Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne
Encyclopedia
Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne DSO
& Bar
PC (29 March 1880 – 6 November 1944) was a Anglo-Irish
politician and businessman. He served as the British minister of state in the Middle East until November 1944, when he was assassinated by the militant Jewish Zionist group Lehi
. The assassination of Lord Moyne sent shock waves through Palestine
and the rest of the world.
, the third son of the 1st Earl of Iveagh
. His family homes were at Farmleigh
near Dublin, and at Elveden
in Suffolk. At Eton
, Guinness was elected head of 'Pop', the club for prefects, and was appointed Captain of Boats.
On 24 June 1903, he married Lady Evelyn Hilda Stuart Erskine (1883–1939), third daughter of the 14th Earl of Buchan. The Earls of Buchan were an ancient family in the Scottish nobility. They had three children, Bryan, Murtogh and Grania
.
. He was wounded, was Mentioned in Despatches and was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal
with four clasps, serving as a Captain in the 44th company of the Imperial Yeomanry
. According to Wilson, "they had a devil-may-care ethos and distaste for military discipline...they made lightning raids on Afrikaner
positions; they skirmished ahead of advancing columns.". At the end of May 1900, led by Major-General Hamilton, they assaulted the ridge at Doornkop, though Guinness was wounded immediately after the battle in mopping-up at Witpoortjie.
During World War I
, he served with distinction in the Suffolk Yeomanry in Egypt
, and at Gallipoli
. He was appointed a Brigade Major
in the 25th division
in 1916. In the fighting around Passchendaele
, he was awarded the DSO
in 1917, and a bar to it in 1918 during the German Spring Offensive
, for personal bravery, which was rare for an elected politician. He ended the war as a Lieutenant-Colonel attached to the 66th division
. His laconic war diaries were published in 1987, edited by Professor Brian Bond
.
and also to the House of Commons
as Conservative
member for Bury St Edmunds
, which he continued to represent until 1931. He took the conservative line on Home Rule
for Ireland, suffragism and reform of the House of Lords. In 1912, the editor of the magazine Guinness owned, The Outlook, broke the Marconi scandal
, accusing Lloyd George
and other Liberal ministers of share frauds. Other publications developed the story but it could not be proven after lengthy debate. When his role was debated, Guinness explained that he was on safari in Africa at the start, and that his editor’s target was inefficiency, not corruption. He visited eastern Anatolia
in 1913 and reported that Armenians were being armed secretly by Russia,
World War I
reduced Guinness's attendances and opponents accused him of cowardice for being in the House at all. In a heated Armistice
speech, he insisted that Germany pay full war reparations, that no ties be made with Russian bolshevism, and: “Since the days of Mahomet no prophet has been listened to with more superstitious respect than has President Wilson
” (of the USA). Irish political developments after 1916 were a concern as the Guinness
business was in Dublin. During the Easter Rebellion the brewery first aid teams helped both sides. The Guinnesses were opposed to the Sinn Féin
rebels, who hailed the Central Powers
as 'gallant allies'. This had to change and by the time of the Treaty
debates in 1922 which established the Irish Free State
he said he preferred ‘a slippery slope to a precipice’ and voted in favour. Despite their politics, during the Irish War of Independence
and the Irish Civil War
his family was popular enough to escape loss or injury. In 1922, the Chanak crisis
caused the coalition Prime Minister Lloyd George
to step down unexpectedly in favour of Andrew Bonar Law. Guinness’s comments on Turkey were a part of the debate; he had come to admire Atatürk, despite serving at Gallipoli
and he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War
under Lord Derby. Hereafter, his pronouncements appear less dogmatic. He lost office on the Labour election victory in January 1924, but the following month, Guinness was sworn of the Privy Council
.
Though they had generally been political opponents in 1907-21, Guinness’s working political relationship with Winston Churchill
started after the election victory in late 1924, when he was made Financial Secretary
under Churchill, the new Chancellor
. Together, they put the Pound sterling
back on the gold standard; a point of pride, but not a policy that lasted for long. A ministerial vacancy enabled him to join the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture
from November 1925 until June 1929, where his main success was in increasing the sugar beet
area. The first beet processing factory was built in his constituency, partly on the advice of Martin Neumann (a grandfather of Stephen Fry
), who became a manager there.
After the Conservative defeat in 1929
, he had to retire from office. He did no stand for re-election in the 1931 election
and was created Baron Moyne
of Bury St Edmunds in January 1932.
During his adult life, Moyne was a director of the brewing firm Guinness
, established at the St. James's Gate Brewery
by his great-great-grandfather Arthur Guinness
in 1759. The firm had been listed on the London Stock Exchange
in 1886 by his father.
Moyne also established British Pacific Properties in Vancouver
, Canada. There he commissioned the Lion's Gate Bridge, then the longest bridge in the British Empire
, which was opened by King George VI in 1938.
He was also a trustee of the two charitable housing trusts set up by his father, the Guinness Trust
in London (estd.1888) and the Iveagh Trust
in Dublin (estd.1890). In 1927-28, he helped arrange the gift to the nation of Kenwood House
which contains his father's art collection.
. She was converted to a steam yacht
and renamed Arpha. She was sold to Sark Motorships Ltd in 1938.
but all on board were rescued.
back to Britain. He wrote two books about the cultures that he had encountered in thousands of miles of travel around the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. They are now quite rare: Walkabout; a Journey between the Pacific and Indian oceans (1936) and Atlantic Circle (1938).
The Rosaura explains Moyne's closer ties to Winston Churchill
which were to result in his untimely death. In 1930, they agreed that the government policies of dropping the Pound sterling
off the gold standard and de-rating to cope with the Great Depression were inadequate, along with proposals for dominion status for India. When the 1931 coalition government was formed, their criticisms meant that as former ministers they were now out in the political cold. From 1934, they also warned about Hitler's rise to power and German rearmament.
His ties to Churchill were also strengthened through 'The Other Club
', an informal dining club for politicians in London that Churchill had founded in 1911, which Moyne later joined. A rule was that members had to freely express their opinions. Moyne was there on 29 September 1938 when the bad news came of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
's capitulation to Hitler at Munich
. Also present were Brendan Bracken, Lloyd George
, Bob Boothby
, Duff Cooper
, J.L. Garvin
, editor of The Observer
, and Walter Elliot. "Winston ranted and raved, venting his spleen on the two government ministers present and demanding to know how they could support a policy that was 'sordid, squalid, sub-human and suicidal'." At that time, they still shared the minority view in parliament; the majority agreed with Moyne's cousin-in-law 'Chips' Channon MP
, who recorded about Munich
that 'the whole world rejoices whilst only a few malcontents jeer.'
After the Munich crisis Churchill wrote an oft-repeated comment in a letter to Moyne: "Owing to the neglect of our defences and the mishandling of the German problem in the last five years, we seem to be very near the bleak choice between War and Shame. My feeling is that we shall choose Shame, and then have War thrown in a little later, on even more adverse terms than at present."
overseeing its finances. In 1933, he chaired a parliamentary committee supervising English slum clearances, in light of his experience gained in his family's charitable trusts mentioned above. In 1934, he joined the Royal Commission
examining Durham University
as well as a 1936 committee investigating the British film industry.
In 1938, Moyne was appointed chairman of the West Indies Royal Commission which was asked to investigate how best the British colonies in the Caribbean
should be governed, after labour unrest
there. The Report and notes were published in 1939 and are held by the PRO
at Kew, London. Largely as a result of his travels and his work in the West Indies, Lord Moyne was appointed Colonial Secretary
by his friend Winston Churchill
, serving from 8 February 1941 to 22 February 1942. Just before he returned from the Caribbean, his wife Evelyn died on 21 July.
From the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Moyne sought the internment of Diana Mosley, his former daughter-in-law, who had left his son Bryan
in 1932. She had remarried in 1936 in Berlin to the British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley
, with Hitler
and Goebbels
as witnesses. File No KV 2/1363 at the PRO
, Kew, is part of a collection released in 2004 on British right wing extremists. The PRO's on-line archivist notes that: “Diana Mosley was not interned on the outbreak of war, and remained at liberty for some time. There is a Home Office
letter of May 1940 explaining the Home Secretary
's decision not to intern her at that time, and then correspondence from her former father-in-law, Lord Moyne, which seems to have resulted in her detention the following month.” Moyne's friend Churchill had become Prime Minister
on 10 May 1940. Moyne's last letter, dated 26 June 1940, is quoted in Anne de Courcy's book on Diana Mosley. Later that day her order of detention was signed by J.S. Hale, a principal Secretary of State.
From September 1939, given Hitler's Invasion of Poland (1939)
, Moyne chaired the Polish Relief Fund in London and gave over his London house at 11 Grosvenor Place (which is beside Buckingham Palace
) for the use of Polish officers. On the elevation of Churchill, Moyne was invited back to serve in the Ministry of Agriculture
as a Joint Secretary. In a cabinet reshuffle in February 1941, he took on his post in the Colonial Office
and led the Churchill government's business in the House of Lords
, with the honorific title of Leader of the House of Lords.
Moyne was next appointed Deputy Resident Minister of state in Cairo
from August 1942 to January 1944, and Resident Minister from then until his death. Within the British system at that time, this meant control over Persia, the Middle East
and Africa
. The main task was to ensure the defeat of the Axis forces
in North Africa
, principally the Afrika Korps
, who were led by General Rommel
. Another concern was the influence on Arab opinion of the Grand Mufti
, a leader of a revolt in 1936-39, who had moved on to Berlin in 1941.
, a member of the Jewish-Hungarian Aid and Rescue Committee
, approached the British in April 1944 with a proposal from Adolf Eichmann
, the SS
officer in charge of deporting Hungary's Jews
to Auschwitz
. Eichmann's so-called "blood for trucks" (Blut Für Ware; literally "blood for goods") proposal was that the Nazis would release up to one million Jews in exchange for 10,000 trucks and other goods from the Western Allies.
Brand was arrested and taken to Cairo, where he was questioned for several months. Brand reported that during one of the interrogations an Englishman he did not know had asked him about Eichmann's proposal, then replied "What can I do with a million Jews? Where can I put them?". On leaving the room, Brand reported, his military escort had told him that the man who had made that remark was Lord Moyne. Brand told this story to the Kastner
libel trial in 1953, but in his autobiography published in 1956, he added a caveat "I afterwards heard that the man with whom I spoke was not, in fact, Lord Moyne, but another British statesman. Unfortunately I have no means of verifying this." Brand later testified in the Eichmann
trial in 1961 that it was Moyne who said "What shall I do with those million Jews?" The story of the remark, attributed to Moyne, is regularly quoted by historians. Historian Bernard Wasserstein believes that "the truth is that Brand almost certainly never met Moyne".
During Brand's incarceration, both Brand and Moyne were interviewed by Ira Hirschmann, who had been appointed by Roosevelt
as the World Refugee Board delegate in Turkey
. According to Hirschmann, Moyne suggested sending Brand back to Hungary with a noncommittal reply that would enable the Jews there to continue talks. Moyne also supported a proposal to offer money to the Germans instead of trucks. However, the British government did not adopt either proposal.
Derek Wilson has weighed up the matter from the British side: "They concluded that the offer [by Brand] was genuine and reflected the desperation of Hitler's high command. They recommended that it could be safely ignored on the grounds that all the concentration camp
s would be liberated within weeks and that, in any case, there could be no negotiations with the Nazis."
The British released Brand in October 1944, about one month before Moyne's assassination, after which he joined the group Lehi
which would commit the assassination.
Long after the war, Brand commented: "I made a terrible mistake in passing this on to the British. It is now clear to me that Himmler
sought to sow suspicion among the Allies as a preparation for his much desired Nazi-Western coalition against Moscow."
and Eliyahu Hakim
both Jews of dark skinned Egyptian and Lebanese descent respectively, of the Jewish underground group Lehi
waited for Moyne near his home in Cairo following a well-planned and much practised plan of action to assassinate Moyne. They were hanged for the assassination.
Moyne arrived in his car with his driver, Corporal Fuller, his secretary, Dorothy Osmond, and his ADC, Major Andrew Hughes-Onslow. The ADC went to open the front door of the residence and the driver got out to open the door for Moyne. Hakim then pulled the car door open and shot Moyne three times, while Bet-Zuri killed the driver. The two assassins fled on their bicycles, pursued by an Egyptian motorcycle policeman who had been alerted by Major Hughes-Onslow. Hakim tried to shoot the policeman but he fired back and Hakim fell, wounded. The two were surrounded by an angry mob until they were extracted by the police.
Moyne was rushed to hospital but died of his wounds that evening.
As the principal witness at the trial, Major Hughes Onslow became a marked man and was sent to Aden and then to Khartoum for his safety. He subsequently said: "No doubt Lord Moyne could have been regarded as a target for political assassination, but the shooting of the chauffeur was pure murder." [Source: Major Hughes-Onslow's son, journalist James Hughes-Onslow.]
According to Lehi leader Natan Yellin-Mor, the group's founder Ya'ir Stern
had considered the possibility of assassinating the British Minister Resident in the Middle East as early as 1941 (before Moyne held the position). Moyne's predecessor Richard Casey
was deemed unsuitable because he was Australia
n. When Moyne replaced Casey in 1944, planning for the operation began.
As well as being the highest British official within Lehis reach, Moyne was regarded as personally responsible for Britain's Palestine policy. In particular, he was regarded as one of the architects of Britain's strict immigration policy, and to have been responsible for the British hand in the Struma disaster. According to Bell, Lord Moyne was known to the underground as an Arabist
who had consistently followed an anti-Zionist
line.
According to Yaakov Banai
(Mazal), who served as the commander of the fighting unit of Lehi, there were three purposes in the assassination:
on 9 June 1942. Moyne said that:
In regard to the problems of settlement he said:
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
PC (29 March 1880 – 6 November 1944) was a Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
politician and businessman. He served as the British minister of state in the Middle East until November 1944, when he was assassinated by the militant Jewish Zionist group Lehi
Lehi (group)
Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...
. The assassination of Lord Moyne sent shock waves through Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and the rest of the world.
Early life
Walter Guinness was born in Dublin, IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the third son of the 1st Earl of Iveagh
Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, KP, GCVO, FRS was an Irish philanthropist and businessman.-Public life:...
. His family homes were at Farmleigh
Farmleigh
Farmleigh is the official Irish State guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the north-west of the Phoenix Park...
near Dublin, and at Elveden
Elveden Hall
Elveden Hall is a large privately owned house overlooking the large Elveden Estate in Elveden, Suffolk, England. It is located centrally to the village and is close to the A11 and the Parish Church....
in Suffolk. At Eton
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"....
, Guinness was elected head of 'Pop', the club for prefects, and was appointed Captain of Boats.
On 24 June 1903, he married Lady Evelyn Hilda Stuart Erskine (1883–1939), third daughter of the 14th Earl of Buchan. The Earls of Buchan were an ancient family in the Scottish nobility. They had three children, Bryan, Murtogh and Grania
Oswald Phipps, 4th Marquess of Normanby
Oswald Constantine John Phipps, 4th Marquess of Normanby, KG, CBE was a British peer and philanthropist for blind people.-Early life:...
.
Military career
Guinness volunteered for service in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. He was wounded, was Mentioned in Despatches and was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal
Queen's South Africa Medal
The Queen's South Africa Medal was awarded to military personnel who served in the Boer War in South Africa between 11 October 1899 and 31 May 1902. Units from the British Army, Royal Navy, colonial forces who took part , civilians employed in official capacity and war correspondents...
with four clasps, serving as a Captain in the 44th company of the Imperial Yeomanry
Imperial Yeomanry
The Imperial Yeomanry was a British volunteer cavalry regiment that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Officially created on 24 December 1899, the regiment was based on members of standing Yeomanry regiments, but also contained a large contingent of mid-upper class English volunteers. In...
. According to Wilson, "they had a devil-may-care ethos and distaste for military discipline...they made lightning raids on Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
positions; they skirmished ahead of advancing columns.". At the end of May 1900, led by Major-General Hamilton, they assaulted the ridge at Doornkop, though Guinness was wounded immediately after the battle in mopping-up at Witpoortjie.
During 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 with distinction in the Suffolk Yeomanry in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
. He was appointed a Brigade Major
Brigade Major
In the British Army, a Brigade Major was the Chief of Staff of a brigade. He held the rank of Major and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section directly and oversaw the two other branches, "A - Administration" and "Q - Quartermaster"...
in the 25th division
25th Division (United Kingdom)
The 25th Division of the British Army was raised for the Third New Army during September 1914. It served on the Western Front for most of the First World War. The component units were assembled around Salisbury and moved to Aldershot in May 1915 to complete their training...
in 1916. In the fighting around Passchendaele
Passendale
Passendale or Passchendaele is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province...
, he was awarded the DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
in 1917, and a bar to it in 1918 during the German Spring Offensive
Spring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...
, for personal bravery, which was rare for an elected politician. He ended the war as a Lieutenant-Colonel attached to the 66th division
66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division
The British 66th Division was raised as a second-line Territorial Force division in August 1914 shortly after the commencement of the First World War. It went on to serve as a full-fledged frontline division on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918...
. His laconic war diaries were published in 1987, edited by Professor Brian Bond
Brian Bond
Brian James Bond is a British military historian and professor emeritus of military history at King's College London.-Early life and education:...
.
Early political career
In 1907, Guinness was elected to the London County CouncilLondon County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
and also to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as Conservative
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...
member for Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury St Edmunds is a county constituency located in Suffolk and centred on the town of Bury St Edmunds. It elects one Member of Parliament to in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, which he continued to represent until 1931. He took the conservative line on Home Rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
for Ireland, suffragism and reform of the House of Lords. In 1912, the editor of the magazine Guinness owned, The Outlook, broke the Marconi scandal
Marconi scandal
The Marconi scandal was a British political scandal that broke in the summer of 1912. It centred on allegations that highly-placed members of the Liberal government, under H. H...
, accusing Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
and other Liberal ministers of share frauds. Other publications developed the story but it could not be proven after lengthy debate. When his role was debated, Guinness explained that he was on safari in Africa at the start, and that his editor’s target was inefficiency, not corruption. He visited eastern Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
in 1913 and reported that Armenians were being armed secretly by Russia,
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...
reduced Guinness's attendances and opponents accused him of cowardice for being in the House at all. In a heated Armistice
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
speech, he insisted that Germany pay full war reparations, that no ties be made with Russian bolshevism, and: “Since the days of Mahomet no prophet has been listened to with more superstitious respect than has President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
” (of the USA). Irish political developments after 1916 were a concern as the Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
business was in Dublin. During the Easter Rebellion the brewery first aid teams helped both sides. The Guinnesses were opposed to the Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
rebels, who hailed the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
as 'gallant allies'. This had to change and by the time of the Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
debates in 1922 which established the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
he said he preferred ‘a slippery slope to a precipice’ and voted in favour. Despite their politics, during the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
and the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
his family was popular enough to escape loss or injury. In 1922, the Chanak crisis
Chanak Crisis
The Chanak Crisis, also called Chanak Affair in September 1922 was the threatened attack by Turkish troops on British and French troops stationed near Çanakkale to guard the Dardanelles neutral zone. The Turkish troops had recently defeated Greek forces and recaptured İzmir...
caused the coalition Prime Minister Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
to step down unexpectedly in favour of Andrew Bonar Law. Guinness’s comments on Turkey were a part of the debate; he had come to admire Atatürk, despite serving at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
and he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War
Under-Secretary of State for War
The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean . In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies...
under Lord Derby. Hereafter, his pronouncements appear less dogmatic. He lost office on the Labour election victory in January 1924, but the following month, Guinness was sworn of the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
.
Though they had generally been political opponents in 1907-21, Guinness’s working political relationship with Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
started after the election victory in late 1924, when he was made Financial Secretary
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
under Churchill, the new Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. Together, they put the Pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
back on the gold standard; a point of pride, but not a policy that lasted for long. A ministerial vacancy enabled him to join the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889...
from November 1925 until June 1929, where his main success was in increasing the sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
area. The first beet processing factory was built in his constituency, partly on the advice of Martin Neumann (a grandfather of Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
), who became a manager there.
After the Conservative defeat in 1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, he had to retire from office. He did no stand for re-election in the 1931 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...
and was created Baron Moyne
Baron Moyne
Baron Moyne, of Bury St Edmund in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1932 for the Conservative politician the Hon. Walter Guinness. A member of the prominent Guinness brewing family, he was the third son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh,...
of Bury St Edmunds in January 1932.
Business and charitable interests
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
, established at the St. James's Gate Brewery
St. James's Gate Brewery
St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed via the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product produced at the brewery is Guinness Draft.Leased for 9,000 years in 1759 by...
by his great-great-grandfather Arthur Guinness
Arthur Guinness
Arthur Guinness was an Irish brewer and the founder of the Guinness brewery business and family.He was also an entrepreneur, visionary and philanthropist....
in 1759. The firm had been listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1886 by his father.
Moyne also established British Pacific Properties in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada. There he commissioned the Lion's Gate Bridge, then the longest bridge in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, which was opened by King George VI in 1938.
He was also a trustee of the two charitable housing trusts set up by his father, the Guinness Trust
Guinness Trust
The Guinness Trust is the oldest member of the Guinness Partnership, a group of housing associations. It is a UK registered charity providing affordable housing....
in London (estd.1888) and the Iveagh Trust
Iveagh Trust
The Iveagh Trust is a provider of affordable housing in and around Dublin, Ireland. It was initially a component of the Guinness Trust, founded in 1890 by Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, great-grandson of the founder of the Guinness Brewery, to help homeless people in Dublin and London...
in Dublin (estd.1890). In 1927-28, he helped arrange the gift to the nation of Kenwood House
Kenwood House
Kenwood House is a former stately home, in Hampstead, London, on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. It is managed by English Heritage.-History:...
which contains his father's art collection.
Arpha
In 1926, Guinness bought the passenger ferry SS Canterbury from the Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
. She was converted to a steam yacht
Steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.-Origin of the name:...
and renamed Arpha. She was sold to Sark Motorships Ltd in 1938.
Roussalka
In 1931, Guinness bought the passenger ferry SS Brighton from the Southern Railway. She was converted to diesel power and renamed Roussalka. On 25 August 1933, Roussalka was wrecked in Killary BayKillary Harbour
Killary Harbour/An Caoláire Rua is a fjord located in the West of Ireland in the heart of Connemara which forms a natural border between counties Galway and Mayo. It is 16 kilometres long and in the centre over 45 metres deep...
but all on board were rescued.
Rosaura
In September 1933, Moyne purchased the passenger ferry SS Dieppe from the Southern Railway. She was converted to diesel power and renamed Rosaura. He used this boat for social cruises, including a voyage in September 1934 from Marseille on to Greece and Beirut with the Churchills as his guests of honour. From December 1934, he ventured further to the Pacific, with Clementine Churchill as a guest, and brought the first living Komodo dragonKomodo dragon
The Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
back to Britain. He wrote two books about the cultures that he had encountered in thousands of miles of travel around the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. They are now quite rare: Walkabout; a Journey between the Pacific and Indian oceans (1936) and Atlantic Circle (1938).
The Rosaura explains Moyne's closer ties to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
which were to result in his untimely death. In 1930, they agreed that the government policies of dropping the Pound sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
off the gold standard and de-rating to cope with the Great Depression were inadequate, along with proposals for dominion status for India. When the 1931 coalition government was formed, their criticisms meant that as former ministers they were now out in the political cold. From 1934, they also warned about Hitler's rise to power and German rearmament.
His ties to Churchill were also strengthened through 'The Other Club
The Other Club
The Other Club is a British political dining society founded in 1911 by Winston Churchill and F. E. Smith. It meets to dine fortnightly while parliament is in session. Its members over the years have included many leading British political and non-political people.Churchill, who in 1910 was...
', an informal dining club for politicians in London that Churchill had founded in 1911, which Moyne later joined. A rule was that members had to freely express their opinions. Moyne was there on 29 September 1938 when the bad news came of Prime Minister 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...
's capitulation to Hitler at Munich
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
. Also present were Brendan Bracken, Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, Bob Boothby
Robert Boothby
Robert John Graham Boothby, Baron Boothby, KBE was a controversial British Conservative politician.-Early life:...
, Duff Cooper
Duff Cooper
Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich GCMG, DSO, PC , known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician, diplomat and author. He wrote six books, including an autobiography, Old Men Forget, and a biography of Talleyrand...
, J.L. Garvin
James Louis Garvin
For the basketball player, see James Garvin James Louis Garvin , was an influential British journalist, editor, and author...
, editor of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, and Walter Elliot. "Winston ranted and raved, venting his spleen on the two government ministers present and demanding to know how they could support a policy that was 'sordid, squalid, sub-human and suicidal'." At that time, they still shared the minority view in parliament; the majority agreed with Moyne's cousin-in-law 'Chips' Channon MP
Henry Channon
Sir Henry "Chips" Channon was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that American cultural and economic views threatened traditional European and British civilisation. He wrote extensively...
, who recorded about Munich
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
that 'the whole world rejoices whilst only a few malcontents jeer.'
After the Munich crisis Churchill wrote an oft-repeated comment in a letter to Moyne: "Owing to the neglect of our defences and the mishandling of the German problem in the last five years, we seem to be very near the bleak choice between War and Shame. My feeling is that we shall choose Shame, and then have War thrown in a little later, on even more adverse terms than at present."
Later political career
Though an "elevation" to the Lords ends many political lives, Moyne spent part of 1932 in the then-colony of KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
overseeing its finances. In 1933, he chaired a parliamentary committee supervising English slum clearances, in light of his experience gained in his family's charitable trusts mentioned above. In 1934, he joined the Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
examining Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
as well as a 1936 committee investigating the British film industry.
In 1938, Moyne was appointed chairman of the West Indies Royal Commission which was asked to investigate how best the British colonies in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
should be governed, after labour unrest
British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–1939
TheBritish West Indian labour unrest of 1934–1939 encompassed a series of disturbances, strikes and riots in the United Kingdom's Caribbean colonies. These began as the Great Depression wore on and ceased on the eve of World War II...
there. The Report and notes were published in 1939 and are held by the PRO
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives...
at Kew, London. Largely as a result of his travels and his work in the West Indies, Lord Moyne was appointed Colonial Secretary
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
by his friend Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, serving from 8 February 1941 to 22 February 1942. Just before he returned from the Caribbean, his wife Evelyn died on 21 July.
From the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Moyne sought the internment of Diana Mosley, his former daughter-in-law, who had left his son Bryan
Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne
Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne , was an heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune, lawyer, poet and novelist...
in 1932. She had remarried in 1936 in Berlin to the British fascist leader Sir 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...
, with 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...
and Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
as witnesses. File No KV 2/1363 at the PRO
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives...
, Kew, is part of a collection released in 2004 on British right wing extremists. The PRO's on-line archivist notes that: “Diana Mosley was not interned on the outbreak of war, and remained at liberty for some time. There is a Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
letter of May 1940 explaining 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...
's decision not to intern her at that time, and then correspondence from her former father-in-law, Lord Moyne, which seems to have resulted in her detention the following month.” Moyne's friend Churchill had become Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
on 10 May 1940. Moyne's last letter, dated 26 June 1940, is quoted in Anne de Courcy's book on Diana Mosley. Later that day her order of detention was signed by J.S. Hale, a principal Secretary of State.
From September 1939, given Hitler's Invasion of Poland (1939)
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, Moyne chaired the Polish Relief Fund in London and gave over his London house at 11 Grosvenor Place (which is beside Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
) for the use of Polish officers. On the elevation of Churchill, Moyne was invited back to serve in the Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry or department of agriculture is a ministry or other government agency charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister for agriculture....
as a Joint Secretary. In a cabinet reshuffle in February 1941, he took on his post in the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
and led the Churchill government's business 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....
, with the honorific title of Leader of the House of Lords.
Moyne was next appointed Deputy Resident Minister of state in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
from August 1942 to January 1944, and Resident Minister from then until his death. Within the British system at that time, this meant control over Persia, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The main task was to ensure the defeat of the Axis forces
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, principally the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
, who were led by General Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
. Another concern was the influence on Arab opinion of the Grand Mufti
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini was a Palestinian Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine. From as early as 1920, in order to secure the independence of Palestine as an Arab state he actively opposed Zionism, and was implicated as a leader of a violent riot...
, a leader of a revolt in 1936-39, who had moved on to Berlin in 1941.
"Blood for trucks" proposal
Joel BrandJoel Brand
Joel Brand was a Hungarian sailor and odd-job man who became known for his role during the Holocaust in trying to save the Hungarian-Jewish community from deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp....
, a member of the Jewish-Hungarian Aid and Rescue Committee
Aid and Rescue Committee
The Aid and Rescue Committee, or Va'adat Ha-Ezrah ve-ha-Hatzalah be-Budapesht was a small committee of Zionists based in Budapest in 1944-5, who were dedicated to helping Jews escape the Holocaust during the German occupation of Hungary.The main personalities of the Vaada were Dr...
, approached the British in April 1944 with a proposal from Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
, the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
officer in charge of deporting Hungary's Jews
History of the Jews in Hungary
Hungarian Jews have existed since at least the 11th century. After struggling against discrimination throughout the Middle Ages, by the early 20th century the community grew to be 5% of Hungary's population , and were prominent in science, the arts and business...
to Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. Eichmann's so-called "blood for trucks" (Blut Für Ware; literally "blood for goods") proposal was that the Nazis would release up to one million Jews in exchange for 10,000 trucks and other goods from the Western Allies.
Brand was arrested and taken to Cairo, where he was questioned for several months. Brand reported that during one of the interrogations an Englishman he did not know had asked him about Eichmann's proposal, then replied "What can I do with a million Jews? Where can I put them?". On leaving the room, Brand reported, his military escort had told him that the man who had made that remark was Lord Moyne. Brand told this story to the Kastner
Rudolf Kastner
Rudolf Israel Kastner was a Jewish-Hungarian journalist and lawyer who became known for facilitating the departure of Jews out of Nazi-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust...
libel trial in 1953, but in his autobiography published in 1956, he added a caveat "I afterwards heard that the man with whom I spoke was not, in fact, Lord Moyne, but another British statesman. Unfortunately I have no means of verifying this." Brand later testified in the Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
trial in 1961 that it was Moyne who said "What shall I do with those million Jews?" The story of the remark, attributed to Moyne, is regularly quoted by historians. Historian Bernard Wasserstein believes that "the truth is that Brand almost certainly never met Moyne".
During Brand's incarceration, both Brand and Moyne were interviewed by Ira Hirschmann, who had been appointed by Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
as the World Refugee Board delegate in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. According to Hirschmann, Moyne suggested sending Brand back to Hungary with a noncommittal reply that would enable the Jews there to continue talks. Moyne also supported a proposal to offer money to the Germans instead of trucks. However, the British government did not adopt either proposal.
Derek Wilson has weighed up the matter from the British side: "They concluded that the offer [by Brand] was genuine and reflected the desperation of Hitler's high command. They recommended that it could be safely ignored on the grounds that all the concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
s would be liberated within weeks and that, in any case, there could be no negotiations with the Nazis."
The British released Brand in October 1944, about one month before Moyne's assassination, after which he joined the group Lehi
Lehi (group)
Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...
which would commit the assassination.
Long after the war, Brand commented: "I made a terrible mistake in passing this on to the British. It is now clear to me that Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
sought to sow suspicion among the Allies as a preparation for his much desired Nazi-Western coalition against Moscow."
Assassination
In the early afternoon of 6 November 1944, Eliyahu Bet-ZuriEliyahu Bet-Zuri
Eliyahu Bet-Zuri was a member of Lehi, who was executed in Egypt for assassinating Lord Moyne, the British Minister Resident in the Middle East....
and Eliyahu Hakim
Eliyahu Hakim
Eliyahu Hakim was a Lehi member who took part in the 1944 assassination of Lord Moyne, the British Minister Resident in the Middle East.Born in Beirut, Hakim moved to Mandatory Palestine with his family when he was seven. He grew up in the port city of Haifa. As a teenager, he joined Lehi, but...
both Jews of dark skinned Egyptian and Lebanese descent respectively, of the Jewish underground group Lehi
Lehi (group)
Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...
waited for Moyne near his home in Cairo following a well-planned and much practised plan of action to assassinate Moyne. They were hanged for the assassination.
Moyne arrived in his car with his driver, Corporal Fuller, his secretary, Dorothy Osmond, and his ADC, Major Andrew Hughes-Onslow. The ADC went to open the front door of the residence and the driver got out to open the door for Moyne. Hakim then pulled the car door open and shot Moyne three times, while Bet-Zuri killed the driver. The two assassins fled on their bicycles, pursued by an Egyptian motorcycle policeman who had been alerted by Major Hughes-Onslow. Hakim tried to shoot the policeman but he fired back and Hakim fell, wounded. The two were surrounded by an angry mob until they were extracted by the police.
Moyne was rushed to hospital but died of his wounds that evening.
As the principal witness at the trial, Major Hughes Onslow became a marked man and was sent to Aden and then to Khartoum for his safety. He subsequently said: "No doubt Lord Moyne could have been regarded as a target for political assassination, but the shooting of the chauffeur was pure murder." [Source: Major Hughes-Onslow's son, journalist James Hughes-Onslow.]
According to Lehi leader Natan Yellin-Mor, the group's founder Ya'ir Stern
Avraham Stern
Avraham Stern , alias Yair was a Jewish paramilitary leader who founded and led the militant Zionist organization later known as Lehi .-Early life:Stern was born in Suwałki, Poland...
had considered the possibility of assassinating the British Minister Resident in the Middle East as early as 1941 (before Moyne held the position). Moyne's predecessor Richard Casey
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
was deemed unsuitable because he was Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n. When Moyne replaced Casey in 1944, planning for the operation began.
As well as being the highest British official within Lehis reach, Moyne was regarded as personally responsible for Britain's Palestine policy. In particular, he was regarded as one of the architects of Britain's strict immigration policy, and to have been responsible for the British hand in the Struma disaster. According to Bell, Lord Moyne was known to the underground as an Arabist
Arabist (political)
As used in modern political discourse in some quarters, Arabist refers a generally non-Arab specialist in Arabic language or culture perceived to be excessively sympathetic towards Arabic culture and political views...
who had consistently followed an anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
line.
According to Yaakov Banai
Yaakov Banai
Yaakov Banai born Yaakov Tunkel, Alias Mazal served as the commander of the Lehi movement's combat unit...
(Mazal), who served as the commander of the fighting unit of Lehi, there were three purposes in the assassination:
- To show the world that this conflict wasn't between a government and its citizens like Britain tried to show but between citizens and a foreign rule.
- To prove that the conflict was between the Jewish People and the British ImperialismBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. - To take the "War of Liberation" out of the Land of IsraelLand of IsraelThe Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
and the YishuvYishuvThe Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
. The trial wasn't planned but the action had to capture a place in the world press and lead political thoughts.
Moyne's 1942 speech
Moyne's views were partly outlined in a speech about recruitment of Jews into the British Army in the House of LordsHouse 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....
on 9 June 1942. Moyne said that:
The Government have already explained what has been done to arm the Jews for the legitimate purpose of self-defence, and we shall no doubt hear from the noble Lord, Lord Croft, to-day how that process has continued in the last few weeks; but is it not clear that Lord Melchett and the responsible leaders of the Jews in this country generally seek to be saved from Lord WedgwoodJosiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron WedgwoodColonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, DSO, PC, DL sometimes referred to as Josiah Wedgwood IV was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald...
in his attempt to make political capital out of the natural desire of the Jews to do their utmost to defend the cause of freedom against Nazi tyranny?
In regard to the problems of settlement he said:
It must surely have a deplorable effect upon our Allies to be told by an ex-Cabinet Minister that the Palestine Administration do not like Jews, and that there are enough Anti-Semites in Great Britain to back up the Hitler policy and spirit. This suggestion is a complete reversal of the truth. If a comparison is to be made with the Nazis it is surely those who wish to force an imported régime upon the Arab population who are guilty of the spirit of aggression and domination. Lord Wedgwood's proposal that Arabs should be subjugated by force to a Jewish régime is inconsistent with the Atlantic CharterAtlantic CharterThe Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement first issued in August 1941 that early in World War II defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was drafted by Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies...
, and that ought to be told to America. The second principle of that Charter lays down that the United States and ourselves desire to see no territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned; and the third principle lays down that they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of Government under which they will live.
In the House of Lords in the 1940s Moyne spoke on many other subjects as well.
Trial
After the assassination, Lehi announced:
"We accuse Lord Moyne and the government he represents, with murdering hundreds and thousands of our brethren; we accuse him of seizing our country and looting our possessions... We were forced to do justice and to fight".
Bet-Zuri and Hakim initially gave false names, but their true identities were soon discovered. They were tried in an Egyptian court.
Eventually, the Lehi members were found guilty and on 11 January 1945, they were sentenced to death. Their appeals for clemency were dismissed, probably partly in response to pressure from Winston Churchill, who had been Moyne's ally and close personal friend.
They were hanged on 23 March. The gun used to shoot Moyne was found to have been used in a sequence of killings in Palestine going back to 1937. Incongruously for people so opposed to the British EmpireBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, while awaiting execution the two asked for (and were given) the poems of KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
; most likely because of "Recessional"Recessional (poem)"Recessional" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling, which he composed on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The poem, on the one hand, expresses pride in the British Empire, but, on the other, expresses an underlying sadness that the Empire might go the way of all previous empires...
.
Aftermath
Although the group had been targeting British Mandate personnel since 1940, Moyne was the first high-profile British official to be killed by them (several failed attempts had been made to assassinate the British High Commissioner in Palestine, Sir Harold MacMichaelHarold MacMichaelSir Harold Alfred MacMichael, GCMG, DSO , was a British colonial administrator.-Early service:MacMichael graduated with a first from Magdalene College, Cambridge. After passing his civil service exam, he entered the service of the British Empire in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan...
). This was therefore the opening shot in the new Lehi campaign.
Jewish authorities in Palestine, fearful of British retribution, were quick to distance themselves from Lehi actions. On the news of Moyne's death, Chaim WeizmannChaim WeizmannChaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
, who later became the first President of IsraelPresident of IsraelThe President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
, is reported to have said that the death was more painful to him than that of his own son.
British prime minister Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, who once described himself as a "Zionist", for the time being tempered his support for Zionism. Moyne had been sent to Cairo because of their long personal and political friendship, and Churchill told the House of Commons:
- "If our dreams for Zionism are to end in the smoke of an assassin's pistol, and the labours for its future produce a new set of gangsters worthy of Nazi Germany, then many like myself will have to reconsider the position we have maintained so consistently and so long in the past".
The TimesThe TimesThe 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...
of London quoted Ha'aretzs view that the assassins "have done more by this single reprehensible crime to demolish the edifice erected by three generations of Jewish pioneers than is imaginable."
Moyne's parliamentary friend and cousin-in-law, Henry 'Chips' Channon M.P.Henry ChannonSir Henry "Chips" Channon was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that American cultural and economic views threatened traditional European and British civilisation. He wrote extensively...
told his diary:
- "I went to sleep last night with strange emotions. Walter Moyne was an extraordinary man, colossally rich, well-meaning, intelligent, scrupulous, yet a viveur, and the only modern Guinness to play a social or political role... He was careful with his huge fortune, though he had probably about three millions."
In November 1943, a committee of the British Cabinet had proposed a partition of Palestine after the war, based loosely on the 1937 Peel CommissionPeel CommissionThe Peel Commission of 1936-1937, formally known as the Palestine Royal Commission, was a British Royal Commission of Inquiry set out to propose changes to the British Mandate of Palestine following the outbreak of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine...
proposal. The plan included a Jewish state, a small residual mandatory area under British control, and an Arab state to be joined in a large Arab federation of Greater Syria. The Cabinet approved the plan in principle in January 1944, but it faced severe opposition from the Foreign Secretary Anthony EdenAnthony EdenRobert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
among others. "Moyne's position differed from that of nearly all the British civil and military officials in the Middle East: the consensus of British official opinion in the area opposed partition and opposed a Jewish state; Moyne supported both." The partition plan was before the Cabinet for final approval in the same week that Moyne was assassinated, but the assassination caused it to be immediately shelved and never resurrected. Moyne's successor in Cairo, Sir Edward Grigg, was opposed to partition. Some historians, such as Wasserstein and Porath, have speculated that a Jewish state soon after the war had been a real possibility.
The historian Brenner writes that the purpose of the attack on Moyne was also in order to show the efficacy of armed resistance and to demonstrate to the British that they were not safe in any place as long as they remained in Palestine. The assassination also seemed to have an impact on the Arab side, particularly in stimulating Egyptian nationalism. Brenner makes a comparison between Moyne’s death and the assassination of pro-British Ahmad Mahir PashaAhmad Mahir PashaAhmed Maher Pasha was the Prime Minister of Egypt from October 10, 1944 to February 24, 1945. He was a member of the Saadist Institutional Party and was appointed Prime Minister following the removal of Mustafa an-Nahhas Pasha by King Farouk.After assuming power he called for new elections and...
. There were Lehi members who advocated the formation of a "Semitic Bloc" opposing foreign domination, and this made it possible for Arabs to actually join Lehi.
In 1975, the bodies of Ben Zuri and Hakim were returned to Israel in exchange for twenty prisoners from Gaza and Sinai. They were laid in state in the Jerusalem Hall of Heroism, where they were attended by many dignitaries including Prime Minister RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
and President KatzirEphraim KatzirEphraim Katzir was an Israeli biophysicist and former Israeli Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978.-Biography:...
. Then they were buried in the military section of Mount Herzl cemeteryMount HerzlMount Herzl , also Har HaZikaron , is the national cemetery of Israel on the west side of Jerusalem. It is named for Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. Herzl's tomb lies at the top of the hill. Yad Vashem, which commemorates the Holocaust, lies to the west of Mt. Herzl....
in a state funeral with full military honors. Great Britain lodged a formal protest. In 1982, postage stamps were issued in their honour.
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