Arthur Donaldson

Arthur Donaldson (Scottish: Artair MacDomhnall, 13 December 1901 – 18 January 1993) was a Scottish politician, and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1960 to 1969.

Early years

Born in Dundee, he initially became journalist in his hometown but later decided to try his hand at the same profession in the United States, to where he emigrated at the age of 21. He did not find work as a journalist and instead found employment in the automotive industry in Detroit. He then attended the Detroit Technical College, to study engineering.

Although he was now beginning to be established in the United States he took a keen interest in the developing political movement for Scottish independence back home. To that end he joined the newly formed National Party of Scotland in 1928, as an overseas member, and Scotland's political and economic plight was never far from his thoughts.

In 1932, Donaldson married Vi Bruce, another expatriate Scot (from Forfar) and set up home in Washington D.C., where he worked for the Chrysler Corporation. In 1936 Donaldson returned to his native Scotland with his family, moving to Ayrshire to work in farming.

Arrest and internment during World War 2

Donaldson came into contact with Robert McIntyre, one of the leading members of the SNP and his involvement with the party deepened.

In May 1941, during World War II, Donaldson's home was raided by police who allegedly suspected him and a number of other SNP figures, of "subversive activities", due to their support for the Scottish Neutrality League. An informant of MI5 told desk officer Richard Brooman-White who later became Tory MP for Rutherglen from 1951 to 1964, that Donaldson intended to set up a puppet government akin to that of Vidkun Quisling in the event of a Nazi invasion. As a result of this information, Donaldson was arrested and interned under Defence Regulation 18B, at first to Kilmarnock Prison and then in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow. He was released 10 days later after Parliament cleared him (and others) of all treachery and other criminal charges.

According to papers released by MI5, which led raids against many Scottish nationalists, "subversive literature" and a "large cache of weapons" was found in the house.^[1] The allegations in the MI5 files, which were initially released in 1994 after Donaldson's death, were absolutely denied by his widow, Violet Donaldson, and by the leadership of the SNP at the time.^[2][3] Donaldson was never charged, and no evidence for the MI5 allegations has ever been produced.

At the time, Donaldson's arrest was explained by his protests against the conscription of Scottish women for work in factories in England, and he has thus been described as a political prisoner by at least one former colleague.^[4] According to an MI5 file on Donaldson released in November 2005, however, he was arrested because the MI5 believed him to be a "Nazi sympathiser", and that he hoped to become part of a "puppet government" set up by the Nazis after they occupied Britain.^[5]

The National Archives at Kew hold a report by an agent to the Edinburgh City Police Criminal Investigation Department dated 8 Jan 1941 which states the following, transcribed by a blogger from the actual record in the archive -

"During a long conversation, Donaldson gave great praise to Germany saying that England would be completely crushed by the early spring; the Government would leave the country and that England's position would be absolutely hopeless, as poverty and famine would be their only reward for declaring war on Germany. Scotland on the other hand had great possibilities. We must, he declared, be able to show the German Government that we are organised and that we have a clear cut policy for the betterment of Scotland; that we have tried our best to persuade the English Government that we want Scottish Independence and that we are not in with them in this war. If we can do that you can be sure that Germany will give us every possible assistance in our early struggle. The time is not yet ripe for us to start a virile campaign against England, but when fire and confusion is at its height in England, we can start in earnest. He then went on to tell them that he had an idea in his mind for fixing up a wireless transmitting set in a thickly populated district in Glasgow or Edinburgh, in order to give broadcasts to the public. At the moment he is working very hard in an endeavour to combine all the Nationalists together as a unit, whereby they can strike out with great force when the time comes. He is naming this combined body “The National Aid Society”. If any questions are asked, he said, you can say it is to help the dependents of young men who have been called to the Services. Actually it is to help members who have refused to fight and are at present in hiding. He mentioned that he had a number of places that could be used as hide-outs."

None of the assertions made in the released papers were ever tested in Court and were dismissed by the Labour Party Secretary of State for Scotland Tom Johnston who ordered the release of Donaldson and others who refused to register for conscription.

Subsequent political involvement

Donaldson's arrest and detention did not dissuade him of the value of his political activities. He remained a member of the SNP throughout the 1940s and 1950s, when they were particularly weak, and much of the focus of nationalist efforts was being invested in the Scottish Covenant of John MacCormick. MacCormick had left the SNP in 1942, as he had been unable to persuade the party to adopt a position of supporting devolution rather than independence, a split which Donaldson himself had put down more to personality clash than ideological difference.

Leader of the SNP

After the split of 1942 Donaldson became a leading SNP figure along with McIntyre (who became SNP leader in 1948, serving until 1956). Donaldson became SNP leader in 1960, replacing James Halliday, and it was during his term as SNP leader that the party began to grow and impose itself on the Scottish political landscape. He was the SNP candidate opposing Sir Alec Douglas-Home in the Kinross and West Perthshire by-election in November 1963, although he lost his deposit there.

Legacy

During his term of office the SNP began to perform credibly in elections, winning the 1967 Hamilton by-election, and polling more votes than any other party in the 1968 Scottish local authority elections.

This success, however, did not leave Donaldson without his critics, and at the 1967 SNP Annual Conference he faced a leadership challenge from Douglas Drysdale, which he comfortably defeated, though in 1969 he was replaced as SNP leader by Billy Wolfe.

References

1. ^ Vaughan, Margaret, MI5 led anti-nationalist raids, The Herald, August 25, 1994
2. ^ Vaughan, Margaret, SNP attack decision to open MI5 war files, The Herald, August 27, 1994
3. ^ Robertson, Wendy. Widow hits out at official 'lies' on jailed Nationalist, The Scotsman, September 15, 1994
4. ^ Wilson, Gordon, Scots and free: Arthur Donaldson, The Guardian, January 23, 1993.
5. ^ SNP boss planned Nazi Scotland, Sunday Times, November 6, 2005.