Archibald Maule Ramsay
Encyclopedia
Captain Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay (May 4, 1894 – March 11, 1955) was a British Army
officer who later went into politics as a Scottish Unionist Member of Parliament
(MP). From the late 1930s he developed increasingly strident antisemitic
views. In 1940 his involvement with a suspected spy at the United States
embassy led to his internment
under Defence Regulation 18B
, the only British MP to suffer this fate.
). He attended Eton College
and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
, joining the Coldstream Guards
in 1913. On the outbreak of World War I
he served in France
for two years. He later received a severe head injury before being invalided out and transferred to the War Office
in London
. Here he met and married on April 30, 1917 Lady Ninian Crichton-Stuart, née Hon. Ismay Preston, daughter of Viscount Gormanston and widow of Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart
MP, who had been killed on active service in the war. His wife was already the mother of three surviving children. The couple went on to have four sons together, the eldest of whom died on active service in 1943.
As the war was coming to an end, Ramsay served at the British War Mission in Paris
. He retired from the Army with the rank of Captain in 1920. He spent the 1920s as a company director, near Arbroath
, Angus
, and became active in the Conservative Party
. In the 1931 general election
, Ramsay was elected as MP for Peebles and Southern Midlothian
. He was regarded as a likable and charming man (he was nicknamed 'Jock' among friends), who had a sincere and earnest approach and was an engaging and persuasive public speaker. However, Ramsay was not considered as a potential candidate for high office: the most senior appointment he obtained was as a Government member of the Potato
Marketing Board.
broke out, Ramsay became a strong supporter of the Nationalists under Franco
, largely arising out of his opposition to the anti-clericism of the Spanish Republicans and their attacks on the Roman Catholic Church (despite being an Anglican himself). In the early months of the war he objected in Parliament
to what he saw as bias in BBC news reports on Spain
, and pointed to links between Spanish Republicans
and the Soviet Union
. Late in 1937, Ramsay formed the 'United Christian Front' to combat attacks on Christianity
"which emanate from Moscow
". Many distinguished peers and churchmen joined, but the organization was criticized in a letter to The Times
by senior religious figures including William Temple
(Archbishop of York
) and Donald Soper
. The objectors said that, while they supported Christian unity, they could not support the United Christian Front as it was mainly concerned with the Spanish Civil War
and "adopts a view of it which seems to us ill-founded".
Ramsay became aware of a plan to hold a conference of freethinkers
in London
in 1938, which was being organized by the International Federation of Freethinkers. Together with his supporters in Parliament, he denounced this as a "Godless Conference" which was organized by a Moscow-based organization. On June 28, 1938 he asked for permission to introduce as a Private Member's Bill
the "Aliens Restriction (Blasphemy
) Bill" (which would have prohibited conference attendees from entering Britain); he won the vote by 165 to 134, but the bill went no further. Ramsay's opposition to Communism led him to look to other countries for examples. On January 13, 1938 he had given a speech to the Arbroath Business Club in which he observed that Hitler
's antipathy to Jews
arose from his knowledge "that the real power behind the Third International is a group of revolutionary Jews". Some time later in 1938 he read "The Rulers of Russia" by Denis Fahey
CSSp, which contended that of 59 members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
in 1935, 56 were Jews and the remaining three were married to Jews. At the same time, Ramsay was also becoming more sympathetic to Germany
: in September he wrote to The Times
to defend the right of the Sudetenland
to self-determination.
, including Barry Domvile
. In December he introduced another Private Member's Bill called the "Companies Act (1929) Amendment Bill", which would require shares in news agencies and newspapers to be held openly and not through nominees. In his speech promoting the Bill, Ramsay claimed the press was being manipulated and controlled by "international financiers" based in New York
who wanted to "thrust this country into a war". Ramsay was given permission to introduce his Bill by 151 to 104; again it went no further. In December 1938 The Fascist (journal of the Imperial Fascist League
) declared that Ramsay had "become Jew-wise" (a term which indicated someone who had come to believe in a Jewish conspiracy).
for Scotland
, Dr. Salis Daiches, who wrote to The Scotsman
challenging Mrs Ramsay to produce evidence. Ramsay wrote on her behalf citing Father Fahey's booklet, and the resulting correspondence lasted for nearly a month—including a letter from 11 Ministers of the Church of Scotland
in the County of Peebles repudiating the views of their MP.
Some members of Ramsay's local Conservative Association in Peebles
were not pleased by what they considered negative publicity. However, Ramsay reassured them that he would continue to be a supporter of Neville Chamberlain
and the National Government. Ramsay made attempts to make controversial speeches to private meetings rather than in public. On April 27 he spoke to a branch of the (anti-semitic) Nordic League
in Kilburn, attacking Neville Chamberlain for introducing conscription
"at the instigation of the Jews" and claiming that the Conservative Party "relies on ... Jew money".
and MP John Hamilton Mackie), those who were in some respects "fellow travellers" with anti-semitism, and some friends of Ramsay who may have joined without knowing the actual functions of the Club. At its early meetings, the 5th Duke of Wellington took the chair. The logo of the Right Club, seen on its badge, was of an eagle
killing a snake
with the initials "P.J." (which stood for "Perish Judah").
While Ramsay was attempting to launch the Right Club, he spoke at a meeting of the Nordic League
at the Wigmore Hall
at which a reporter from the Daily Worker
was present and reported Ramsay as saying that they needed to end Jewish control, "and if we don't do it constitutionally, we'll do it with steel" – a statement greeted with wild applause. The popular magazine John Bull
picked up on the report and challenged Ramsay to contradict it or explain himself. Ramsay's local constituency newspaper, the Peeblesshire Advertiser, made the same challenge and Ramsay responded by admitting he had made the speech, citing the fact that three halls had refused to host the meeting as evidence of Jewish control.
(September 4, 1939), Ramsay sat in the Library of the House of Commons writing a poem, a paraphrase of "Land of Hope and Glory
", which was later to be printed and distributed by the Right Club. It ran:
When the Secretary of State for War
Leslie Hore-Belisha
(a frequent target of antisemitism) was forced out of office, Ramsay distributed in the House of Commons many copies of Truth
(a magazine closely connected to Neville Chamberlain) which argued that Hore-Belisha was no loss to the government. He also put down a motion which cited the regretful reactions of many newspapers to Hore-Belisha's sacking as evidence of Jewish control of the press.
Privately, Ramsay had been invited to some of the "Secret Meetings" at which right-wing opponents of the war discussed tactics. However, after they grew to be dominated by Oswald Mosley
and his supporters, Ramsay withdrew. The Right Club spent the Phoney War period distributing propaganda in the form of leaflets and "sticky-backs" (adhesive labels containing slogans), with Ramsay later explaining that he wanted "to maintain the atmosphere in which the 'phoney war', as it was called, might be converted into an honourable negotiated peace." In addition to Ramsay's "Land of dope and Jewry" rhyme, the slogans included "War destroys workers" and "This is a Jews' War"; some of the leaflets asserted "the stark truth is that this war was plotted and engineered by the Jews for world-power and vengeance".
and opposed the arrest of anti-semitic speaker Richard A. V. "Jock" Houston under the Public Order Act 1936
. On 20 March 1940, he asked a question about a propaganda
radio station set up by Germany which gave its precise wavelength, which was suspected by both his allies and opponents as a subtle way of advertising it. On May 9 he asked for an assurance from the Home Secretary
"that he refuses to be stampeded ... by a ramp in our Jew-ridden press?" His increasingly open anti-semitism was picked up by Labour
and other MPs and referred to in debate.
, a cypher clerk at the American Embassy in London. Ramsay gave Kent the ledger containing the list of Right Club members for safe-keeping. Unfortunately for Ramsay, Kent was stealing top-secret documents from the embassy and had already fallen under suspicion for so doing. On May 20, Kent's flat was raided and he was arrested; the locked 'Red Book' was forced open. Ramsay's involvement with Kent was extremely concerning to the authorities as Ramsay enjoyed Parliamentary privilege: if Kent had given his stolen documents to Ramsay, it would have been impossible to prevent their publication, which could have stopped immediate escalation of war. At the time this was antithetical to the controllers of parliament. The Cabinet decided to extend Regulation 18B to give more power to detain people suspected of disloyalty.
Ramsay was arrested and lodged in Brixton prison on an order under Defence Regulation 18B
on May 23, 1940. From the start he engaged solicitors (Oswald Hickson, Collier & Co.) through whom he attempted to defend his reputation. When Lord Marley
said in the House of Lords
that Ramsay was Hitler's chosen Gauleiter
for Scotland in the event of an invasion, Oswald Hickson, Collier immediately sent off a letter of complaint.
As an 18B detainee, Ramsay's only legal method of challenging his detention was to appeal to the Advisory Committee under Norman Birkett
which recommended continued detention. However, as a Member of Parliament, some of Ramsay's colleagues argued that his detention was a breach of parliamentary privilege
. The detention was referred to the Committee of Privileges, but on October 9 it reported that detention was not a breach of privilege.
published an article on "Britain's Fifth Column
" in July 1940 which claimed "informed American sources said that he had sent to the German Legation in Dublin treasonable information given to him by Tyler Kent". Ramsay sued for libel
, resulting in a trial in July 1941 in which he asserted his loyalty to Britain. However some of Ramsay's answers did him extreme damage, for example when he was asked if he wanted Nazism to be defeated, and replied, substituting "Germany" for "Nazism": "Not only Germany, but also the Judaic menace". In summing-up the Judge said he was convinced Hitler would call Ramsay "friend" and that Ramsay was disloyal in heart and soul to his King, his Government, and the people.
However, The New York Times could not defend its story, having found no evidence that Ramsay had communicated anything to the German Legation in Dublin, and it was found guilty. The Judge awarded a farthing in damages, the customary award for a libel plaintiff adjudged to have brought it on themselves; as The New York Times had already paid £75 into court, Ramsay became liable for both prosecution and defence costs. Another consequence of the trial was that Ramsay's local Conservative Association disowned him completely. They recruited David Robertson
, the MP for Streatham
who was from Scotland, to represent the constituency; however Robertson found it too expensive to do so and soon gave it up.
, died of pneumonia
on active service in South Africa
in August 1943. Ramsay was finally released from detention on September 26, 1944, being one of the last few 18B detainees. He immediately returned to Westminster to resume his seat in the House of Commons, causing at least one member to storm out of the chamber. His only significant action in the remainder of the Parliament was a motion calling for the reinstatement of the 1275 Statute of Jewry passed under King Edward I
. He did not defend his seat in the 1945 general election
.
In 1952 Ramsay wrote The Nameless War as an autobiography
and a plea to justify his actions. Much of the book consisted of an antisemitic conspiracy theory
re-interpreting the whole of modern history as an ongoing Jewish campaign for world domination, quoting extensively from the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
whose authenticity he took for granted, and adding such assertions as that Calvin
had been a Jew whose real name was "Cohen", that Cromwell
had been "a paid agent of the Jews" and that the entire English Civil War
and the execution of Charles I
were staged for the sole purpose of allowing Jews to return to England. The book is still current in extreme-right circles.
Ramsay attended some far-right political meetings but did not attract attention. He died in 1955.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer who later went into politics as a Scottish Unionist Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP). From the late 1930s he developed increasingly strident antisemitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
views. In 1940 his involvement with a suspected spy at the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
embassy led to his internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
under Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
, the only British MP to suffer this fate.
Family and early life
Ramsay was from an aristocratic family (he was a descendant of the Earls of DalhousieEarl of Dalhousie
Earl of Dalhousie, in the County of Midlothian, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, held by the Chief of Clan Ramsay.-History:This family descends from Sir George Ramsay, who represented Kincardineshire in the Scottish Parliament in 1617. He received a charter of the barony of Dalhousie and also...
). He attended Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, joining the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
in 1913. On the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for two years. He later received a severe head injury before being invalided out and transferred to the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Here he met and married on April 30, 1917 Lady Ninian Crichton-Stuart, née Hon. Ismay Preston, daughter of Viscount Gormanston and widow of Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart
Lord Ninian Edward Crichton-Stuart
Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Ninian Edward Crichton-Stuart was a British Member of Parliament killed in the First World War. He was the second son of John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute and Hon. Gwendolen Mary Anne Fitzalan Howard.Lord Ninian was educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford...
MP, who had been killed on active service in the war. His wife was already the mother of three surviving children. The couple went on to have four sons together, the eldest of whom died on active service in 1943.
As the war was coming to an end, Ramsay served at the British War Mission in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He retired from the Army with the rank of Captain in 1920. He spent the 1920s as a company director, near Arbroath
Arbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
, Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, and became active in the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. In the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
, Ramsay was elected as MP for Peebles and Southern Midlothian
Peebles and Southern Midlothian (UK Parliament constituency)
Peebles and Southern Midlothian was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1950...
. He was regarded as a likable and charming man (he was nicknamed 'Jock' among friends), who had a sincere and earnest approach and was an engaging and persuasive public speaker. However, Ramsay was not considered as a potential candidate for high office: the most senior appointment he obtained was as a Government member of the Potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
Marketing Board.
Spanish Civil War
After the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
broke out, Ramsay became a strong supporter of the Nationalists under Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, largely arising out of his opposition to the anti-clericism of the Spanish Republicans and their attacks on the Roman Catholic Church (despite being an Anglican himself). In the early months of the war he objected in Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
to what he saw as bias in BBC news reports on Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and pointed to links between Spanish Republicans
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Late in 1937, Ramsay formed the 'United Christian Front' to combat attacks on Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
"which emanate from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
". Many distinguished peers and churchmen joined, but the organization was criticized in a letter to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
by senior religious figures including William Temple
William Temple (archbishop)
William Temple was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Manchester , Archbishop of York , and Archbishop of Canterbury ....
(Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
) and Donald Soper
Donald Soper
Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper was a prominent Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist.Soper was born at 36 Knoll Road, Wandsworth, London, the first son and first child of the three children of Ernest Frankham Soper , an average adjuster in marine insurance, the son of a tailor, and his...
. The objectors said that, while they supported Christian unity, they could not support the United Christian Front as it was mainly concerned with the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and "adopts a view of it which seems to us ill-founded".
Ramsay became aware of a plan to hold a conference of freethinkers
Freethought
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1938, which was being organized by the International Federation of Freethinkers. Together with his supporters in Parliament, he denounced this as a "Godless Conference" which was organized by a Moscow-based organization. On June 28, 1938 he asked for permission to introduce as a Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
the "Aliens Restriction (Blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
) Bill" (which would have prohibited conference attendees from entering Britain); he won the vote by 165 to 134, but the bill went no further. Ramsay's opposition to Communism led him to look to other countries for examples. On January 13, 1938 he had given a speech to the Arbroath Business Club in which he observed that Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's antipathy to Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
arose from his knowledge "that the real power behind the Third International is a group of revolutionary Jews". Some time later in 1938 he read "The Rulers of Russia" by Denis Fahey
Denis Fahey
Father Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp. was an Irish Catholic priest. Fahey promoted the Catholic social doctrine of Christ the King, and was involved in Irish politics through his organisation Maria Duce. Fahey firmly believed that "the world must conform to Our Divine Lord, not He to it", defending the...
CSSp, which contended that of 59 members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
in 1935, 56 were Jews and the remaining three were married to Jews. At the same time, Ramsay was also becoming more sympathetic to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
: in September he wrote to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to defend the right of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
to self-determination.
Anti-semitism
On November 15, Ramsay was invited to a luncheon party at the German Embassy in London, where he met some noted British sympathisers with Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, including Barry Domvile
Barry Domvile
Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile KBE CB CMG was a distinguished Royal Navy officer who turned into a leading British Pro-German anti-Semite in the years before the Second World War....
. In December he introduced another Private Member's Bill called the "Companies Act (1929) Amendment Bill", which would require shares in news agencies and newspapers to be held openly and not through nominees. In his speech promoting the Bill, Ramsay claimed the press was being manipulated and controlled by "international financiers" based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who wanted to "thrust this country into a war". Ramsay was given permission to introduce his Bill by 151 to 104; again it went no further. In December 1938 The Fascist (journal of the Imperial Fascist League
Imperial Fascist League
The Imperial Fascist League was a British fascist political movement founded by Arnold Leese in 1929.-Origins:Leese had originally been a member of the British Fascists and indeed had been one of only two members ever to hold elected office for them...
) declared that Ramsay had "become Jew-wise" (a term which indicated someone who had come to believe in a Jewish conspiracy).
Controversy
On 10 January 1939 the Hon. Mrs Ismay Ramsay gave another speech to the Arbroath Business Club, at which she claimed the national press was "largely under Jewish control", that "an international group of Jews ... were behind world revolution in every single country" and that Hitler "must ... have had his reasons for what he did". The speech was reported in the local newspaper and attracted the attention of the Chief RabbiChief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Dr. Salis Daiches, who wrote to The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
challenging Mrs Ramsay to produce evidence. Ramsay wrote on her behalf citing Father Fahey's booklet, and the resulting correspondence lasted for nearly a month—including a letter from 11 Ministers of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
in the County of Peebles repudiating the views of their MP.
Some members of Ramsay's local Conservative Association in Peebles
Peebles
Peebles is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed. According to the 2001 Census, the population was 8,159.-History:...
were not pleased by what they considered negative publicity. However, Ramsay reassured them that he would continue to be a supporter of Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
and the National Government. Ramsay made attempts to make controversial speeches to private meetings rather than in public. On April 27 he spoke to a branch of the (anti-semitic) Nordic League
Nordic League
The Nordic League was a far right organisation in the United Kingdom from 1935 to 1939 that sought to serve as a co-ordinating body for the various extremist movements whilst also seeking to promote Nazism...
in Kilburn, attacking Neville Chamberlain for introducing conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
"at the instigation of the Jews" and claiming that the Conservative Party "relies on ... Jew money".
The Right Club
After the controversy over Mrs Ramsay's January speech died down, Ramsay decided that he needed to make others aware of the threat so that they would rid the Conservative Party of Jewish control. To this end he set up "The Right Club" in May 1939, noting down those who had joined in a red leather-bound and lockable ledger (the "Red Book"). There were 135 names on the men's list and 100 on a separate ladies' list; the members of the Right Club include a broad spectrum of those known to be anti-semitic (including William JoyceWilliam Joyce
William Joyce , nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an Irish-American fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He was hanged for treason by the British as a result of his wartime activities, even though he had renounced his British nationality...
and MP John Hamilton Mackie), those who were in some respects "fellow travellers" with anti-semitism, and some friends of Ramsay who may have joined without knowing the actual functions of the Club. At its early meetings, the 5th Duke of Wellington took the chair. The logo of the Right Club, seen on its badge, was of an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
killing a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
with the initials "P.J." (which stood for "Perish Judah").
While Ramsay was attempting to launch the Right Club, he spoke at a meeting of the Nordic League
Nordic League
The Nordic League was a far right organisation in the United Kingdom from 1935 to 1939 that sought to serve as a co-ordinating body for the various extremist movements whilst also seeking to promote Nazism...
at the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
at which a reporter from the Daily Worker
The Morning Star
The Morning Star is a left wing British daily tabloid newspaper with a focus on social and trade union issues. Articles and comment columns are contributed by writers from socialist, social democratic, green and religious perspectives....
was present and reported Ramsay as saying that they needed to end Jewish control, "and if we don't do it constitutionally, we'll do it with steel" – a statement greeted with wild applause. The popular magazine John Bull
John Bull (magazine)
John Bull Magazine was a weekly periodical established in the City, London EC4, by Theodore Hook in 1820.-Publication dates:It was a popular periodical that continued in production through 1824 and at least until 1957...
picked up on the report and challenged Ramsay to contradict it or explain himself. Ramsay's local constituency newspaper, the Peeblesshire Advertiser, made the same challenge and Ramsay responded by admitting he had made the speech, citing the fact that three halls had refused to host the meeting as evidence of Jewish control.
Outbreak of war
On the second day of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(September 4, 1939), Ramsay sat in the Library of the House of Commons writing a poem, a paraphrase of "Land of Hope and Glory
Land of Hope and Glory
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar and lyrics by A. C. Benson, written in 1902.- Composition :...
", which was later to be printed and distributed by the Right Club. It ran:
- Land of dope and Jewry
- Land that once was free
- All the Jew boys praise thee
- Whilst they plunder thee
- Poorer still and poorer
- Grow thy true-born sons
- Faster still and faster
- They're sent to feed the guns.
- Land of Jewish finance
- Fooled by Jewish lies
- In press and books and movies
- While our birthright dies
- Longer still and longer
- Is the rope they get
- But—by the God of battles
- 'Twill serve to hang them yet.
When the Secretary of State for War
Secretary of State for War
The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...
Leslie Hore-Belisha
Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha
Isaac Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha PC was a British Liberal, then National Liberal Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister. He later joined the Conservative Party...
(a frequent target of antisemitism) was forced out of office, Ramsay distributed in the House of Commons many copies of Truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
(a magazine closely connected to Neville Chamberlain) which argued that Hore-Belisha was no loss to the government. He also put down a motion which cited the regretful reactions of many newspapers to Hore-Belisha's sacking as evidence of Jewish control of the press.
Privately, Ramsay had been invited to some of the "Secret Meetings" at which right-wing opponents of the war discussed tactics. However, after they grew to be dominated by Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
and his supporters, Ramsay withdrew. The Right Club spent the Phoney War period distributing propaganda in the form of leaflets and "sticky-backs" (adhesive labels containing slogans), with Ramsay later explaining that he wanted "to maintain the atmosphere in which the 'phoney war', as it was called, might be converted into an honourable negotiated peace." In addition to Ramsay's "Land of dope and Jewry" rhyme, the slogans included "War destroys workers" and "This is a Jews' War"; some of the leaflets asserted "the stark truth is that this war was plotted and engineered by the Jews for world-power and vengeance".
House of Commons
In Parliament, Ramsay attacked the internment procedure of Defence Regulation 18BDefence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
and opposed the arrest of anti-semitic speaker Richard A. V. "Jock" Houston under the Public Order Act 1936
Public Order Act 1936
The Public Order Act 1936 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to control extremist political movements in the 1930s such as the British Union of Fascists ....
. On 20 March 1940, he asked a question about a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
radio station set up by Germany which gave its precise wavelength, which was suspected by both his allies and opponents as a subtle way of advertising it. On May 9 he asked for an assurance from the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
"that he refuses to be stampeded ... by a ramp in our Jew-ridden press?" His increasingly open anti-semitism was picked up by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and other MPs and referred to in debate.
Internment
One of the last members to join the Right Club was Tyler KentTyler Kent
Tyler Gatesworth Kent was an American diplomat who stole thousands of secret documents for a pro-German organization while working as a cipher clerk at the U.S. Embassy in London during World War II....
, a cypher clerk at the American Embassy in London. Ramsay gave Kent the ledger containing the list of Right Club members for safe-keeping. Unfortunately for Ramsay, Kent was stealing top-secret documents from the embassy and had already fallen under suspicion for so doing. On May 20, Kent's flat was raided and he was arrested; the locked 'Red Book' was forced open. Ramsay's involvement with Kent was extremely concerning to the authorities as Ramsay enjoyed Parliamentary privilege: if Kent had given his stolen documents to Ramsay, it would have been impossible to prevent their publication, which could have stopped immediate escalation of war. At the time this was antithetical to the controllers of parliament. The Cabinet decided to extend Regulation 18B to give more power to detain people suspected of disloyalty.
Ramsay was arrested and lodged in Brixton prison on an order under Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
on May 23, 1940. From the start he engaged solicitors (Oswald Hickson, Collier & Co.) through whom he attempted to defend his reputation. When Lord Marley
Dudley Aman, 1st Baron Marley
Dudley Leigh Aman, 1st Baron Marley DSC , was a British soldier and Labour politician.Marley was the son of Edward Godfrey Aman, of Farnham, and was educated at Marlborough and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. During the First World War he served in France and Belgium as a Major in the Royal...
said in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
that Ramsay was Hitler's chosen Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
for Scotland in the event of an invasion, Oswald Hickson, Collier immediately sent off a letter of complaint.
As an 18B detainee, Ramsay's only legal method of challenging his detention was to appeal to the Advisory Committee under Norman Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, QC PC was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School...
which recommended continued detention. However, as a Member of Parliament, some of Ramsay's colleagues argued that his detention was a breach of parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...
. The detention was referred to the Committee of Privileges, but on October 9 it reported that detention was not a breach of privilege.
Libel trial
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
published an article on "Britain's Fifth Column
Fifth Column
Fifth Column was a Canadian all-women experimental post-punk band from Toronto, which came about during the early 1980s. They took the name Fifth Column after a military manoeuvre by Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War, in which nationalist insurrectionists within besieged Republican...
" in July 1940 which claimed "informed American sources said that he had sent to the German Legation in Dublin treasonable information given to him by Tyler Kent". Ramsay sued for libel
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
, resulting in a trial in July 1941 in which he asserted his loyalty to Britain. However some of Ramsay's answers did him extreme damage, for example when he was asked if he wanted Nazism to be defeated, and replied, substituting "Germany" for "Nazism": "Not only Germany, but also the Judaic menace". In summing-up the Judge said he was convinced Hitler would call Ramsay "friend" and that Ramsay was disloyal in heart and soul to his King, his Government, and the people.
However, The New York Times could not defend its story, having found no evidence that Ramsay had communicated anything to the German Legation in Dublin, and it was found guilty. The Judge awarded a farthing in damages, the customary award for a libel plaintiff adjudged to have brought it on themselves; as The New York Times had already paid £75 into court, Ramsay became liable for both prosecution and defence costs. Another consequence of the trial was that Ramsay's local Conservative Association disowned him completely. They recruited David Robertson
David Robertson (UK politician)
Sir David Robertson was a British accountant, company director and politician. From a Scottish family, he represented first a constituency in London and then the Scottish highlands constituency of Caithness and Sutherland...
, the MP for Streatham
Streatham (UK Parliament constituency)
Streatham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
who was from Scotland, to represent the constituency; however Robertson found it too expensive to do so and soon gave it up.
Subsequent political activity
Ramsay continued occasionally to put down written Parliamentary questions from jail, sometimes taking up the cases of fellow 18Bs. His eldest son Alec, serving in the Scots GuardsScots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
, died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on active service in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in August 1943. Ramsay was finally released from detention on September 26, 1944, being one of the last few 18B detainees. He immediately returned to Westminster to resume his seat in the House of Commons, causing at least one member to storm out of the chamber. His only significant action in the remainder of the Parliament was a motion calling for the reinstatement of the 1275 Statute of Jewry passed under King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. He did not defend his seat in the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
.
In 1952 Ramsay wrote The Nameless War as an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
and a plea to justify his actions. Much of the book consisted of an antisemitic conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
re-interpreting the whole of modern history as an ongoing Jewish campaign for world domination, quoting extensively from the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...
whose authenticity he took for granted, and adding such assertions as that Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
had been a Jew whose real name was "Cohen", that Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
had been "a paid agent of the Jews" and that the entire English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and the execution of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
were staged for the sole purpose of allowing Jews to return to England. The book is still current in extreme-right circles.
Ramsay attended some far-right political meetings but did not attract attention. He died in 1955.
Sources
- The Nameless War by Archibald Maule Ramsay (Britons Publishing Company, London, 1952) – text available online here
- "Conspirator: The Untold Story of Churchill, Roosevelt and Tyler Kent, Spy" by Ray Bearse and Anthony Read (Macmillan, London, 1991)
- "Patriotism Perverted: Captain Ramsay, the Right Club and British Anti-Semitism 1939–40" by Richard Griffiths (Constable, London, 1998)
Further reading
- The Red Book - The Membership List of The Right Club by Robin Saikia (Foxley Books, London, 2010) – the book contains a complete facsimile of the Red Book; excerpts available online http://foxleybooks.blogspot.com
External links
- excerpt from a BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
film by Robert HarrisRobert Harris (novelist)Robert Dennis Harris is an English novelist. He is a former journalist and BBC television reporter.-Early life:Born in Nottingham, Harris spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate. His ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local...
, playable from Adam CurtisAdam CurtisAdam Curtis is a British BAFTA winning documentarian and a writer, television producer, director and narrator. He works for BBC Current Affairs.-Early life and education:Curtis was born in 1955...
' blog entry titled "Wicked Leaks" (dated 17 Dec 2010, accessed 25 Dec 2010)