Neville Chamberlain

The Right Honourable  Arthur Neville Chamberlain
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 28 May 1937 – 10 May 1940
Monarch	George VI
Preceded by	Stanley Baldwin
Succeeded by	Winston Churchill
Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 5 November 1931 – 28 May 1937
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	Philip Snowden
Succeeded by	Sir John Simon
In office 27 August 1923 – 22 January 1924
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	Stanley Baldwin
Succeeded by	Philip Snowden
Minister of Health
In office 25 August 1931 – 5 November 1931
Prime Minister	Ramsey MacDonald
Preceded by	Arthur Greenwood
In office 6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	John Wheatley
Succeeded by	Edward Hilton Young
In office 7 March 1923 – 27 August 1923
Prime Minister	Andrew Bonar Law Stanley Baldwin
Preceded by	Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen
Succeeded by	William Joynson-Hicks
Lord President of the Council
In office 10 May 1940 – 3 October 1940
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	The Earl Stanhope
Succeeded by	Sir John Anderson
Born	18 March 1869(1869-03-18) Edgbaston, Birmingham, England
Died	8 November 1940 (aged 71) Highfield Park, Heckfield, Hampshire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Anne Chamberlain
Alma mater	Mason Science College
Profession	Businessman
Religion	Unitarian
Signature

Arthur Neville Chamberlain, more commonly known as Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 – 9 November 1940) was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940. Chamberlain is best known for appeasement foreign policy, in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany, and, when Germany continued its aggression, for declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939 and leading Britain through the first eight months of World War II.

After working in business and local government and after a short spell as Director of National Service in 1916 and 1917, Chamberlain followed his father and older half-brother in becoming a Member of Parliament in the 1918 general election at age 49. He declined a junior ministerial position, remaining a backbencher until he was appointed Postmaster General after the 1922 general election. He was rapidly promoted in 1923 to Minister of Health and then Chancellor of the Exchequer. After a short Labour-led government, he returned as Minister of Health, introducing a range of reform measures from 1924 to 1929. He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in the coalition National Government in 1931 and spent six years stabilising Britain's economy. When Stanley Baldwin retired in May 1937, Chamberlain took his place as Prime Minister. His premiership was dominated by the question of policy towards the increasingly aggressive Germany, and his actions at Munich were widely popular among Britons. When Hitler continued his aggression, Chamberlain pledged Britain to defend Poland's independence if the latter were attacked, an alliance that brought Britain into war when Germany attacked Poland in 1939.

Chamberlain resigned the premiership on 10 May 1940, after the failed Allied incursion into Norway as he believed a National Government of all parties was essential, and the Labour and Liberal parties would not join a government headed by him. He was succeeded by Winston Churchill but remained very well regarded in Parliament, especially among Conservatives. Before ill health forced him to resign, he was an important member of Churchill's War Cabinet, heading it in the new premier's absence. Chamberlain died of cancer six months after leaving the premiership.

Chamberlain's reputation remains highly controversial amongst historians, with the initial regard for him being entirely eroded by books such as Guilty Men, published in his lifetime, which put great blame on Chamberlain and his associates for both the Munich settlement and for allegedly failing to prepare the country for war. Chamberlain was depicted both as an autocrat, making decisions despite the advice of his officials, and as a middle-class businessman with little understanding of diplomacy. Most historians in the generation following Chamberlain's death took similar views, led by Churchill himself in The Gathering Storm. More recent historians have taken a more balanced view of Chamberlain and his policies, citing government papers released under the Thirty Year Rule.

Early life

Joseph Chamberlain, father of Neville.

Chamberlain was born in a house called Southbourne, in the Edgbaston district of Birmingham, England.^[1] He was the eldest son of the second marriage of Joseph Chamberlain, who later became Lord Mayor of Birmingham and a Cabinet minister. Joseph Chamberlain had had two children by his first marriage, Beatrice and Austen. Joseph's first wife, Harriet, died giving birth to Austen;^[2] Neville's mother, the former Florence Kenrick, also died in childbirth in 1875, when Neville was six years old, leaving three daughters in addition to Neville and her stepchildren.^[3] Joseph Chamberlain was in the midst of a highly successful parliamentary career and was often away, leaving the household in the hands of a sister. Young Neville was sent away to school at age eight.^[4]

Chamberlain was educated at Rugby School. The boy was unhappy during his school years, and made no lasting friendships whilst at Rugby. Although he did reasonably well in his classes, he was neither an academic or athletic standout, and was withdrawn from the school by his father four months short of his eighteenth birthday.^[5] In later years, as Chamberlain rose to the heights of British politics, he rarely visited the school,^[6] did not enroll his own son, and rarely spoke of his time there.^[5] Joseph Chamberlain then sent Neville to Mason Science College in central Birmingham, which both emphasised the politician's connection to Birmingham, and catered to the interest in science which Neville had shown at Rugby.^[7] Neville Chamberlain studied metallurgy and engineering for two years, but had little interest in the subjects, and in 1889, his father apprenticed him to a firm of accountants.^[8] Within six months, he became a salaried employee.^[6]

Business career

Austen Chamberlain, Neville's half-brother.

Joseph Chamberlain had difficulty living within his means, a problem exacerbated by investment losses in the late 1880s. In 1890, Sir Ambrose Shea, Governor of the Bahamas, advised him that growing sisal in the Bahamas could restore the family fortunes.^[6] Joseph Chamberlain sent his two sons to the Bahamas to investigate in November 1890, and they recommended the venture. Neville Chamberlain was assigned to manage the venture, and in early 1891, the 22-year-old took out a lease on 26,000 acres on the island of Andros.^[9] He spent most of the next six years on Andros. The soil proved to be unsuitable for growing sisal, and the venture failed. Joseph Chamberlain lost £50,000 (approximately ₤4.2 million today).^[10][11] Neville Chamberlain returned to Britain in early 1897.^[12]

Neville Chamberlain resided in his father's Birmingham house, Highbury, a large part of which was shut up to save on expenses. His father and half-brother spent much of their time in London, where they were serving in the Lord Salisbury Government.^[13] Through a family connection, Neville Chamberlain was made a director of Elliot's Metal Company, which was located within a mile of Highbury. Chamberlain took a hands-on approach, exploring all aspects of the business.^[14] In November 1897, he purchased (with assistance from his family) Hoskins's & Company, a manufacturer of metal ship berths.^[15] Chamberlain served as managing director of Hoskins's for 17 years, during which time the company prospered.^[16] Chamberlain introduced a profit-sharing scheme at Hoskins's which he credited with ensuring industrial peace, and opened a medical clinic for the workers.^[17] His business acumen raised him in the eyes of his father, who told a friend that of his two sons, "Neville is really the clever one" and but for his disinterest in politics, "I would back him to be Prime Minister".^[18]

Chamberlain's business interests did not completely fill his time, and he indulged his love of natural history and other outdoor pursuits. He spent many Sundays working in the gardens and greenhouses at Highbury. He enjoyed long walks in the countryside, and developed a passion for hunting and fishing. Even as he approached the heights of his political career, he would contribute articles to journals such as The Countryman.^[19] In 1931, he stated, "I really can't consent to die until they arrange some fishing in the next world."^[20] Chamberlain traveled extensively in Europe and North Africa, and made a five-month tour to India, Ceylon and Burma in 1904-05, and according to his biographer, Robert Self, was one of the more traveled Prime Ministers.^[21]

Chamberlain also involved himself in civic activities in Birmingham.^[22] He became an Official Visitor and then a director of the Birmingham General Hospital. He advocated a larger facility for the hospital, a cause in which he was eventually successful, though building did not commence until 1934 and he was still fundraising as prime minister. Stating that he was painfully aware of the defects of his own education, he played a part in the establishment of the University of Birmingham, of which Mason Science College became a part.^[23] While Joseph Chamberlain became the University's first chancellor, Neville Chamberlain was appointed to its Council and later to its Board of Governors.^[24]

Though he declared himself uninterested in politics, Chamberlain supported his father's views loyally. He made speeches in support of British policy towards the Boers and when the Boer War broke out, supported the British war effort. In 1900, he made election speeches in support of Joseph Chamberlain's Liberal Unionists, which were allied with the Conservatives and later merged with them, during the "Khaki election" of 1900.^[25] In 1903, Chamberlain fell in love with Rosalind Sellor, a London professional singer, and repeatedly journeyed to the capital to be with her. However, the following year, she decided she preferred another man, leaving Chamberlain distraught.^[26] In 1910, however, he fell in love with Anne Cole, a distant relative by marriage, and the following year married her.^[27] Anne Chamberlain proved to be a loyal supporter of her husband and got along well with his maiden sisters, with whom he corresponded on a weekly basis.^[28] The two would have a son and a daughter, with Neville Chamberlain involving himself deeply in the children's upbringing.^[27]

Chamberlain paid tribute to his wife upon becoming prime minister in 1937:

I never should have become P.M. if I hadn't had Annie to help me. It isn't only that she charms every one into good humour & makes them think that a man can't be so bad who has a wife like that ... But besides all this she has softened & smoothed my natural impatience and dislike of anything with a whiff of humbug about it and I know she has saved me from making an impression of hardness that was not intended."^[29]

Early political career (1911–1922)

Birmingham politician

Birmingham Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham.

While Chamberlain had continued to give speeches at general elections, his entry into politics at age 42 in 1911 stemmed from interest in local politics and the opportunities they offered for social improvement.^[30] In 1910, Chamberlain appeared before a Parliamentary committee, testifying in favor of a bill to merge Birmingham with its suburbs. The bill passed, tripling the size of the city and greatly increasing its population. Chamberlain was greatly interested in city planning for Birmingham. In November 1911, standing as a Liberal Unionist, he was elected to Birmingham City Council for All Saints' Ward,^[30] located within his father's parliamentary constituency.^[31] Chamberlain's party would merge with the Conservatives the following year, forming the Unionist Party, which would be renamed the Conservative and Unionist Party in 1925, a name by which it is still formally known.

Upon his election, Chamberlain was made chair of the Town Planning Committee, which sketched out four development schemes covering 15,000 acres in the city, allowing for suburban development while preserving green space. In 1913, he led a committee looking at housing conditions in Birmingham, and which found that over 100,000 housing units lacked toilet facilities, with nearly half of those not even having running water.^[32] Chamberlain advocated gradual reorganisation to abate the problem, and warned that the city government must be ready to take over property if the private sector failed. Under Chamberlain's direction, Birmingham soon adopted one of the first town planning schemes in Britain. The start of war in 1914 prevented implementation of his plans.^[33]

With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Chamberlain became deeply involved in the war effort. Late in 1914, he became an alderman of Birmingham, and the following year, became Lord Mayor. Chamberlain's biographer, Robert Self, suggested that as Joseph Chamberlain had died the previous year, the honour was due to Neville Chamberlain's hard work rather than to any family influence.^[33] The companies which Chamberlain was involved in prospered due to the war, which made Neville Chamberlain well to do.^[34]

As a Lord Mayor in wartime, Chamberlain had a huge burden of work, and he insisted that his councillors and officials work equally hard. He established crèches for workers, stockpiled coal to be distributed to the poor at cost in time of shortage, and reinvigorated Birmingham's various committees, which were ineffective and engaged in wasteful rivalries. He also chaired the local committee evaluating exemptions from conscription, and stated that he was more lenient than were other members of the tribunal.^[35] He halved the Lord Mayor's expense allowance, and cut back on the number of civic functions expected of the incumbent.^[36]

Under Chamberlain, the group which became the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was founded. The Lord Mayor persuaded Sir Thomas Beecham to conduct a series of events in Birmingham. The concerts established Birmingham as a cultural centre, and in 1919, the Orchestra was formally established.^[37] Chamberlain established the Birmingham Municipal Bank,^[1] the only one of its type in the country, which aimed to encourage savings to pay for the war loan. The bank proved highly successful and lasted until 1976, when it was taken over by Lloyds Bank.^[38] Chamberlain was re-elected Lord Mayor in 1916, but he did not complete his term.

Director of National Service

David Lloyd George, Prime Minister 1916–1922, whose contempt for Chamberlain was reciprocated.

In December 1916, Chamberlain was in London when he received a message asking him to meet Austen Chamberlain at the House of Commons. Austen explained that the new Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, would be offering Neville Chamberlain a job at Austen's urging. In a brief meeting, Lloyd George offered Chamberlain the new position of Director of National Service, with responsibility for coordinating conscription and ensuring that essential war industries were able to function with sufficient workforces. The Prime Minister gave Chamberlain ten minutes to make up his mind. Though reluctant to leave his post in Birmingham, Chamberlain accepted and resigned as Lord Mayor.^[39]

Chamberlain's function was to get Britons to volunteer for essential war work, and get fit young workers to leave the factories and enter the Army,^[40] though to a great extent Chamberlain's actual responsibilities were left vague by Lloyd George.^[41] Chamberlain found his work to be handicapped by the Prime Minister's political pledges. As Chamberlain sought to maximise the number of workers subject to both conscription and "compulsion" (the industrial equivalent of conscription), Lloyd George pledged to the unions that he would oppose any sort of "industrial conscription".^[42] This forced Chamberlain to add recruitment and persuasion to his responsibilities, and he addressed mass meetings and issued posters. However, he found that workers were reluctant to exchange the comforts of home and wartime salaries for the uncertainties of the trenches and a wage of one shilling (5p) a day. Although Chamberlain repeatedly made proposals which would to various extents result in mandatory service, they were turned down by Lloyd George and his War Cabinet.^[42] Chamberlain had little confidence in voluntary schemes and they indeed proved unsuccessful, with only 9,000 workers freed to be drafted into the Army at a time that Britain was sustaining huge casualties. In August 1917, having received little support from the Prime Minister, he resigned.^[43] Lloyd George wrote in his diary that "Neville Chamberlain has resigned and thank God for that."^[40]

Chamberlain met with considerable sympathy from Members of Parliament after his resignation. John Dillon, an Irish Nationalist MP, stated that "if Mr. Chamberlain were an archangel, or if he were Hindenburg and Bismarck and all the great men of the world rolled into one, his task would be wholly beyond his powers".^[44] Unionist Party leader Andrew Bonar Law spoke of the "absolutely impossible task" Chamberlain had faced.^[45] The relationship between Chamberlain and Lloyd George would be one thenceforth of hatred, with Chamberlain calling Lloyd George "that dirty little Welsh Attorney"^[45] and Lloyd George painting a most unflattering portrait of Chamberlain in his 1935 War Memoirs.^[46] Austen Chamberlain, the brother of one opponent and the political ally of the other, regretted the enmity, "More's the pity, for together if they were together they might do a great deal."^[47]

Candidate and backbencher

Having resigned as Director, Chamberlain returned to Birmingham, embittered by his experience in London. He wrote that the experience "reminds me of the Bahamas when the plants didn't grow".^[44] He had retained his seat on the City Council and busied himself with his civic duties, as well as his business interests and family life. In February 1918, having declined a third term as Lord Mayor, he was appointed Deputy Mayor.^[48]

Chamberlain had formed a close friendship with his cousin, Norman Chamberlain, who had also served on the City Council and who shared the future prime minister's social ideals. In December 1917, Norman Chamberlain was reported missing in action during the Battle of Cambrai, and in February 1918, Norman's body was found—news which was a great blow to Neville Chamberlain, who described Norman as "the most intimate friend I had".^[49] Through the rest of his career, Neville Chamberlain laboured to further the ideals of his cousin, and wrote a biography of his cousin—the only book he ever wrote. While some historians relate Norman's death to a hatred of war on his cousin's part which led to appeasement, according to biographer Nick Smart, the death did not cause Chamberlain to hate World War I, and any influence on his later positions is far from certain.^[49]

After some hesitation as to his future career, Chamberlain determined to enter Parliament, though, after his experience with National Service, he feared that he would only have a brief, unsatisfying parliamentary career.^[50] Wishing to stand for a Birmingham constituency, he initially had some difficulty in finding one.^[51] However, the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave Birmingham five additional seats,^[52] and Chamberlain was adopted as candidate for one of the new seats, Birmingham Ladywood.^[53] With the election on hold until the conclusion of the war, he continued his work in Birmingham. Shortly after the Armistice, his sister Beatrice was killed in the influenza pandemic, and Chamberlain mourned her, "She had the warmest heart." ^[54] With the war ended, a general election was called almost immediately. Chamberlain stood as a Unionist (as the Conservative Party was known from 1912 to 1925) and was given the "coupon" or letter of endorsement granted by Coalition party leaders Lloyd George and Andrew Bonar Law to approved candidates, though he declined to make any use of it.^[53] He was elected with almost 70% of the vote and a majority of 6,833.^[55] At age 49, he remains the oldest man to enter Parliament for the first time and later become prime minister.^[56]

Chamberlain threw himself into Parliamentary work, begrudging the times when he was unable to attend debates and spending much time on committee work. When Austen Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the continued coalition government led by Lloyd George, tried to recruit him to serve on another committee, Neville Chamberlain informed his half-brother that he could only serve if the committee met between midnight and 7:30 a.m.^[57] In Parliament, Chamberlain took time to assure the future of the Birmingham Savings Bank, and Parliament passed an act which removed onerous restrictions from the bank.^[38] In March 1920, he was offered a junior post at the Ministry of Health by Bonar Law on behalf of the Prime Minister, but was unwilling to serve under Lloyd George despite Bonar Law's warnings that Chamberlain, now past fifty, might never be offered another chance to serve in government, as Lloyd George was likely to remain premier for a very long time.^[58] Chamberlain wrote Bonar Law that he "couldn't, wouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't, wouldn't join the dance".^[59] Chamberlain was offered no further posts during Lloyd George's premiership, and when Bonar Law resigned as party leader, Austen Chamberlain took his place as head of the Unionists in Parliament.^[60]

Unionist backbenchers had long been restive as Lloyd George granted the Liberals in the Coalition more than their proportionate share of offices.^[61] In October 1922, discontent among Unionists against the Lloyd George Coalition Government erupted. When Unionist MPs were summoned to the Carlton Club for a meeting to receive their instructions for the forthcoming election, which, as in 1918 was to be fought in coalition with Lloyd George's Liberals, they instead rebelled. They voted to form a single-party government and to fight the election without the Liberals. Lloyd George resigned as prime minister, and five of the six Unionist leaders, including Austen Chamberlain, resigned from their government and party offices. Bonar Law was recalled from retirement to lead the Unionists as Prime Minister.^[62] Neville Chamberlain was in Canada at the time of the meeting and so was not forced to choose between supporting his brother's leadership and bringing down a man he despised.^[63]

Minister (1922–1937)

Bonar Law Government; first term as Chancellor

Many high-ranking Conservatives refused to serve under Bonar Law, who was forced to form his Cabinet from lower-ranking party members. This turn of events greatly benefited Neville Chamberlain, who, as a member of what was dubbed the "Second Eleven", would rise, over the course of ten months, from backbencher to Chancellor of the Exchequer.^[64]

Bonar Law appointed Chamberlain as Postmaster General, outside the Cabinet.^[65] Bonar Law called a general election shortly after his accession, which the Unionists won, and Chamberlain was re-elected, though his prediction that his seat was "safe as houses" proved incorrect—his majority was reduced to 2,443.^[66] In January 1923, Chamberlain granted the first operating licence to the British Broadcasting Company, though he opposed its request to broadcast the King's Speech, fearing that it would lead to broadcast of parliamentary debates over the radio, "a prospect which makes one shudder".^[65]

Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen, the Minister of Health, lost his seat in the 1922 General Election and failed to win a by-election in March 1923. Housing fell within the remit of the Minister of Health. As Chamberlain, had experience of housing in Birmingham, Bonar Law offered the position, within the Cabinet, to him. Chamberlain was initially reluctant, feeling that he should not leave the Post Office before he "had a chance of doing something there", but decided that "it would not be playing the game" to refuse Bonar Law's request.^[67] There was a great shortage of housing in Britain as a result of pent-up demand from the war years, and almost all housing was rent controlled, giving builders little incentive to build more. Any removal of rent restrictions would be wildly unpopular.^[68] Chamberlain introduced a Housing Act that provided subsidies for private companies, and extended rent control until 1925. He expected that rent control would be gradually abolished as the housing supply increased, but the restrictions remained in force until 1933, when a new scheme was enacted.^[69]

In May 1923, Bonar Law was diagnosed with advanced, terminal throat cancer. He immediately resigned, and the King sent for Chancellor of the Exchequer Stanley Baldwin to form a government. Baldwin served as his own Chancellor of the Exchequer for three months whilst he sought a successor and then promoted Chamberlain to the position.^[70] Chamberlain had little time for any policy changes, as he served only five months in the office and did not present a Budget. Though the Unionists had an ample majority in the House of Commons and the current Parliament had four years to run, Baldwin decided that a general election was needed and that the Unionists should fight it on the issue of tariff reform. He miscalculated badly: in the general election held in December 1923, the Unionists remained the largest party in the House of Commons, but were outnumbered by the combined Liberal and Labour MPs. The Baldwin Government retained office until it was defeated when Parliament assembled in January 1924, and Ramsey MacDonald became the first Labour prime minister. Chamberlain's majority in Birmingham Ladywood was cut yet again, this time to 1,500 votes.^[71]

With the Unionists in opposition, Chamberlain took the opportunity to stage-manage a reconciliation between his brother (and the other Coalitionists) and the new leadership, and Austen Chamberlain resumed his place on the front benches. The Labour government fell within months, necessitating another general election. Neville Chamberlain was challenged by Labourite Oswald Mosley, who would later lead the British Union of Fascists. Mosley campaigned aggressively in Ladywood; and accused Chamberlain of being a "landlords' hireling".^[72] The outraged Chamberlain demanded that Mosley retract the claim "as a gentleman".^[72] Mosley was no gentleman (Baldwin described him as "a cad and a wrong 'un") and refused to retract the allegation.^[72] It took several recounts before Chamberlain was declared the winner by 77 votes and Mosley blamed poor weather for the result.^[73] Chamberlain had not wanted to desert Ladywood, but now deemed the seat impossible to hold and was adopted for Birmingham Edgbaston for the next election (held in 1929),^[74] at which Ladywood fell to Labour by eleven votes.^[75] Baldwin formed a new government, in which Austen was Foreign Secretary and Neville Chamberlain declined to serve again as Chancellor, preferring his former position as Minister of Health.^[76]

Minister of Health

Within two weeks of his appointment as Minister of Health, Chamberlain presented the Cabinet with an agenda containing 25 pieces of legislation he hoped to see enacted. Before he left office in 1929, 21 of the 25 had passed into law.^[77] An early, very popular piece of legislation was the Widows, Orphans, and Old Age Pensions Act 1925, passed after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill, had agreed to find whatever money was needed to fund the Act. Churchill, recently returned to the Conservative ranks after fifteen years as a Liberal, expressed envy at Chamberlain receiving the credit for the Act, and the Minister of Health described his colleague as "a man of tremendous drive & vivid imagination but obsessed with the glory of doing something spectacular which should erect monuments to him".^[78] The Act lowered the age for receiving the government old age pension from 70 to 65, as well as providing for dependents of deceased workers.^[79] Though the pension sum, ten shillings per week, was not enough for a pensioner to make ends meet, Chamberlain stated that it was not intended to replace private thrift and that the sum was the maximum financially feasible.^[80]

Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill

Chamberlain sought the abolition of the elected Poor Law Boards of Guardians, which administered relief and which in some areas were responsible for rates. Many of the Boards were controlled by Labour, and had defied the Government by distributing relief funds to the able-bodied unemployed.^[81] Chamberlain's first step in the direction of abolition was the Rating and Valuation Act 1925, which greatly reduced the number of authorities which administered rates, as well as imposing uniform standards for assessment.^[82] Chamberlain continued to work with Churchill, though the two had policy differences, and the Chancellor let Chamberlain read a manuscript volume of his heavily-autobiographical The World Crisis, confiding to Chamberlain that he would have wished for two more years to revise the manuscript. Chamberlain wrote his sisters that he could have done the job in two hours—with a pair of scissors.^[83]

Though Chamberlain struck a conciliatory note during the 1926 General Strike, in general he had poor relations with the Labour opposition. Future Labour prime minister Clement Attlee complained that Chamberlain "always treated us like dirt", and Chamberlain wrote in April 1927, "More and more do I feel an utter contempt for their lamentable stupidity."^[84] Labour MPs, however, gave as good as they got: One referred to Chamberlain as "a miniature Mussolini",^[85] and others claimed that Chamberlain's policies had allowed entire communities to starve, dubbing him the "Minister of Death".^[86] His poor relations with the Labour Party would play a major part in his downfall as prime minister.^[87]

With many mining communities suffering high levels of unemployment following the General Strike, some Poor Law boards granted relief to unemployed workers by seizing on provisions intended for exceptional circumstances. These boards used the provisions to give benefits to nearly all applicants. With the system thrown into crisis, Chamberlain sought legislation to permit the Minister of Health to dismiss recalcitrant boards, and later got Parliament to pass further legislation to prescribe criminal penalties to members of such boards. Though no board members were prosecuted, Chamberlain dismissed three boards, replacing their members with his own appointees.^[83] Finally, in 1929, Chamberlain brought in legislation to abolish the Poor Law boards entirely, replacing them with bodies appointed by local authorities. The Poor Law boards had responsibility for both the unemployed, and for the disabled and elderly; responsibility for the unemployed was given to its own set of commissions. Chamberlain spoke in the Commons for two and a half hours on the second reading of the Bill, and when he concluded, he was applauded by all parties.^[88] The Local Government Act of 1929 passed by an ample majority, and the Morning Post commented that (despite Labour attacks), it had been found to be impossible to make it unpopular.^[89]

Return to opposition

Baldwin called a general election for 30 May 1929. Chamberlain expected the Conservatives to easily triumph, and thought he would be moved either to the Exchequer or be asked to serve as Colonial Secretary, where Joseph Chamberlain had made his mark.^[90] Chamberlain easily triumphed in Edgbaston, which he would represent for the rest of his life, but the general election resulted in a hung parliament, with Labour holding the most seats. Baldwin and his Government resigned, and Labour leader Ramsey MacDonald took office.^[91]

Chamberlain anticipated that Labour would legislate for two years, then seek a general election and be returned with a majority of the seats. Were this to occur, he would be 67 when that term expired, and according to him perhaps too old to hold office.^[92] With no ministerial responsibilities, he departed on a three-month tour of East Africa, hoping it might be useful were he to serve in future as Colonial Secretary.^[93] As the minority Labour Government attempted to grapple with the onset of the Depression, the Conservative Party indulged in a period of internecine warfare, with Baldwin under attack in the Parliamentary Party and in the press for losing the election, and for being too moderate. Chamberlain attempted to mediate between the press lords and Baldwin, only to learn that the newspaper owners had been trying to influence local constituency organisations behind his back. During the leadership crisis, Chamberlain persuaded Conservative Party chairman John Davidson to resign to relieve the pressure on Baldwin. Chamberlain took the vacant chair himself.^[94]

The effort by the press lords, notably Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere for "Empire Free Trade", the removal of tariffs within the Empire, culminated in a crucial by-election at which the press lords ran their own candidate under the banner of the United Empire Party (UEP).^[95] As the writ dropped for the by-election, Robert Topping, the General Director at the Conservative Party's Central Office, produced a memorandum showing that Baldwin's support had eroded tremendously. Chamberlain was confident Baldwin would resign, though he worried the entry of the UEP into the by-election would cause Baldwin to "dig his toes in".^[96]

When Chamberlain confronted Baldwin with the memorandum (after carefully taking soundings in the party so he would not be seen as an interested party), Baldwin was badly shaken, and told Chamberlain he would resign. After a day, however, he reconsidered and decided to remain as leader, and even considered giving up his seat and standing in the by-election himself. When Chamberlain remonstrated with Baldwin, telling him that if he stood and lost, his successor would be badly damaged, Baldwin told him, "I don't give a damn about my successor, Neville."^[97] Chamberlain resigned as party chairman, though he continued as head of the Conservative Research Department, which he had founded, until his death.^[98] The Leader of the Opposition did not stand in the by-election, but he retained his position and attacked the press barons as wanting "power without responsibility", and the Conservative won the election.^[95] Baldwin and Chamberlain healed their breach, and Chamberlain helped negotiate the return of the press lords to the Conservative fold.^[98] Baldwin would lead the Conservative Party for another six years. However, in January 1931, Churchill, one of Chamberlain's leadership rivals, left the Conservative front bench in a dispute over policy on India.^[99]

In 1931, the MacDonald Government faced a serious crisis, as the May Report revealed that the budget was unbalanced, with an expected shortfall of £120 million. As this information became public, there was a run on the pound, depleting the nation's gold reserves. The Labour Party refused to consider the massive cuts in unemployment compensation which would be needed to balance the budget, and Prime Minister MacDonald sought support from outside his party. With Baldwin on holiday in France, Chamberlain negotiated for the Conservatives, telling MacDonald that the Conservatives would only join a coalition if the full recommended cuts in unemployment compensation were made. Finally, on 24 August 1931, the Labour Government resigned and MacDonald formed a National Government, supported by most Conservative and Liberal MPs and a minority of the Labour Party.^[100] Chamberlain once more returned to the Ministry of Health.^[101] The National Government was intended as only a temporary expedient, but governed Britain until Chamberlain's fall in 1940.^[102] In the ensuing General Election, the National Government swept 554 of the 615 seats in the House of Commons, with 473 of its supporters Conservative MPs.^[101]

Chancellor and Conservative heir apparent

After the election, MacDonald wanted to make Liberal National Walter Runciman Chancellor. However, Conservatives insisted that a member of their party who favoured tariffs be given the office. Reluctantly, MacDonald designated Chamberlain as Chancellor, and Runciman was made President of the Board of Trade.^[103] Chamberlain proposed a 10% tariff on foreign goods, with lower or no tariffs on goods from the colonies and the Dominions. Joseph Chamberlain had advocated a similar policy; "Imperial Preference", his sons were cognizant of the appropriateness of Neville Chamberlain advocating his father's policies, and Austen Chamberlain wrote his brother in November 1931, "Father's great work will be completed in his children."^[104]

The tariff issue bitterly divided the Cabinet, and threatened to end the National Government. Though it was, and is, expected for all Cabinet members to support government policy under the doctrine of Cabinet collective responsibility, Lord Hailsham, the Secretary of State for War, proposed that the Cabinet members agree to disagree, and this was accepted. Chamberlain prepared his tariff bill, which exempted the Dominions pending the Ottawa Conference, set for later that year. On 4 February 1932, he laid it before the Commons.^[105] Addressing a packed House, with the Prince of Wales, his brother the Duke of York and Joseph Chamberlain's third wife in the gallery, and with his brother seated behind him,^[106] Chamberlain concluded by referring to his father's inability to get a similar proposal adopted,

I think he would have found consolation for the bitterness of his disappointments, if he could have seen that these proposals, which are the direct and legitimate descendants of his own conception, would be laid before the House of Commons, which he loved, in the presence of one and by the lips of another of the two immediate successors to his name and blood.^[107]

At the end of the speech, Sir Austen Chamberlain walked down and shook his brother's hand. The Import Duties Act 1932 passed Parliament easily.^[108] However, the Ottawa Conference that August produced little result, with Chamberlain bringing home several minor bilateral trade agreements, and no general agreement.^[109]

"Britain's Chancellor Chamberlain," Time, 19 June 1933.

In the interim between the Import Duties Act and the Ottawa Conference, Chamberlain presented his first budget, in April 1932. The gold standard had been abandoned in the early days of the National Government; the Bank of England sought its restoration. Chamberlain, on advice from his officials, declined to restore the gold standard, realising that a devalued pound would improve the balance of trade.^[110] Otherwise, Chamberlain maintained the severe budget cuts that had been agreed to at the inception of the National Government.^[111] Interest on the war debt had been a major cost in each budget. Chamberlain was able to reduce the interest rate on most of Britain's war debt from 5% to 3.5%. Between 1932 and 1938, Chamberlain halved the percentage of the budget devoted to payment of interest on the war debt.^[112]

Chamberlain hoped that a cancellation of the war debt owed to the United States could be negotiated. In June 1933, Britain hosted the World Monetary and Economic Conference. Describing the event as the "most crucial gathering since Versailles", Time magazine featured Chamberlain on its cover, referring to him as "that mighty mover behind British Cabinet scenes, lean, taciturn, iron-willed ... It is no secret that Scot MacDonald remains Prime Minister by Prime Mover Chamberlain's leave."^[113] The Conference came to nothing, however, when US President Franklin Roosevelt sent word that he would not consider any war debt cancellation.^[114] After the US Congress passed the Johnson Act, forbidding loans to nations in default on their debts, Chamberlain felt that Britain could not pay the entire debt, and, as the Act made no distinction between a partial and complete default, the Chancellor entirely suspended Britain's war debt payments to the US.^[115]

In 1934, Chamberlain was able to declare a budget surplus, and restore many of the cuts in unemployment compensation and civil servant salaries he had made after taking office. He told the Commons, "We have now finished the story of Bleak House and are sitting down this afternoon to enjoy the first chapter of Great Expectations."^[107] With the Prime Minister in decline and Conservative Party leader Baldwin exhibiting his customary lethargy, Chamberlain increasingly became the workhorse of the National Government.^[116]

Defence spending had been heavily cut in Chamberlain's early budgets.^[117] By 1935, faced with a resurgent Germany under Hitler's leadership, he was convinced of the need for rearmament, and was the driving force behind Defence White Papers advocating rearmament in 1936 and 1937.^[116] Chamberlain especially urged the strengthening of the Royal Air Force, realising that Britain's traditional bulwark, the English Channel was no defence against air power.^[118] Rearmament was an unpopular policy in Britain, and Labour attacked Chamberlain as a warmonger. Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition Clement Attlee spoke against the 1936 Budget as tremendously overspending on defence: "Everything was devoted to piling up the instruments of death."^[119] Churchill also criticised the National Government's defence plans, though he called for an even faster buildup.^[118] Despite the sniping from both sides, Chamberlain was very concerned about the expense of rearmament, "What a frightful bill we do owe to Master Hitler, damn him! If it only wasn't for Germany, we should be having such a wonderful time just now."^[120]

In 1935, MacDonald stood down as Prime Minister, taking Baldwin's post as Lord President of the Council, whilst Baldwin became Prime Minister for the third time. Chamberlain remained at the Treasury, almost the only Cabinet member not to be moved in the subsequent reshuffle. Chamberlain was still spoken of as heir apparent, but feared being eclipsed by a younger man. To be seen more as the second man of the Government, he insisted on moving into Number 11 Downing Street, the Chancellor's traditional residence, which had been occupied by Baldwin during MacDonald's premiership. Baldwin indicated his desire to remain in office until his 70th birthday in August 1937, but Chamberlain doubted he would last that long.^[121] In the 1935 General Election, the Conservative-dominated National Government lost 90 seats from the massive majority of 1931, but still retained an overwhelming majority of 255 in the House of Commons. During the campaign, deputy Labour leader Arthur Greenwood had attacked Chamberlain for spending money on rearmament, stating that the rearmament policy was "the merest scaremongering, disgraceful in a statesman of Mr. Chamberlain's responsible position, to suggest that more millions of money needed to be spent on armaments".^[122]

Chamberlain supported Baldwin's stance that the new king, Edward VIII must abdicate if he wished to marry the woman he loved, Wallis Warfield Simpson. After the conclusion of the Abdication Crisis, Baldwin announced that he would remain until shortly after the Coronation of King Edward's successor George VI. King George was crowned on 12 May 1937; Baldwin resigned on 28 May, advising the King to send for Chamberlain.^[123] Sir Austen did not live to see his brother's final climb to the top of the greasy pole, dying two months earlier.

Premiership (1937-1940)

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain became leader of the Conservative Party in early June 1937. Churchill seconded Chamberlain's nomination as party chief, but was given no Government post. Chamberlain considered calling a general election, but with three and a half years remaining in the current Parliament's term, decided to wait. Since he resigned before facing the voters, he became the only 20th century prime minister not to lead an election fight either as prime minister or as Leader of the Opposition. At age 68, he was the second-oldest person in the 20th century (behind Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman) to become prime minister for the first time,^[124] and was widely seen as a caretaker who would lead the Conservative Party until the next election and then step down in favour of a younger man, with Foreign Minister Anthony Eden a likely candidate. From the start of Chamberlain's premiership, a number of would-be successors were, or at least were rumoured to be, jockeying for position.^[125]

Chamberlain had disliked what he deemed to an overly sentimental attitude by both Baldwin and MacDonald on Cabinet appointments and reshuffles. Although he had worked closely with President of the Board of Trade Runciman over the tariff issue, Chamberlain dismissed him from his post, offering him the position of Lord Privy Seal, which an angry Runciman declined. Runciman, a member of the Liberal National Party, was thought by Chamberlain to be lazy, and Chamberlain in any event sought to strengthen the Conservatives in the National Government.^[126] However, Chamberlain appointed Sir John Simon, a Liberal National to succeed him at the Exchequer on the ground that the two worked well together, though Simon admitted that he knew nothing about finance.^[127] Soon after taking office, Chamberlain instructed his ministers to prepare two-year policy programmes. These reports were to be integrated, with the intent of coordinating the passage of legislation through the current Parliament, the term of which was to expire in November 1940.^[127]

At the time of his succession, Chamberlain's personality was not well known to the public, though he had made annual budget broadcasts for six years, which, according to Robert Self, appear relaxed and modern, showing an ability to talk directly to the camera.^[126] Chamberlain had few friends among his parliamentary colleagues, and an attempt by his Parliamentary Private Secretary, Lord Dunglass (later Prime Minister himself as Alec Douglas-Home) to bring him to the Smoking Room in the Commons to socialise with his colleagues ended in embarrassing silence.^[128] Chamberlain compensated for these shortcomings by devising the most sophisticated press management system employed by a prime minister up to that time, with officials at Number 10, led by his chief of press, George Steward, convincing members of the press that they were colleagues, sharing power and insider knowledge, and should espouse the Government line.^[129]

Domestic policy

Chamberlain saw his elevation to the premiership as the final glory in a career as a domestic reformer, not realising that he would be remembered for foreign policy decisions.^[130] One reason he sought the settlement of European issues was in the hope it would allow him to concentrate on domestic affairs.^[131]

Soon after attaining the premiership, Chamberlain obtained passage of the Factories Act 1937. This act was aimed at bettering working conditions in factories, and placed limits on the working hours of women and children.^[132]

In 1938, Parliament enacted the Coal Act 1938, which allowed for nationalisation of coal deposits. Another major piece of legislation passed that year was the Holidays with Pay Act.^[132] Though the act only recommended that employers give workers a week off with pay, it involved the state in the great expansion of leisure accommodation for the working classes.^[133] The Housing Act 1938 provided subsidies aimed at encouraging slum clearance, and maintained rent control.^[132]

Relations with Ireland

When Chamberlain became Prime Minister, relations between the United Kingdom and the Irish Free State had been strained since the 1932 accession of Irish Prime Minister Éamon de Valera. The de Valera Government sought to remove the remaining ties between Ireland and the UK, such as ending the King's status as Irish head of state. Chamberlain, as Chancellor, had taken a hard-line stance against concessions to the Irish, but persuaded that the strained ties were having effects on relations with other Dominions, sought a settlement with Ireland.^[134]

Talks had been suspended under Baldwin in 1936 but resumed in November 1937. De Valera sought not only to alter the constitutional status of Ireland, but to overturn other aspects of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, most notably the issue of partition, as well as seeking control of the three "Treaty Ports" which had remained in British control. Britain, on the other hand, wished to retain the Treaty Ports, at least in time of war, and to obtain compensation for government property which had become Irish at independence.

The Irish proved very tough negotiators, so much so that Chamberlain complained that one of de Valera's offers had "presented United Kingdom ministers with a three-leafed shamrock, none of the leaves of which had any advantages for the UK".^[134] With the talks facing deadlock, Chamberlain made the Irish a final offer in March 1938 which acceded to many Irish positions, though Chamberlain was confident that he had "only given up the small things", and the agreements were signed on 25 April 1938.^[134] The issue of partition was not resolved. There was no provision in the treaties for British access to the Treaty Ports in time of war, but Chamberlain and de Valera orally agreed the British would then have access. The agreements were attacked by Churchill in Parliament for surrendering the Treaty Ports, which Churchill described as the "sentinel towers of the western approaches".^[134] When war came, de Velera denied Britain access to the Treaty Ports under Irish neutrality, to Britain's considerable disadvantage during the Battle of the Atlantic.^[134] Churchill railed against these treaties in The Gathering Storm, stating that he "never saw the House of Commons more completely misled" and that "members were made to feel very differently about it when our existence hung in the balance during the Battle of the Atlantic".^[135]

European policy

Main article : Neville Chamberlain's European Policy

Early days (May 1937 – March 1938)

Chamberlain sought to conciliate Germany, and make it a partner in a stable Europe.^[136] He believed Germany could be satisfied by the restoration of some of her colonies and during the Rhineland crisis of March 1936, had stated that "if we were in sight of an all-round settlement the British Government ought to consider the question [of restoration of colonies]".^[137] The following month, however, he wrote his sisters, "I don't believe myself that we could purchase peace and a lasting settlement by handing over Tanganyika to the Germans, but if I did I would not hesitate for a moment to do so."^[138]

The new prime minister's attempts to secure such a settlement were frustrated by the fact that Germany was in no hurry to talk to Britain. Foreign Minister Konstantin von Neurath was supposed to visit Britain in July 1937, but canceled his visit.^[139] Lord Halifax, the Lord President of the Council visited Germany privately in November, and met with Hitler and other German officials. Both Chamberlain and British Ambassador to Germany Nevile Henderson pronounced the visit a success.^[140] Foreign Office officials complained that the Halifax visit made it appear Britain was too eager for talks, whilst Foreign Secretary Eden felt that he had been bypassed.^[141]

Chamberlain also bypassed Eden by opening direct talks with Italy, an international pariah for its invasion and conquest of Ethiopia, whilst the Foreign Secretary was on holiday. Chamberlain disregarded Eden's instructions to "go slowly" in seeking to build an Anglo–Italian rapprochement.^[142] At the Cabinet meeting on 8 September, Chamberlain indicated that he saw "the lessening of the tension between this country and Italy as a very valuable contribution towards the pacification and appeasement of Europe" which would "weaken the Rome-Berlin axis".^[143] The Prime Minister also set up a private line of communication with Italian Duce Benito Mussolini through the Italian Ambassador, Count Dino Grandi.^[144] Though Chamberlain hoped to end Italian interference in the Spanish Civil War, he was not successful in doing so.^[145]

In February 1938, Hitler began to press Austrian officials to allow Anschluss or union between Germany and Austria. Chamberlain believed that it was essential to cement relations with Italy in the hopes that an Anglo–Italian alliance would forestall Hitler from imposing his rule over Austria, and would have Italy serve as a bulwark against German expansion. Eden, however, believed Chamberlain was being too hasty in talking with Italy and holding out the prospect of de jure recognition of Italy's conquest of Ethiopia. Chamberlain concluded that Eden would have to accept his policy, or resign. Chamberlain allowed Eden to explain himself at Cabinet meetings, and agreed to proposals for delay and compromise.^[146] The Cabinet heard both men out, and unanimously decided for Chamberlain. Despite efforts by other Cabinet members to prevent it, Eden resigned from office, as did his undersecretary, "Bobbety" Cranbourne.^[147] In later years, Eden tried to portray his resignation as a stand against appeasement (Churchill described him The Second World War as "one strong young figure standing up against long, dismal, drawling tides of drift and surrender")^[148] many ministers^[149] and MPs^[150] felt that, as Conservative backbencher Leo Amery put it, "there really was no issue to resign upon".^[150] After Eden's and Cranbourne's resignation speeches in the Commons, and following attacks by Churchill and Lloyd George, Chamberlain gave a powerful speech in reply which, according to the Prime Minister, gave Lloyd George "the worst humiliation of his life".^[151] Only one Conservative MP voted against the Government on the censure resolution sponsored by the Opposition, though thirty abstained,^[152] and Chamberlain appointed Lord Halifax as Foreign Secretary.^[150]

Road to Munich (March 1938 – September 1938)

In March 1938, Austria became a part of Germany in the Anschluss. Though the beleaguered Austrians requested help from Britain, none was forthcoming.^[153] Britain did send Berlin a strong note of protest.^[154] In addressing the Cabinet shortly after German forces crossed the border, Chamberlain placed blame on both Germany and Austria.^[153] Chamberlain noted,

It is perfectly evident now that force is the only argument Germany understands and that "collective security" cannot offer any prospect of preventing such events until it can show a visible force of overwhelming strength backed by the determination to use it. ... Heaven knows I don't want to get back to alliances but if Germany continues to behave as she has done lately she may drive us to it.^[153]

On 14 March, the day after the Anschluss, Chamberlain addressed the House of Commons, strongly condemning the methods used by the Germans to achieve the takeover of Austria. Chamberlain's address met with the approval of the House.^[154]

With Austria absorbed by Germany, attention turned to Hitler's obvious next target, the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, which was heavily populated by ethnic Germans. With three million ethnic Germans, the Sudetenland represented the largest German minority outside the Reich.^[155] Hitler began to call for the union of the region with Germany.^[156] Britain had no military obligations towards Czechoslovakia;^[157] France had a mutual assistance pact with Prague.^[158] After the fall of Austria, the Cabinet's Foreign Policy Committee considered seeking a "grand alliance" to thwart Germany, or alternatively, an assurance to France of assistance if the French went to war. Instead, the committee chose to advocate that Czechoslovakia be urged to make the best terms it could with Germany.^[159] The full Cabinet agreed with the committee's recommendation, influenced by a report from the chiefs of staff stating that there was little that Britain could do to help Prague in the event of a German invasion.^[159] Chamberlain reported to an amenable House that he was unwilling to limit his Government's discretion by such commitments.^[160]

Britain and Italy signed an agreement in April. In exchange for de jure recognition of Italy's Ethiopian conquest, Italy agreed to withdraw some Italian "volunteers" from the Nationalist (pro-Franco) side of the Spanish Civil War. The Nationalists by now strongly had the upper hand, and completed their victory the following year.^[161] Later that month, the new French prime minister, Édouard Daladier came to London for talks with Chamberlain, and agreed to follow his position on Czechoslovakia.^[162]

In May, two Sudeten German farmers were shot by Czech border guards. Germany was said to be moving troops to the border, Czechoslovakia mobilised its army, and there were demonstrations among Sudeten Germans. Halifax sent a note to Germany warning that if France intervened, Britain might not stand aside. Tensions calmed, and Chamberlain and Halifax were applauded for their "masterly" handling of the crisis.^[158] Though not known at the time, it later developed that Germany had had no plans for a May invasion of Czechoslovakia.^[158] Nonetheless, the Chamberlain Government received strong, almost unanimous support from the British press.^[163]

Negotiations between the Czech government and the Sudeten Germans dragged on through mid-1938.^[164] They achieved little result, with Sudeten leader Konrad Henlein under private instructions from Hitler not to reach an agreement. On 3 August, Walter Runciman (by now Lord Runciman), who had been dismissed from the Cabinet by Chamberlain, traveled to Prague as a mediator sent by the British government in an attempt to resolve the Sudeten issue.^[165] Over the next two weeks, Lord Runciman met separately with Henlein, Czech President Edvard Beneš and other leaders, but made no progress.^[166] On 30 August, Chamberlain met with his Cabinet and Ambassador Henderson, and secured their backing for his policy to pressure Czechoslovakia into making concessions on the ground that Britain was in no position to back up any threat to go to war, with only First Lord of the Admiralty Duff Cooper dissenting.^[167]

Chamberlain realised that Hitler would likely signal his intentions in his 12 September speech at the annual Nuremberg Rally, and discussed with his advisers how to respond if war seemed likely. In consultation with his close advisor, civil servant Sir Horace Wilson, Chamberlain came up with "Plan Z"—if war seemed inevitable, Chamberlain would fly to Germany himself and negotiate directly with Hitler.^[168]

September 1938; Munich

Preliminary meetings

Chamberlain (center, hat and umbrella in hands) leaves for home after the Berchtesgaden meeting, 16 September 1938.

Lord Runciman continued his work, attempting to pressure the Czech government into concessions. On 7 September, there was an altercation involving Sudeten members of the Czech parliament in the Czech city of Mährisch-Ostrau. The Germans made much propaganda of the incident, though the Prague government attempted to conciliate them by dismissing Czech police who had been involved. As the tempest escalated, Runciman concluded that there was no point in attempting further negotiations until after Hitler's speech. The mission would never resume.^[169]

The final days before Hitler's speech on the last day of the Rally were spent amidst tremendous tension, as Britain, France, and Czechoslovakia all partially mobilised their troops. Thousands gathered outside Number 10 on the night of Hitler's speech in Nuremberg. At last, the Führer addressed his wildly enthusiastic followers:

The condition of the Sudeten Germans is indescribable. It is sought to annihilate them. As human beings they are oppressed and scandalously treated in an intolerable fashion ... The depriving of these people of their rights must come to an end. ... I have stated that the Reich would not tolerate any further oppression of these three and a half million Germans, and I would ask the statesmen of foreign countries to be convinced that this is no mere form of words.^[170]

The following morning, 13 September, Chamberlain and the Cabinet were informed by secret service sources that all German embassies had been told that Germany would invade Czechoslovakia on 25 September.^[171] Convinced that the French would not fight (Daladier was privately proposing a three-Power summit to settle the Sudeten question), that evening, Chamberlain and his close advisers decided to implement "Plan Z", and just before midnight, the Prime Minister sent a message to Hitler that he was willing to come to Germany to negotiate. Hitler accepted, and Chamberlain flew to Germany on the morning of 15 September, the first time, excepting a short jaunt at an industrial fair, that he had ever flown. Chamberlain flew to Munich and then journeyed by rail to Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden.^[172]

The face to face meeting lasted about three hours. Hitler demanded the annexation of the Sudetenland, and through questioning him, Chamberlain was able to obtain assurances that Hitler had no designs on the remainder of Czechoslovakia or on the areas in Eastern Europe which had German minorities. With Hitler's demands now in a form that Chamberlain could put to his cabinet and to the French and Czech government, the Prime Minister returned to London. He believed that he had obtained a breathing space during which agreement could be reached and the peace preserved.^[173] Under the proposals made at Berchtesgaden, the Sudetenland would be annexed by Germany if a plebiscite in the Sudetenland favoured it. Additionally, Czechoslovakia would receive international guarantees of its independence which would replace existing treaty obligations, principally the French pledge to the Czechs.^[174] The French agreed to the requirements; it was only after considerable pressure that the Czechs also agreed, after which the Czech government fell.^[175]

Unsmiling, Chamberlain (left) and Hitler leave the Bad Godesberg meeting, 23 September 1938.

Chamberlain flew back to Germany, meeting Hitler in Bad Godesberg on 22 September.^[176] Chamberlain began the meeting with a lengthy address, telling Hitler how he had secured agreement, and stated that all that needed to be decided was the details of the transfer.^[177] Hitler brushed aside the proposals of the previous meeting, stating "that won't do anymore".^[176] He demanded immediate occupation of the Sudetenland, and that German territorial claims in Poland and Hungary be addressed. Chamberlain objected strenuously, telling Hitler that he had worked to bring the French and Czech into lines with Germany's demands, so much so that he had been accused of giving in to dictators and had been booed on his departure that morning. Hitler was unmoved.^[176]

That evening, Chamberlain told Lord Halifax that the "meeting with Herr Hitler had been most unsatisfactory".^[178] The following day, Hitler kept Chamberlain waiting until mid-afternoon, when he sent a five-page letter, in German, outlining the demands he had spoken of orally the previous day. Chamberlain replied in a conciliatory manner, offering to act as an intermediary with the Czechs, and suggesting that Hitler put his demands in a memorandum which could be circulated to the French and Czechs. Chamberlain sought assurances that there would be no resort to military force whilst the matter was considered.^[179]

The leaders met again late on the evening of 23 September; a meeting which stretched into the early morning hours. Hitler demanded that fleeing Czechs in the zones to be occupied take with them nothing, not even their livestock. He extended his deadline for occupation of the Sudetenland to 1 October—the date he had long since secretly set for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. The meeting ended amicably, with Chamberlain confiding to Hitler his hopes they would be able to work out other problems in Europe in the same spirit, and Hitler hinted that the Sudetenland fulfilled his territorial ambitions in Europe. Chamberlain flew back to London, stating "It is up to the Czechs now."^[180]

Munich conference

Chamberlain arrives at Munich, 29 September 1938.

Hitler's proposals met with resistance, not only from the French and Czechs, but also from some members of Chamberlain's own cabinet. With no agreement in sight, war seemed inevitable.^[181] A visit by Wilson to Berlin produced no results.^[182] The Prime Minister issued a press statement, calling on Germany to abandon the threat of force in exchange for British help in obtaining the concessions it sought.^[183] On the evening of 27 September, Chamberlain addressed the nation by radio, and after thanking those who wrote to him, stated:

How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing. It seems still more impossible that a quarrel that has already been settled in principle should be the subject of war.^[184]

On 28 September, he called on Hitler to invite him to Germany again to seek a solution through a summit involving the British, French, Germans, and Italians.^[185] Hitler replied favourably and word of this response came to Chamberlain as he was winding up a speech in the House of Commons, which sat in gloomy anticipation of war, and he informed the House of this in his speech.^[186] The response was a passionate demonstration in the House, with members cheering Chamberlain wildly, and even diplomats in the galleries applauding. Lord Dunglass later commented, "There were a lot of 'appeasers' in Parliament that day."^[186] As Chamberlain left the Chamber, Churchill shook his hand and wished him godspeed, and later told the press that he supported the Prime Minister's mission "from the bottom of my heart".^[187]

From left to right, Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano as they prepare to sign the Munich Agreement.

On the morning of 29 September, Chamberlain left Heston Aerodrome (to the east of today's Heathrow Airport) for his third and final visit to Germany as Prime Minister, with almost all Cabinet members coming to the field to see him off and cheer his plane as it left the ground.^[188] On arrival in Munich, the British delegation was taken directly to the Führerbau, where Daladier, Mussolini and Hitler soon arrived. The four leaders and their translators held an informal conference, with Hitler stating that regardless of the outcome of the conference, he intended to invade Czechoslovakia on 1 October. Mussolini distributed a proposal similar to Hitler's Bad Godesberg terms—in fact, they had been drafted by German officials and transmitted to Rome the previous day. The draft was debated by the four leaders, and Chamberlain raised the question of compensation for the Czech government and citizens, which Hitler refused to consider.^[189]

At the after-lunch session, the leaders' advisers soon came in, and hours were spent on long discussions of each clause of the Italian draft agreement. Late that evening, the British and French went to their hotels on the ground that they had to seek advice from their capitals, whilst the Germans and Italians enjoyed the feast which Hitler had intended for all the participants. During this break, Wilson met with the Czechs, informing them of the draft agreement and enquiring which districts were particularly important to them.^[190] The Munich Conference resumed about 10 p.m., and was mostly in the hands of a small drafting committee. At 1:30 a.m., the Munich Agreement was ready for signing, a ceremony delayed when Hitler discovered that the ornate inkwell on his desk was empty.^[191]

Chamberlain and Daladier returned to their hotel, and, flanked by their officials, informed the Czechs of the agreement. The two prime ministers urged quick acceptance by the Czechs of the agreement, with time of the essence, since the evacuation by the Czechs was to begin the following day. At 12:30 pm, the Czech government in Prague protested the decision which had been made without them, but agreed to its terms.^[192]

Aftermath and reception

Neville Chamberlain holds the paper signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Munich to Heston Aerodrome.

Prior to leaving the Führerbau, Chamberlain requested a private conference with Hitler, which the German leader agreed to, and the two met at Hitler's flat in the city later that morning. Chamberlain urged restraint in the implementation of the agreement, and requested that the Germans not bomb Prague if the Czechs resisted, which Hitler seemed agreeable to. After a lengthy monologue on problems in Europe that he hoped could be solved by the two nations working together in good faith,^[193] Chamberlain took from his pocket a paper headed "Anglo–German Agreement", which contained three paragraphs, including language stating that the two nations considered the Munich Agreement "symbolic of the desire of our two people never to go to war again". According to Chamberlain, Hitler interjected "Ja! Ja!" as the Prime Minister read it.^[194] The two men signed the paper then and there. When, later that day, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop remonstrated with Hitler for signing such a document, the Führer replied, "Oh, don't take it so seriously. That piece of paper is of no further significance whatever."^[195] Chamberlain, on the other hand, when he returned to his hotel for lunch, patted his breast pocket and said, "I've got it!"^[196] Word leaked as to the outcome of the meetings before Chamberlain's return, causing delight among many in London, though gloom amongst Churchill and his adherents.^[197]

Chamberlain returned to London in triumph. Large crowds mobbed Heston, where he was met by the Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Clarendon, who gave him a letter from King George VI, assuring him of the Empire's lasting gratitude and urging him to come right to Buckingham Palace to report on his trip.^[198] The streets were so packed with cheering people that it took Chamberlain an hour and a half to journey the nine miles from Heston to the Palace. After reporting to the King, Chamberlain and his wife appeared on the Palace balcony with the King and his wife, Queen Elizabeth before the others withdrew, allowing him to enjoy the roars of the crowd alone. He then journeyed to Downing Street, where both the street and the front hall of Number 10 were packed.^[199] As he headed upstairs to address the crowd from a first-floor window, someone called to him, "Neville, go up to the window and say 'peace in our time'."^[200] Chamberlain turned around and responded, "No, I don't do that sort of thing."^[200] Nevertheless, Chamberlain recalled the words of his predecessor, Benjamin Disraeli and his return from the Congress of Berlin^[201] in his statement to the crowd:

My good friends, this is the second time there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now I recommend you go home, and sleep quietly in your beds.^[200]

King George issued a statement to his people, "After the magnificent efforts of the Prime Minister in the cause of peace, it is my fervent hope that a new era of friendship and prosperity may be dawning among the peoples of the world."^[202] When the King met with Duff Cooper, who resigned as First Lord over the Munich Agreement, he told Cooper that he respected people who had the courage of their convictions, but could not agree with him.^[202] He wrote his mother, Queen Mary that "the Prime Minister was delighted with the results of his mission, as are we all".^[203] The dowager queen responded to her son with anger against those who spoke against the Prime Minister: "He brought home peace, why can't they be grateful?"^[202] Most newspapers supported Chamberlain uncritically, and he received thousands of gifts, from a silver dinner service to many of his trademark umbrellas.^[204] The Commons opened a debate on the Munich Agreement on 3 October; though Cooper opened the debate by setting forth the reasons for his resignation^[205] and Churchill spoke harshly against the pact, no Conservative voted against the Government, and only between 20 and 30 abstained, including Churchill, Eden, Cooper, Cranbourne and Harold Macmillan.^[206]

Path to war (October 1938 – August 1939)

In the aftermath of Munich, Chamberlain pursued a course of cautious rearmament. He told the Cabinet in early October, "[I]t would be madness for the country to stop rearming until we were convinced that other countries would act in the same way. For the time being, therefore, we should relax no particle of effort until our deficiencies had been made good."^[207] However, later in October, he resisted calls to put industry on a war footing, convinced that such an action would show Hitler that the Prime Minister had decided to abandon Munich.^[207] Chamberlain hoped that the understanding he had signed with Hitler at Munich would lead towards a general settlement of European disputes; however, Hitler expressed no public interest in following up on the accord.^[208] Having considered a general election immediately following Munich,^[209] he instead reshuffled his Cabinet, generally selecting older men, including Lord Runciman, in an attempt to bolster support for his foreign policy.^[210]

Despite Hitler's relative quiet as the Reich absorbed the Sudetenland, foreign policy concerns continued to preoccupy Chamberlain. He made trips to Paris and Rome, hoping to persuade the French to hasten their rearmament, and to persuade Mussolini to be a positive influence on Hitler.^[211] However, several of his Cabinet members, led by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, began to draw away from the appeasement policy. Halifax was now convinced that Munich, though "better than a European war" had been "a horrid business and humiliating".^[212] Public revulsion over the pogrom of Kristallnacht on 9 November made any attempt at a rapprochement with Hitler unacceptable, though Chamberlain did not abandon his hopes.^[213] By the end of the year, public concerns, both about foreign and domestic issues, led Chamberlain to conclude that "to get rid of this uneasy and disgruntled House of Commons by a General Election" would be "suicidal".^[214]

The new year brought the news that British aircraft production would match that of Germany by the end of 1939.^[215] Still hoping for reconciliation with Germany, Chamberlain made a major speech at Birmingham on 28 January in which he expressed his desire for international peace, and had an advance copy sent to Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Hitler seemed to respond; in his Reichstag speech on 30 January, he stated that he wanted a "long peace".^[216] Chamberlain was confident that improvements in British defense since Munich would bring the dictator to the bargaining table.^[216] This belief was reinforced by a conciliatory speech by a German official welcoming Ambassador Henderson back to Berlin after an absence for medical treatment in Britain. Chamberlain responded with a speech in Blackburn on 22 February, hoping that the nations would resolve their differences through trade, and was gratified when his comments were printed in German newspapers.^[217] With matters appearing to go better, Chamberlain's rule over the House of Commons was firm, and he was convinced the Government would "romp home" in a late-1939 election.^[218]

On 15 March, however, Germany invaded the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, including Prague. Though Chamberlain's initial parliamentary response was, according to biographer Nick Smart, "feeble", within 48 hours he had spoken more forcefully against the German aggression.^[219] In the 17 March speech, given at Birmingham, he explained away his initial comments and defended Munich, but warned that "no greater mistake could be made than to suppose that because it believes war to be a senseless and cruel thing, the nation has so lost its fibre that it will not take part to the utmost of its power in resisting such a challenge if it were ever made".^[220] The Prime Minister questioned whether the invasion of Czechoslovakia was "the end of an old adventure, or the beginning of a new" and whether it was "a step in the direction of an attempt to dominate the world by force".^[221] Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald stated, "whereas the Prime Minister was once a strong advocate of peace, he has now definitely swung around to the war point of view".^[222]

Chamberlain now sought to build an interlocking series of defense pacts among the remaining European countries as a means of deterring Hitler from war.^[223] He sought an agreement among Britain, France, the USSR and Poland whereby the first three would go to the assistance of Poland if her independence were threatened, but Polish mistrust of the Soviet Union caused those negotiations to fail.^[224] Instead, on 31 March, Chamberlain informed an approving House of Commons of British and French guarantees that they would lend Poland all possible aid in the event of any action which threatened Polish independence.^[225] In the ensuing debate, Eden stated that the nation was now united behind the Government, to its great advantage in any future foreign negotiations.^[226] Even Churchill and Lloyd George praised Chamberlain's Government for issuing the guarantee to Poland.^[227]

The Prime Minister took other steps that he hoped might deter Hitler from aggression. He doubled the size of the Territorial Army, created a Ministry of Supply, and instituted peacetime conscription.^[228] The Italian invasion of Albania on 7 April led to guarantees being given to Greece and Romania.^[229]

Chamberlain was reluctant to seek military alliance with the Soviet Union, distrusting Stalin ideologically and feeling that there was little to gain given the massive purges that had taken place in the Red Army in the past several years. However, much of his Cabinet favoured such an alliance, and when Poland withdrew her objection to Anglo–Soviet alliance, Chamberlain had little choice but to proceed. The talks, with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov dragged on over several months, and eventually foundered on 14 August when Poland and Romania refused to allow Soviet troops to be stationed on their territories. A week after the failure of these talks, the Soviet Union and Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which committed the countries to non-aggression towards each other.^[230] A secret annexe of the agreement divided up Poland in the event of war.^[231] Chamberlain had dismissed rumours of a Soviet-German rapprochement, and was dismissive of the publicly-announced pact, stating that it in no way affected British obligations towards Poland.^[232] Nevertheless, on 23 August, he had Henderson deliver a letter to Hitler telling him that Britain was fully prepared to live up to its obligations to Poland.^[233] Hitler instructed his generals to prepare for an invasion of Poland, telling them, "Our enemies are small worms. I saw them at Munich."^[232]

War leader (1939–1940)

Declaration of war

	Declaration of war Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany, 3 September 1939.
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Germany invaded Poland in the early morning hours of 1 September 1939. The British Cabinet met late that morning and issued a warning to Germany that unless it withdrew from Polish territory, Britain would carry out its obligations to Poland. At 6:00 p.m., the Commons met, and Chamberlain and acting (in the absence of the ill Clement Attlee) Labour leader Arthur Greenwood entered the chamber to loud cheers. Chamberlain spoke emotionally, laying the blame for the war on Hitler.^[234]

No formal declaration of war was immediately made. French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet stated that France could agree to nothing until its parliament met on the evening of 2 September. In fact, Bonnet was trying to rally support for a Munich-style summit proposed by the Italians to be held on 5 September. The British Cabinet, however, demanded that Hitler be given an ultimatum at once, and if troops were not withdrawn by the end of 2 September, that war be declared forthwith. Chamberlain and Halifax were convinced by Bonnet's pleas from Paris that France needed more time for mobilisation and evacuation, and postponed the expiration of the ultimatum (which had in fact not yet been served).^[235] The Commons received Chamberlain's lengthy statement, which made no mention of an ultimatum, badly, and when Greenwood rose to "speak for the working classes", Conservative backbencher Leo Amery urged him to "Speak for England, Arthur", implying that the Prime Minister was not so speaking.^[236] Chamberlain replied that telephone difficulties were making it hard to communicate with Paris, and tried to dispel fears that the French were weakening. He had little success; too many members knew of Bonnet's efforts. National Labour MP and diarist Harold Nicolson later wrote, "In those few minutes, he flung away his reputation."^[237] The seeming delay gave rise to fears Chamberlain would again seek a settlement with Hitler.^[238] Chamberlain's last peacetime Cabinet met at 11:30 that evening, with a thunderstorm raging outside, and determined that the ultimatum would be presented in Berlin at nine o'clock the following morning, to expire two hours later, prior to the Commons convening at noon.^[239]

Von Ribbentrop refused to accept the ultimatum, which Henderson instead handed to the translator, and the ultimatum expired without reply. At 11:15 a.m., Chamberlain addressed the nation by radio, telling it that it was now at war with Germany:

We have a clear conscience, we have done all that any country could do to establish peace. The situation in which no word given by Germany's rulers could be trusted, and no people or country could feel themselves safe has become intolerable ... Now may God bless you all. May He defend the right. It is the evil things we shall be fighting against—brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression, and persecution—and against them I am certain that the right will prevail.^[240]

That afternoon, Chamberlain addressed the Commons's first Sunday session in over 120 years. Accounts differ as to whether he looked "smiling and well" or "very ill" as he spoke to a quiet House in a statement which even opponents termed "restrained and therefore effective":

Everything that I have worked for, everything that I have hoped for, everything that I have believed in during my public life has crashed into ruins. There is only one thing left for me to do: that is devote what strength and power I have to forwarding the victory of the cause for which we have sacrificed so much."^[241]

Phoney war

Chamberlain instituted a War Cabinet, and invited the Labour and Liberal parties to join his Government, which they declined.^[241] He restored Churchill to the Cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty with a seat in the War Cabinet, believing that in time of war, Churchill was a greater danger outside the Government than within it, and gave Eden a Government post as well. Churchill proved to be a difficult Cabinet colleague, deluging the Prime Minister with a sea of lengthy memos. Chamberlain castigated Churchill for sending so many memos as unnecessary when the two met in War Cabinet every day, and suggested that the First Lord bring up "the matters in Cabinet when matured".^[242] Chamberlain suspected, correctly as it proved after the war, that "these letters are for the purpose of quotation in the Book that he will write hereafter".^[243] Chamberlain was also able to deter some of Churchill's more extreme plans, such as Operation Catherine, which would have sent several heavily-armoured ships into the Baltic Sea with little support and no air cover as a means of stopping shipments of iron ore to Germany.^[244] With the naval war the only significant front involving the British in the early months of the war, the First Lord's obvious ambition and desire to wage a ruthless, victorious war established him as a leader-in-waiting in the public consciousness and among parliamentary colleagues.^[245]

With little land action, the initial months of the war were dubbed the "Bore War", later renamed the "Phoney War" by journalists.^[246] Chamberlain, in common with most Allied officials and generals, felt the war could be won relatively quickly by keeping economic pressure on Germany through a blockade, whilst continuing rearmament.^[247] Chamberlain was reluctant to go too far in altering the British economy. The government submitted an emergency war budget about which Chamberlain stated, "the only thing that matters is to win the war, though we may go bankrupt in the process".^[248] However, actual government expenditures rose by little more than the rate of inflation between September 1939 and March 1940.^[248] Little was done to prevent production of nonessential items, and unemployment actually increased by 200,000 men by March 1940, despite the enrollment of two million men into the armed forces.^[248] Chamberlain attempted to put these matters to rights through the establishment of interdepartmental committees, but the economic confusion would be a matter which would be used against him at his fall.^[248] Despite these difficulties, Chamberlain still enjoyed approval ratings as high as 68%^[249] and almost 60% in April 1940.^[250]

Downfall

The Russo-Finnish Winter War had drawn Allied attention to the Scandinavian Peninsula, and the Allies considered a campaign to take control of Norway, including the key port of Narvik, and possibly also seizing the iron mines at Gällivare in northern Sweden, from which Germany obtained much of its iron ore.^[251] Since the Baltic froze in winter, during that season the ore went by rail to Narvik, then by ship through Norwegian territorial waters to Germany.^[252] On 8 April, British ships began mining the waters around Norway. The following day, German troops occupied Denmark and began an invasion of Norway. German troops quickly occupied much of the country. The British sent troops to Norway, who met with little success, and on 26 April, the War Cabinet ordered a withdrawal.^[252] Almost immediately after this decision, dissidents in the Conservative Party began to work with Labour and Liberal MP's in an attempt to oust Chamberlain. The Prime Minister's opponents decided to turn the adjournment debate for the Whitsun recess into a challenge to Chamberlain, who soon heard about the plan. After initial anger, Chamberlain determined to fight.^[253]

What became known as the "Norway debate" opened on 7 May, and lasted for two days. The initial speeches, including Chamberlain's, were nondescript, but Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, member for Portsmouth North, in full uniform, delivered a withering attack on the conduct of the Norway campaign, though he excluded Churchill from criticism. Leo Amery then delivered a speech which he concluded by echoing Oliver Cromwell's words on dissolving the Long Parliament: "You have sat here too long for any good you are doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"^[254] When Labour announced that they would call for a division of the House, Chamberlain called upon his "friends—and I still have some friends in this House—to support the Government tonight".^[255] Though the use of the word "friends" was a conventional term to refer to party colleagues, and, according to biographer Robert Self, many MPs took it that way, it was an "error of judgment" for Chamberlain to refer to party loyalty "when the gravity of the war situation required national unity".^[256] Lloyd George joined the attackers and Churchill concluded the debate with a vigorous speech in support of the Government.^[256] When the division took place, the Government, which had a normal majority of over 200, prevailed by only 81, with 38 MPs in receipt of the Government whip voting against it, and between 20 and 25 abstaining.^[257]

Chamberlain spent much of 9 May in meetings with his Cabinet colleagues, discussing what the next moves should be. Many Conservative MPs, even those who had voted against the Government, indicated on 9 May and in the days following that they did not wish Chamberlain to depart, but rather to reconstruct his Government.^[258] However, he decided that he would resign unless the Labour Party was willing to join his Government. He met with Attlee, hoping to persuade him to have Labour join a coalition. Attlee was unwilling, but did agree to consult his National Executive, then meeting in Bournemouth. Chamberlain favoured Halifax as the next prime minister, but Halifax proved reluctant to press his own claims, and Churchill emerged as the choice. The following day, Germany invaded the Low Countries, and Chamberlain considered remaining in office. However, Attlee confirmed that Labour would not serve under Chamberlain, though it was willing to serve under someone else, and Chamberlain journeyed to Buckingham Palace to resign and advise the King to send for Churchill to form a new government.^[259] Churchill later expressed gratitude to Chamberlain for not advising the King to send for Halifax, who would have commanded the support of most Government MPs.^[260] In a resignation broadcast that evening, Chamberlain told the nation,

For the hour has now come when we are to be put to the test, as the innocent people of Holland, Belgium, and France are being tested already. And you, and I, must rally behind our new leader, and with our united strength, and with unshakable courage fight and work until this wild beast, which has sprung out of his lair upon us, has been finally disarmed and overthrown.^[261]

The King's wife, Queen Elizabeth told Chamberlain that her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, wept as she heard the broadcast.^[259] Churchill wrote to express his gratitude for Chamberlain's willingness to stand by him in the nation's hour of need, and Lord Baldwin, the only living former prime minister besides Chamberlain and Lloyd George, wrote, "You have passed through fire since we were talking together only a fortnight ago, and you have come out pure gold."^[262]

Lord President of the Council and death

In a departure from usual practice, Chamberlain did not issue any resignation Honours list.^[263] With Chamberlain remaining chairman of the Conservative Party, and with many MPs still supporting him and distrusting the new prime minister, Churchill refrained from any purge of Chamberlain loyalists. The primary victim of the successful parliamentary rebels was Chamberlain advisor Sir Horace Wilson, who was returned to his normal post as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury with the threat that if he ever set foot in Number 10 again, Churchill would make him Governor of Greenland.^[264] Churchill wished Chamberlain to return to the Exchequer, which he declined, convinced that accepting would lead to difficulties with the Labour Party, and accepted the post of Lord President of the Council with a seat in the shrunken five-member War Cabinet.^[265] When Chamberlain entered the House of Commons on 13 May for the first time since his ouster, "M.P.'s lost their heads, they shouted, they cheered, they waved their order papers, and his reception was a regular ovation."^[265] However, Churchill was received coolly by the House.^[265] Some of Churchill's great speeches, such as his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech to the House, met with only halfhearted enthusiasm there.^[266]

His fall from power left Chamberlain deeply depressed, writing, "Few men can have known such a reversal of fortune in so short a time."^[267] He especially regretted the loss of Chequers as "a place where I have been so happy", though after a farewell visit there by the Chamberlains on 19 June, wrote "I am content now that I have done that, and shall put Chequers out of my mind."^[268] Putting aside his private grief, he assumed vast responsibilities over domestic issues as Lord President and chaired the War Cabinet during Churchill's many absences.^[268] Attlee later remembered him as "free from any of the rancour he might have felt against us. He worked very hard and well: a good chairman, a good committeeman, always very businesslike.".^[269] As chair of the Lord President's Committee, he exerted great influence over the wartime economy.^[270] When Axis feelers for peace reached the War Cabinet on 26 May, with the Benelux nations conquered and France tottering, Halifax urged following up and seeing if the actual offer was worthwhile. The battle over the course of action within the War Cabinet lasted three days, and Chamberlain's statement on the final day that there was unlikely to be an acceptable offer and that the feelers should not be pursued at that time helped convince the War Cabinet to reject negotiations.^[271]

Chamberlain worked to bring his Conservative Party in line behind Churchill, working with the Chief Whip, David Margesson to overcome members' suspicion and dislike of the Prime Minister. On 4 July, Churchill entered the Chamber to a great cheer from Conservative MPs orchestrated by the two, and the Prime Minister was almost overcome with emotion at the first cheer he had received from his own party's benches since May.^[266] Churchill returned the loyalty, refusing to consider Labour and Liberal attempts to expel Chamberlain from the Government entirely.^[270] When criticisms of Chamberlain appeared in the press, and when the former prime minister learned that Labour intended to use an upcoming secret session of Parliament as a platform to attack him, Chamberlain told Churchill that he could only defend himself by attacking Labour. The Prime Minister intervened with the Labour Party and the press, and the criticism ceased, according to Chamberlain, "like turning off a tap".^[272]

In July 1940, a polemic entitled Guilty Men was released by "Cato" – a pseudonym for three journalists (including future Labour leader Michael Foot) from the Beaverbrook publishing stable.^[273] The piece attacked the record of the National Government, alleging that it had failed to prepare adequately for war. It called for the removal of Chamberlain and other ministers who had allegedly contributed to the British disasters of the early part of the war. The short book sold more than 200,000 copies (many of which were passed from hand to hand), and going into twenty-seven editions in the first few months despite not being carried by several major bookshops.^[274] According to historian David Dutton, who traced Chamberlain's reputation, "its impact upon Chamberlain's reputation, both among the general public and within the academic world, was profound indeed".^[275]

Chamberlain had long enjoyed excellent health, except for occasional attacks of gout^[276] but by July 1940, he was in almost constant pain. He sought treatment, and later that month entered hospital for surgery. Surgeons discovered that he was suffering from terminal bowel cancer, but concealed it from him, telling him that he would not require further surgery.^[277] Chamberlain left the nursing home where he was staying for Highfield Park, near Heckfield in Hampshire, and began work again in mid-August. He returned to his office on 9 September. However, renewed pain, compounded by the nighttime bombing of London which forced him to go to an air raid shelter and denied him nighttime rest, sapped at his efficiency, and he left London for the last time on 19 September, returning to Highfield Park.^[278] He proffered his resignation to Churchill on 22 September, which the Prime Minister was reluctant to accept, but as both men realised that Chamberlain would never return to work, Churchill finally accepted it on 29 September. He offered to honour Chamberlain by making him a Knight of the Garter, as his brother had been, but Chamberlain refused, stating that he would "prefer to die plain 'Mr. Chamberlain' like my father before me, unadorned by any title".^[279]

In the short time remaining to him, Chamberlain was angered by the "short, cold & for the most part depreciatory" press comments on his retirement, according to him written "without the slightest sign of sympathy for the man or even any comprehension that there may be a human tragedy in the background".^[279] However, the King and Queen drove down from Windsor to visit the dying man on 14 October.^[280] He received hundreds of sympathetic letters from friends and supporters. In response to a letter from John Simon, who had served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Chamberlain's government, he wrote:

[I]t was the hope of doing something to improve the conditions of life for the poorer people that brought me at past middle life into politics, and it is some satisfaction to me that I was able to carry out some part of my ambition, even though its permanency may be challenged by the destruction of war. For the rest I regret nothing that I have done & I can see nothing undone that I ought to have done. I am therefore content to accept the fate that has so suddenly overtaken me.^[280]

Chamberlain died of bowel cancer on 9 November 1940 at the age of 71. His funeral service took place at Westminster Abbey (due to wartime security concerns, the date and time were not widely publicised) and his ashes interred there next to those of Andrew Bonar Law.^[281]

Churchill eulogised Chamberlain in the House of Commons, three days after his death:

Whatever else history may or may not say about these terrible, tremendous years, we can be sure that Neville Chamberlain acted with perfect sincerity according to his lights and strove to the utmost of his capacity and authority, which were powerful, to save the world from the awful, devastating struggle in which we are now engaged. This alone will stand him in good stead as far as what is called the verdict of history is concerned.^[282]

Though some Chamberlain supporters found Churchill's oratory to be faint praise of the late Prime Minister, ^[283] Churchill added less publicly, "Whatever shall I do without poor Neville? I was relying on him to look after the Home Front for me."^[284] Amongst the others who paid tribute to Chamberlain in the Commons and in the House of Lords on 12 November were Lord Halifax, Attlee, and Air Minister Sir Archibald Sinclair. Lloyd George, the only former prime minister remaining in the Commons, had been expected to speak, but absented himself from the proceedings.^[285]

Legacy and reputation

Blue plaque honouring Neville Chamberlain, Edgbaston, Birmingham

A few days before his death, Neville Chamberlain wrote,

So far as my personal reputation is concerned, I am not in the least disturbed about it. The letters which I am still receiving in such vast quantities so unanimously dwell on the same point, namely without Munich the war would have been lost and the Empire destroyed in 1938 ... I do not feel the opposite view ... has a chance of survival. Even if nothing further were to be published giving the true inside story of the past two years, I should not fear the historian's verdict.^[286]

Guilty Men was not the only World War II tract which damaged Chamberlain's reputation. We Were Not All Wrong, published in 1941, took a similar tack as Guilty Men, arguing that Liberal and Labour MPs, and a small number of Conservatives, had fought against Chamberlain's appeasement policies. The author, Liberal MP Geoffrey Mander, had voted against conscription in 1939.^[119] Another polemic against Conservative policies was Why Not Trust the Tories (1944, written by "Gracchus", who later proved to be future Labour minister Aneurin Bevan), which castigated the Conservatives for the foreign policy decisions of Baldwin and Chamberlain, and even extended criticism to domestic affairs. Though a few Conservatives offered their own versions of events, most notably in MP Quintin Hogg's 1945 The Left was Never Right, by the end of the war, there was a very strong public belief that Chamberlain was culpable for serious diplomatic and military misjudgments, which had nearly caused Britain's defeat.^[287]

Chamberlain's reputation had been devastated by these attacks from the left. In 1948, with the publication of The Gathering Storm, the first volume of Churchill's The Second World War, he sustained an even more serious assault from the right. While Churchill himself stated privately, "this is not history, this is my case", his series was still hugely influential and helped secure him the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[288] Churchill depicted Chamberlain "alert and businesslike",^[289] but as a well-meaning but weak man, blind to the threat posed by Hitler, and oblivious to the fact that (at least in Churchill's view) Hitler could have been removed from power by pressure applied by a grand coalition of European states. Churchill suggested that the year's breathing space between Munich and war worsened Britain's position, and criticised Chamberlain not only for policy when the former was a backbencher, but also for that after he became a member of the Government. Churchill even exonerated himself for blame for the Norwegian campaign by suggesting that he had not been allowed freedom of action.^[289] In the years following the publication of Churchill's books, few historians questioned his judgment on the matter.^[290]

Annie Chamberlain, the former prime minister's widow, suggested that the problem with Churchill's work was that it was filled with matters that "are not real misstatements that could easily be corrected, but wholesale omissions and assumptions that certain things are now recognised as facts which actually have no such position".^[291] Mrs. Chamberlain and the former prime minister's surviving sisters had commissioned historian Keith Feiling to produce an official biography of him, giving him access to Chamberlain's private diaries and papers.^[292] While Feiling had the right of access to official papers as the official biographer of a recently deceased person, he may not have been aware of the provision, and the Cabinet Secretary denied his requests for access.^[293] Though Feiling produced what historian David Dutton described in 2001 as "the most impressive and persuasive single-volume biography" of Chamberlain, he was not successful in undoing the damage done to Chamberlain's reputation.^[292]

Conservative MP Ian Macleod's 1961 biography of Chamberlain was the first major biography of a revisionist school of thought on Chamberlain. The same year, A.J.P. Taylor, in his The Origins of the Second World War, found that Chamberlain had adequately rearmed Britain for defence (though a rearmament designed to defeat Germany would have taken massive additional resources) and described Munich as "a triumph for all that was best and most enlightened in British life  ... [and] for those who had courageously denounced the harshness and short-sightedness of Versailles".^[294]

The adoption of the Thirty Year Rule in 1967 made available many of the papers of the Chamberlain Government over the subsequent three years. The resultant works included books which seriously criticised Chamberlain, such as Keith Middlemas's 1972 Diplomacy of Illusion (which portrayed Chamberlain as a seasoned politician with strategic blindness when it came to Germany), it also greatly fueled the revisionist school. Released papers indicated that Chamberlain had not run a foreign policy in opposition to that advised by the Foreign Office, nor had he disregarded advice and run roughshod over his Cabinet, each refuting claims made in Guilty Men.^[295] Other released papers showed that Chamberlain had considered seeking a grand coalition amongst European governments, like that later advocated by Churchill, and had rejected it on the ground that the division of Europe into two camps would make war more, not less likely.^[296] They also showed that Chamberlain had been advised that the Dominions, pursuing independent foreign policies under the Statute of Westminster had indicated that Chamberlain could not depend on their help in the event of a Continental war,^[297] and that in March 1938, the Chiefs of Staff had advised Chamberlain that that Britain could not forcibly prevent Germany from conquering Czechoslovakia.^[298] The papers helped explain why Chamberlain acted as he did.^[299]

In reaction against the revisionist school of thought regarding Chamberlain, a post-revisionist school emerged beginning in the 1990s, using the released papers to justify the initial conclusions of Guilty Men. Oxford historian R. A. C. Parker argued that Chamberlain could have forged a close alliance with France after the Anschluss in early 1938, and begun a policy of containment of Germany under the auspices of the League of Nations. While many revisionist writers had argued that Chamberlain had had few or no choices in his actions, Parker stated that Chamberlain and his colleagues had chosen appeasement over other, viable policies.^[300]

Dutton points out that Chamberlain's reputation, for good or ill, will probably always be closely tied to evaluation of his policy towards Germany:

Whatever else may be said of Chamberlain's public life his reputation will in the last resort depend upon assessments of this moment [Munich] and this policy [appeasement]. This was the case when he left office in 1940 and it remains so sixty years later. To expect otherwise is rather like hoping that Pontius Pilate will one day be judged as a successful provincial administrator of the Roman Empire.^[301]

Notes

References

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• Daniell, Raymond (1940-11-13), "Commons tribute paid Chamberlain", The New York Times, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10713FA3C5C10728DDDAA0994D9415B8088F1D3&scp=7&sq=Neville+Chamberlain&st=p, retrieved 2009-11-06 
• Dilks, David (1984), Neville Chamberlain, volume 1: Pioneering and Reform, 1869-1929, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521894018 
• Dutton, David (2001), Neville Chamberlain, Hodder Arnold, ISBN 0340706279 
• Faber, David (2008), Munich: The 1938 Appeasement Crisis, Simon & Shuster, ISBN 9781847390066 
• Feiling, Keith (1970), The Life of Neville Chamberlain (Second ed.), Archon Books 
• Macklin, Graham (2006), Chamberlain, Haus Books, ISBN 1904950620 
• Self, Robert (2006), Neville Chamberlain: A Biography, Ashgate, ISBN 0754656152 
• Smart, Nick (2010), Neville Chamberlain, Routledge, ISBN 041545865X 

Further reading

• Aster, Sidney “‘Guilty Man: the Case of Neville Chamberlain’” pages 62–77 from The Origins of The Second World War edited by Patrick Finney, Edward Arnold: London, United Kingdom, 1997, ISBN 034067640X
• Aster, Sidney "Viorel Virgil Tilea and the Origins of the Second World War: An Essay in Closure" pages 153–174 from Diplomacy and Statecraft, Volume 13, Issue 3 September 2002
• Crozier, Andrew Appeasement and Germany's Last Bid for Colonies, Macmillan Press: London, United Kingdom, 1988, ISBN 0312015461.
• Bond, Brian “The Continental Commitment In British Strategy in the 1930s” pages 197-208 from The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement edited by Wolfgang Mommsen and, Lothar Kettenacker, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983, ISBN 0-04-940068-1.
• Gilbert, Martin. The Roots of Appeasement. New American Library, 1966.
• Goldstein, Erik ”Neville Chamberlain, The British Official Mind and the Munich Crisis” pages 276-292 from The Munich Crisis 1938 Prelude to World War II edited by Erik Goldstein and Igor Lukes , Frank Cass: London, 1999, ISBN 0714680567
• Greenwood, Sean “The Phantom Crisis: Danzig, 1939” pages 225-246 from The Origins of the Second World War Reconsidered A.J.P. Taylor and the Historians edited by Gordon Martel Routledge: London, United Kingdom, 1999, ISBN 0415163250.
• Kennedy, Paul & Imlay, Talbot “Appeasement” pages 116-134 from The Origins of the Second World War Reconsidered A.J.P. Taylor and the Historians edited by Gordon Martel Routledge: London, United Kingdom, 1999, ISBN 0415163250
• McDonough, Frank, Neville Chamberlain, Appeasement and the British Road to War, Manchester University Press, 1998.
• McDonough, Frank, Hitler, Chamberlain and Appeasement, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
• Middlemas, Keith Diplomacy of Illusion The British Government and Germany, 1937-39, Weidenfeld and Nicolson: London, United Kingdom, 1972
• Parker, RAC, Chamberlain and Appeasement, Palgrave Macmillan, 1994.
• Stewart, Graham. Burying Caesar : Churchill, Chamberlain, and the Battle for the Tory Party Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1999, and revised edition, Phoenix, 2000
• Strang, Bruce "Once more onto the Breach: Britain's Guarantee to Poland, March 1939" pages 721-752 from Journal of Contemporary History, Volume 31, 1996.
• Watt, D.C. How War Came The Immediate Origins of the Second World War, 1938-1939 Heinemann: London, 1989, ISBN 039457916X.
• Weinberg, Gerhard The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany Starting World War II 1937-1939, University of Chicago Press: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, 1980, ISBN 0-226-88511-9.
• Wheeler-Bennett, John Munich : Prologue to Tragedy, New York : Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948.
• The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External links

• Neville Chamberlain's contributions in Parliament
• University of Birmingham Special Collections The political papers of Neville Chamberlain
• Downing Street website
• The Struggle for Peace by Neville Chamberlain
• Archival material relating to Neville Chamberlain listed at the UK National Register of Archives

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