; Home Sec. 1937–1939; Lord Privy Seal 1939–1940; Amb. in Madrid 1940–1944; Con. Party treasurer 1930–1931; suc. 2nd Bart. 1915, cr. Viscount Templewood 1944.

29 Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer (1857–1932), soldier and colonial administrator; Field Marshal 1919; Gov. of Malta 1919–1924; High Comm. for Palestine 1925–1928; kt. 1906, cr. Baron Plumer 1919, Viscount Plumer 1929.

30 George Ambrose Lloyd (1879–1941), Con. MP Staffordshire West 1910–1918, Eastbourne 1924–1925; Gov. of Bombay 1918–1923; High Comm. for Egypt and the Sudan 1925–1929; Colonial Sec. 1940–1941; Con. leader in the Lords 1941; chair., British Council 1937–1940; kt. 1918, cr. Baron Lloyd 1925.

31 Richard Bedford Bennett (1870–1947), Canadian politician; PM of Canada 1930–1935; cr. Viscount Bennett 1941.

32 The Times, 30 October 1931, p. 9: ‘One of the questions most frequently asked Mr MacDonald at his meetings is why a post in the Government was given to Lord Londonderry, who has mining interests in the constituency. Mr MacDonald's answer to the question is that he was not responsible for the individual Conservative and Liberal representatives in the Government. He allotted the number of seats to each party, but the individuals to fill them were selected by the respective leaders.’

33 Philip Sassoon (1888–1939), Con. MP Hythe 1912–1939; Under-Sec. for Air 1924–1929, 1931–1937; 1st Comm. of Works 1937–1939; suc. 3rd Bart. 1912.

34 Cyril Louis Norton Newall (1886–1963), air force officer; Dep. Chief of Air Staff 1926–1931; Air Officer Commanding Middle East 1931–1934; Marshal of the RAF 1940; Gov. Gen. of New Zealand 1941–1946; kt. 1935, cr. Baron Newall of Clifton-upon-Dunsmoor 1946.

35 The pet name of Lady Londonderry in her ‘Ark’ dining club.

36 John Allsebrook Simon (1873–1954), Lib. MP Walthamstow 1906–1918, Spen Valley 1922–1940 (Nat. Lib. from 1931); Solicitor Gen. 1910–1913; Attorney Gen. 1913–1915; Home Sec. 1915–1916, 1935–1937; For. Sec. 1931–1935; Chanc. of Exchequer 1937–1940; Lord Chanc. 1940–1945; kt. 1910, cr. Viscount Simon 1940.

37 Alexander George Montagu Cadogan (1884–1968), diplomat; Min. in Peking 1933–1935, Amb. in Peking 1935–1936; Dep. Under-Sec. FO 1936–1937, Perm. Sec. 1938–1946; Rep. to U.N. 1946–1950; kt. 1934.

38 Reginald John Bone (1888–1972), air force officer; Dir. Gen. Civil Aviation in Egypt 1936–1939; commanded RAF base Pembroke Dock 1939–1941.

39 Mary Bailey née Westenra (1890–1960), Irish aviator; DBE 1930.

40 Walford Harmood Montague Selby (1881–1965), diplomat; priv. sec. to For. Sec. 1924–1932; Min. in Vienna 1933–1937; Amb. in Lisbon 1937–1940; kt. 1930.

41 Contrary to Londonderry's suggestion, Admiral Shiozawa fully intended to make a demonstration of the Imperial Navy's prowess at Shanghai.

42 Tsuneo Matsudaira (1877–1949), Japanese diplomat; Amb. in London 1929–1935.

43 Naotake Sato (1882–1971), Japanese diplomat and statesman; Amb. to League of Nations 1927–1930, Amb. in Brussels 1930–1933, in Paris 1933–1937, in Moscow 1942–1945; For. Min. 1937.

44 Henry Lewis Stimson (1867–1950), US politician; Sec. of War 1911–1913, 1940–1945; Gov. Gen. of Philippines 1927–1929; Sec. of State 1929–1933.

45 Lord Beaverbrook.

46 Possible misspelling of enisle: to separate or make an island of something.

47 Newquay, Cornwall.

48 John Simon.

49 Likely reference to the play, Number Seventeen (1925), written by Joseph Jefferson Farjeon, or the film version (1932) directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

50 John Buchan (1875–1940), author; Gov. Gen. of Canada 1935–1940; cr. Baron Tweedsmuir 1935.

51 House of Lords Debates, 29 February 1932, vol. 83, cols 667–675.

52 Londonderry House.

53 Aristide Briand (1862–1932), French politician, eleven times PM; For. Min. 1925, 1926–1932.

54 Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey (1877–1963), navy officer and civil servant; Sec., C.I.D. 1912–1938; Sec., War Cabinet 1916–1918; Cabinet Sec. 1919–1938; Clerk of Privy Council 1923–1938; Min. without Portfolio 1939–1940; Chanc. Duchy of Lancaster 1940–1941; Paymaster Gen. 1941–1942; kt. 1916; cr. Baron Hankey 1939.

55 James Henry Thomas (1874–1949), MP Derby 1910–1936 (Lab. to 1931, then Nat. Lab.); gen. sec. National Union of Railwaymen 1918–1931; Colonial Sec. 1924, 1935–1936; Lord Privy Seal 1929–1930; Dominions Sec. 1930–1935.

56 Bolton Meredith Eyres-Monsell (1881–1969), Con. MP Evesham 1910–1935; Whip 1911–1912; Civil Lord Admiralty 1921–1922; FS Admiralty 1922–1923; Chief Whip 1923–1931; 1st Lord of Admiralty 1931–1936; kt. 1929, cr. Viscount Monsell 1935.

57 Londonderry misquotes slightly Arthur Hugh Clough's 1855 poem, ‘Say not the struggle nought availeth’.

58 Trans. mental reservations.

59 Salvador Madariaga (1886–1978), Spanish scholar and diplomat.

60 Salvador Madariaga, Disarmament (New York, 1929).

61 Series of agreements signed in 1925 by Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy that guaranteed the existing frontiers between Germany, Belgium, and France.

62 Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), German politician; leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party 1921–1945; Chanc. 1933–1945; head of state 1934–1945; committed suicide 1945.

63 Frank Billings Kellogg (1856–1937): US Amb. in London 1923–1925; Sec. of State 1925–1929; judge of Permanent Court of International Justice 1930–1935; awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1929.

64 The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 affirmed the rejection of war as a method of settling disputes, but placed no obligations upon the nations that signed it.

65 A reference to the imminent Lausanne Conference on revising war debts and reparations.

66 Herbert Hoover (1874–1964), US politician; US Pres. 1928–1932.

67 Clive Wigram (1873–1960), soldier and courtier; private sec. to George V and Edward VIII 1931–1936; kt. 1928, cr. Baron Wigram 1935.

68 Herbert Louis Samuel (1870–1963), Lib. MP Cleveland 1902–1918, Darwen 1929–1935; Chanc. Duchy of Lancaster 1909–1910, 1915–1916; Postmaster Gen. 1910–1914, 1915–1916; Pres. Local Govt. Bd. 1914–1915; Home Sec. 1916, 1931–1932; High Comm. Palestine 1920–1925; kt. 1920, cr. Viscount Samuel 1937.

69 Lausanne.

70 Henry de Jouvenel (1876–1935), French politician and diplomat.

71 Proposal for dramatic reductions to military spending on ‘defence’, as distinct from domestic duties, which left the US Army relatively unscathed.

72 The unratified Hague Rules of Air Warfare (1923) laid down restrictions on the practice of aerial warfare especially with regard to civilians.

73 John Simon.

74 British pressure group that promoted the ideals of the League of Nations.

75 Lord Irwin.

76 Eduard Beneš (1884–1948): Czechoslovak politician; For. Min. 1918–1935; PM 1921–1922; Pres. 1936–1938, 1945–1948; exiled after Munich agreement; Pres. Czechoslovak National Committee, London 1939–1945.

77 Paul Painlevé (1863–1933), French mathematician and politician; PM 1917, 1925; Air Min. 1930–1931, 1931–1932.

78 Alice Ritchie, The Peacemakers (London, 1928).

79 Whitehall.

80 See also Londonderry to Clive Wigram, 22 July 1932, D3099/2/16/1/30.

81 Lossiemouth.

82 Lossiemouth.

83 Mount Stewart.

84 MacDonald family home in Lossiemouth.

85 Douglas Douglas-Hamilton (1903–1973), aviator and politician; Con. MP East Renfrewshire 1930–1940; styled Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale 1903–1940, suc. 14th Duke of Hamilton 1940.

86 Imperial conference on trade that resulted in the increased use of imperial preference.

87 F.E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead.

88 Neville Chamberlain.

89 Edward Wood, Lord Irwin.

90 Philip Cunliffe-Lister (1884–1972), Con. MP Hendon 1918–35; Parl. Sec. Trade 1920–1921; Parl. Sec. Overseas Trade 1921–1922; Pres. Bd. of Trade 1922–1924, 1924–1929, 1931; Colonial Sec. 1931–1935; Sec. for Air 1935–1938; Min. Res. West Africa 1942–1944; Min. of Civil Aviation 1944–1945; Chanc. Duchy of Lancaster 1951–1952; Commonwealth Sec. 1952–1955; changed surname from Lloyd-Graeme 1924, cr. Viscount Swinton 1935, Earl of Swinton 1955.

91 Cabinet meeting on 8 November 1932.

92 Daily Mail, 4 November 1932, p. 11.

93 Francis Henry Humphrys (1879–1971), army and air force officer and colonial administrator; High Comm. and C.-in-C. in Iraq 1929–1932, British Amb. in Baghdad 1932–1935; kt. 1924.

94 Londonderry visited Rome on the return leg of his Middle East tour.

95 H.C. Armstrong, Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal: An Intimate Study of a Dictator (London, 1932).

96 Kemal Ataturk.

97 Ankara.

98 Faysal ibn Husayn (1885–1933), King Faisal I of Iraq 1922–1933.

99 Movement promoting Arab unity.

100 Held on 22 June 1933.

101 Dame Gertrude Mary Humphrys.

102 Daughter.

103 Douglas McGarel Hogg (1872–1950), Con. MP St Marylebone 1922–1928; Attorney Gen. 1922–1924, 1924–1928; Lord Chanc. 1928–1929, 1935–1938; Sec. for War 1931–1935; Lord Pres. 1938; Con. leader in the Lords 1931–1935; kt. 1922, cr. Baron Hailsham 1928, Viscount 1929.

104 George Francis Milne (1866–1948), army officer, CIGS 1926–1933, Field Marshal 1928; kt. 1918; cr. Baron Milne of Salonika and Rubislaw 1933.

105 At a meeting of the League of Nations Union at Edinburgh, Chamberlain spoke against an amendment that supported the retention of aerial bombing for police purposes, The Times, 23 June 1933, p. 9.

106 Miss Cowan (dates unknown), Edinburgh delegate to League of Nations Union Council.

107 Common contemporary error in English spelling of Iraq.

108 (George) Geoffrey Dawson (1874–1944), ed. The Times 1912–1919, 1923–1941; changed surname from Robinson 1917.

109 The Times, 6 July 1933, p. 13.

110 Italo Balbo (1896–1940), Italian Fascist; Gen. of Air Force 1928; Min. of Aviation 1929–1933; Gov. of Libya 1933–1940; shot down by Italian soldiers in Libya 1940. Londonderry had previously met Balbo in Rome, on 30 January 1933, on the return leg of his tour of the Middle East.

111 Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), founder and Duce of Italian Fascist Party; Pres., Council of Ministers 1922–1926; PM 1926–1943; For. Min. 1924–1929, 1932–1936; head of German puppet regime in Northern Italy 1943–1945.

112 Transatlantic flight.

113 Robert Gilbert Vansittart (1881–1957), civil servant and diplomat; Perm. Sec. FO 1930–1938; Chief Diplomatic Adviser to For. Sec. 1938–1941; kt. 1929, cr. Baron Vansittart 1941.

114 Nicholas of Romania (1903–1978), second son of King Ferdinand I.

115 Carol II (1893–1953), King of Romania 1930–1940; abdicated 1940.

116 Archibald Robert Boyle (1887–1949), air force officer and civil servant.

117 Philip Walhouse Chetwode (1869–1950), army officer; CGS India 1928–1930, C.-in-C. India 1930–1934, Field Marshal 1933; kt. 1917, suc. 7th Bart. 1905, cr. Baron Chetwode 1945.

118 Chetwode is in London.

119 Guido Palagi (dates unknown), Italian Dominican cleric and Fascist supporter.

120 House of Commons Debates, 8 March 1934, vol. 286, cols 2074–2078.

121 Iraq's minority Assyrian population, which had collaborated with the British during the mandate period (1920–1932), lobbied for a homeland to protect their community after the mandate's demise.

122 Hermann Göring (1893–1946), German air force officer and Nazi; Pres. of Reichstag 1932–1933; appointed PM and Min. of Interior for Prussia 1933, Reich Air Min. and commander of the Luftwaffe 1935, Reich Council Chair. for National Defence 1939; tried at Nuremberg 1945–1946, sentenced to death but committed suicide 1946.

123 Jean Louis Barthou (1862–1934), French lawyer and politician; Min. of Justice 1922, For. Min. 1934; assassinated 1934.

124 This draft copy of Londonderry's letter appears to mislabel G.R. (34) 3, an appendix written by Simon to a report of the cabinet committee on German rearmament, dated 29 November 1934, and circulated to cabinet ministers on 11 December 1934, The National Archives, CAB 24/251.

125 Samuel Hoare.

126 The Saar plebiscite held in January 1935 produced an overwhelming majority in favour of unification with Germany.

127 Lord Hailsham.

128 Samuel Hoare.

129 Edward Southwell Russell (1907–1982), racing car driver; suc. 26th Baron de Clifford 1909; last peer to be tried by the House of Lords 1935.

130 Claud Schuster (1869–1956), civil servant; Perm. Sec. Lord Chancellor's Office 1915–1944; kt. 1913, cr. Baron Schuster 1944.

131 Henry John Fanshawe (Jack) Badeley (1874–1951), civil servant; Clerk of the Parliaments 1934–1949; kt. 1935; cr. Baron Badeley 1949.

132 Dunrobin Castle, the seat of the dukes of Sutherland, where Londonderry's wife, Edith, grew up.

133 William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck (1857–1943); courtier; kt. 1896, KG 1900, suc. 6th Duke of Portland 1879.

134 In 1935 the British initiated discussions on the establishment of a transatlantic air route – to rival similar schemes by the United States and France – that involved the governments of Canada and the Irish Free State. See also Philip Cunliffe-Lister to Londonderry, 9 September 1935, D3099/6/11.

135 Malcolm John MacDonald (1901–1981), son of Ramsay MacDonald; MP Bassetlaw 1929–1935 (Lab. to 1931, then Nat. Lab.), Ross and Cromarty 1936–1945; Under-Sec. for Dominions 1931–1935; Dominions Sec. 1935–1938; Colonial Sec. 1935, 1938–1940; Min. of Health 1940–1941; High Comm. in Canada 1941–1946; Gov. Gen. of Malaya and Singapore 1946–1948; Comm. Gen. in South-East Asia 1948–1955; High Comm. in India 1955–1960; Gov., Gov. Gen., and High Comm. in Kenya 1963–1965.

136 James Thomas.

137 (Joseph) Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), Indian-born British writer; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature 1906.

138 Douglas Hewitt Hacking (1884–1950), Con. MP Chorley 1918–1945; PPS to Sir J. Craig 1920–1921, to Sir L. Worthington-Evans 1921–1922; Whip 1922–1925; Under-Sec. Home Office 1925–1927, 1933–1934; Sec. Overseas Trade 1927–1929; FS War Office 1934–1935; Under-Sec. for Dominions 1935–1936; Con. Party chair. 1936–1942; vice chair. National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations 1930–1933; chair., North-West Area 1932–1934; cr. Bart. 1938, Baron Hacking 1945.

139 Malcolm Dillon (1859–1945), company dir. and Londonderry's employee.

140 Eustace Sutherland Campbell Percy (1887–1958), Con. MP Hastings 1921–1937, Parl. Sec. to Bd. of Educ. 1923; Parl. Sec. to Ministry of Health 1923–1924; Pres. Bd. of Educ. 1924–1929; Min. without Portfolio 1935–1936; styled Lord Eustace Percy 1899–1953; cr. Baron Percy 1953.

141 The original copy is among the Baldwin papers, Cambridge University Library, Baldwin 171, folio 163.

142 1935 general election.

143 Christopher Llewellyn Bullock (1891–1972), civil servant and businessman; Perm. Sec. Air Ministry 1931–1936; kt. 1932.

144 Londonderry House.

145 The Times, 13 November 1936, p. 16.

146 Cuthbert Matthias Kenworthy (1886–1953), naval officer, politician, and writer; MP Central Hull 1919–1931 (Lib. to 1926, then Lab.); suc. 9th Baron Strabolgi 1934.

147 Labour Party.

148 (Edward) Hugh John Neale Dalton (1887–1962), Lab. MP Peckham 1924–1929, Bishop Auckland 1929–1931, 1935–1959; Under-Sec. FO 1929–1931; Min. of Economic Warfare 1940–1942; Pres. Bd. of Trade 1942–1945; Chanc. of Exchequer 1945–1947; Chanc. Duchy of Lancaster 1948–1950; Min. of Planning 1950–1951; cr. Baron Dalton 1960.

149 Herbert Stanley Morrison (1888–1965), Lab. MP Hackney South 1923–1924, 1929–1931, 1935–1945, Lewisham East 1945–1950, Lewisham South 1950–1959; Min. of Transport 1929–1931; Min. of Supply 1940; Home Sec. 1940–1945; Lord Pres. 1945–1951; For. Sec. 1951; Lab. dep. leader 1945–1955; cr. Baron Morrison of Lambeth 1959.

150 The first three dates refer to November not December 1935: see The Times, 6 November 1935, p. 8; 8 November 1935, p. 9; 13 November 1935, p. 6; 30 December 1935, p. 13.

151 British Airline Pilots’ Assoc.

152 Report of the Committee to Consider the Development of Civil Aviation in the UK (Maybury Committee), Jan. 1937, Parliamentary Papers, 1936–1937, vol. 18.

153 Hugh Ross Williamson (1901–1978), journalist and dramatist.

154 Osmund Somers Cleverly (1891–1966), civil servant; private sec. to PM 1936–1939; Comm. for Crown Lands 1941–1952; kt. 1951.

155 Austen Chamberlain.

156 This suggests that a copy of Londonderry's letter to Chamberlain dated 18 December 1937 was not sent until 19 February 1938.

157 Marquess of Londonderry, ‘Bombing from the air’, Nineteenth Century and After, 125 (March 1939), 269–281.

158 (Howard) Kingsley Wood (1881–1943), Con. MP Woolwich West 1918–1943; Parl. Sec. Health 1924–1929; Parl. Sec. Educ. 1931; Postmaster Gen. 1931–1935; Min. of Health 1935–1938; Sec. for Air 1938–1940; Lord Privy Seal 1940; Chanc. of Exchequer 1940–1943; kt. 1918.

159 House of Commons Debates, 13 April 1939, vol. 346, cols 29–38.

160 Charles Edward Hastings Medhurst (1896–1954), air force officer; Dep. Dir. RAF Intelligence 1934–1937; Assistant Chief of Air Staff 1941–1942; Commandant RAF Staff College 1943–1944; Air C.-in-C. RAF Mediterranean and Middle East 1945–1948; kt. 1945.

161 Ourselves and Germany (London, 1938).

162 (James) Gomer Berry (1883–1968), chair. of Kemsley Newspapers, ed.-in-chief Sunday Times; cr. Baron Kemsley 1936, Viscount Kemsley 1945.

163 (Arthur) Beverley Baxter (1891–1964), Con. MP Wood Green 1935–1950, Southgate 1950–1964; ed.-in-chief Daily Express 1929–1933; ed. adviser Allied Newspapers 1938; kt. 1954.

164 Sunday Times, 22 September 1940, pp. 1, 12.

165 Peter Gordon Masefield (1914–2006), aeronautical engineer, journalist, civil servant, and businessman; Civil Air Attaché, Washington embassy 1945–1946; Dir. Gen. of Long Term Planning, Ministry of Civil Aviation 1946–1949; chief executive, British European Airways 1949–1955; chair., British Airports Authority 1965–1971; dep. chair., British Caledonian 1975–1978; chair. and chief executive, London Transport 1980–1982; kt. 1997.

166 Charles Grey Grey (1875–1953), journalist and aviation publisher; founding ed. The Aeroplane 1911–1939.

167 Anti-aircraft artillery.

168 Charles William Cayzer (1896–1940), Con. MP Chester 1922–1940; suc. 3rd Bart. 1917.

169 House of Commons Debates, 3 April 1935, vol. 300, col. 337.

170 House of Commons Debates, 19 March 1935, vol. 299, cols 1173–1176.

171 George Ward Price (1886–1961), journalist and author; foreign correspondent Daily Mail 1912–1944.

172 Edward Ellington (1877–1967), Dir. Gen. of Supply and Research, Air Ministry 1918–1922; Commander RAF in Middle East 1922–1923, India 1923–1926, Iraq 1926–1928; Air C.-in-C. Great Britain 1929–1930; Chief of Air Staff 1933–1937; Marshal of the RAF 1937; kt. 1920.

173 Helmuth Förster (1889–1965), German air force officer.

174 Fleet Air Arm.

175 Enstone House, Enstone, Oxfordshire.

176 Non-commissioned officer.

177 Erhard Alfred Richard Oskar Milch (1892–1972), German aviator; State Sec., German Air Ministry 1933–1945; General Field Marshal 1940.

178 Christopher Lloyd Courtney (1890–1976), air force officer; Chief Staff Officer Iraq Command 1931–1933; Dir. of Training, Air Ministry 1933–1934; Dir. of Staff Duties 1934–1935; Dir. of Operations and Intelligence 1935–1936; air officer commanding British Forces in Iraq 1937–1938; kt. 1939.

179 William Wedgwood Benn (1877–1960), Lib. MP Tower Hamlets 1906–1918, Leith 1918–1927, Lab. MP Aberdeen North 1928–1931, Manchester Gorton 1937–1941; India Sec. 1929–1931; Sec. for Air 1945–1946; cr. Viscount Stansgate 1942.

180 Sunday Times, 1 October 1944, p. 4; Truth, 28 June 1946, p. 14.

181 Kingsley Wood succeeded Swinton as Sec. for Air.

182 Philip John Baker (1889–1982), Lab. MP Coventry 1929–1931, Derby 1936–1950, Derby South 1950–1970; Sec. for Air 1946–1947; Commonwealth Sec. 1947–1950; Min. of Fuel and Power 1950–1951; assumed surname Noel-Baker 1923, cr. Baron Noel-Baker 1977; awarded Nobel Peace Prize 1959.