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Neville Chamberlain Diary Letters #1
The Neville Chamberlain Diary Letters
As a primary source of historical evidence and insight, it is difficult to overstate the value and importance of Neville Chamberlain's diary letters to his sisters.� They represent the most complete and illuminating 'insider' record of British politics between the wars yet to be published.� From 1915 Chamberlain wrote detailed weekly epistles to his sisters until his death in 1940; a confidential account of events covering the quarter of a century during which he stood at the very centre of Conservative and national politics.� Beyond the fascination of the historical record of people and events, these letters are extremely valuable for the remarkable light they throw upon the personality and character of the private man lurking behind the austerely forbidding public persona.
500 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2000
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March 8, 2023
When Neville Chamberlain died in November 1940 his reputation was at its nadir. Having been forced out as prime minister six months previously by a Labour Party leadership unwilling to serve in a wartime administration led by him, he lingered on in office as Lord President of the Council, suffering from the debilitating effects of bowel cancer and the growing opprobrium of the public. Because of this, by the time he resigned in October he was in no shape to write any memoirs or other defense of his tenure, leaving unanswered the mounting attacks on his now-discredited pursuit of appeasement.
Because of this, anyone seeking to understand Chamberlain’s motivations and goals is forced to turn to his contemporary statements and writings in their search for explanations. Fortunately for them, among the available sources is a collection of nearly 1200 letters that Chamberlain wrote to his sisters Ida and Hilda, who lived in Hampshire. Faithfully sent to them on a weekly basis whenever he was away, they provide a detailed account of Chamberlain’s career from his own perspective, one supplemented by his own revealing commentary. While long available to biographers and historians as a resource, Robert Self’s curated selection of them expands their accessibility in several of ways. The most obvious of these is by making them available to a wider audience with their publication, which allows readers to read Chamberlain’s words for themselves. For those who might be lost amidst the many casual references to personalities and ongoing events, as well as to fill in the gaps created by the absence of his sisters’ replies, Self provides footnotes that are helpful without being intrusive.
Given Self’s focus on Chamberlain’s public career, for the first volume he skips over the correspondence from his early years to begin in 1915. This makes the volume’s subtitle somewhat misleading, as it opens four years after Chamberlain’s election as a Liberal Unionist to the Birmingham City Council. By that point he had already demonstrated the desire to employ government power for broader social improvement, which became a defining characteristic of his public career. Installed as Lord Mayor in November of that year, his tenure was overshadowed by the growing demands of the war in Europe, which forced Chamberlain to reduce expenditures while still finding ways to support the “Brummies” at the front. It was his success as “Lord Mayor in a lean year,” along with his famous family name, that led to his selection as Director of National Service in December 1916. Tasked with managing conscription while ensuring that war industries had the manpower they needed, the dissatisfactions he expressed in his letters from the period reflect his considerable unhappiness in his new role, and led to his resignation just eight months after he had accepted the job.
Chamberlain’s miserable experience did not discourage him from pursuing a political career at the national level, however. On the contrary, virtually from the moment of his arrival back in Birmingham he plotted his return to Westminster, this time via election to a seat in Parliament. Though offered a “coupon” in the 1918 general election that would have guaranteed his victory, Chamberlain insisted on standing on his own, thus freeing himself from any possible obligation to the prime minister, David Lloyd George. Chamberlain makes no effort to hide his loathing for the “Welsh Wizard” in his letters, which makes his dedication to master the intricacies of parliamentary life seem like an exercise in futility. By the end of the volume Lloyd George seemed destined to occupy Number 10 for years to come, making it unlikely that Neville would ever have a chance to ascend to the top of the greasy pole.
As valuable as Chamberlain’s letters are, they are ones that much be read with a degree of caution. As Self notes in his introduction, they were written with a particular audience of two in mind, who provided not just advice (which Neville respected) but the praise that he craved. Because of this, achievements were magnified and setbacks portrayed in a way designed to bolster his standing in their eyes. Yet read with this in mind they provide the most intimate source available about the life and views of one of the most controversial figures of 20th century British politics, one that helps to provide insight if not sympathy for Self’s subject.
Because of this, anyone seeking to understand Chamberlain’s motivations and goals is forced to turn to his contemporary statements and writings in their search for explanations. Fortunately for them, among the available sources is a collection of nearly 1200 letters that Chamberlain wrote to his sisters Ida and Hilda, who lived in Hampshire. Faithfully sent to them on a weekly basis whenever he was away, they provide a detailed account of Chamberlain’s career from his own perspective, one supplemented by his own revealing commentary. While long available to biographers and historians as a resource, Robert Self’s curated selection of them expands their accessibility in several of ways. The most obvious of these is by making them available to a wider audience with their publication, which allows readers to read Chamberlain’s words for themselves. For those who might be lost amidst the many casual references to personalities and ongoing events, as well as to fill in the gaps created by the absence of his sisters’ replies, Self provides footnotes that are helpful without being intrusive.
Given Self’s focus on Chamberlain’s public career, for the first volume he skips over the correspondence from his early years to begin in 1915. This makes the volume’s subtitle somewhat misleading, as it opens four years after Chamberlain’s election as a Liberal Unionist to the Birmingham City Council. By that point he had already demonstrated the desire to employ government power for broader social improvement, which became a defining characteristic of his public career. Installed as Lord Mayor in November of that year, his tenure was overshadowed by the growing demands of the war in Europe, which forced Chamberlain to reduce expenditures while still finding ways to support the “Brummies” at the front. It was his success as “Lord Mayor in a lean year,” along with his famous family name, that led to his selection as Director of National Service in December 1916. Tasked with managing conscription while ensuring that war industries had the manpower they needed, the dissatisfactions he expressed in his letters from the period reflect his considerable unhappiness in his new role, and led to his resignation just eight months after he had accepted the job.
Chamberlain’s miserable experience did not discourage him from pursuing a political career at the national level, however. On the contrary, virtually from the moment of his arrival back in Birmingham he plotted his return to Westminster, this time via election to a seat in Parliament. Though offered a “coupon” in the 1918 general election that would have guaranteed his victory, Chamberlain insisted on standing on his own, thus freeing himself from any possible obligation to the prime minister, David Lloyd George. Chamberlain makes no effort to hide his loathing for the “Welsh Wizard” in his letters, which makes his dedication to master the intricacies of parliamentary life seem like an exercise in futility. By the end of the volume Lloyd George seemed destined to occupy Number 10 for years to come, making it unlikely that Neville would ever have a chance to ascend to the top of the greasy pole.
As valuable as Chamberlain’s letters are, they are ones that much be read with a degree of caution. As Self notes in his introduction, they were written with a particular audience of two in mind, who provided not just advice (which Neville respected) but the praise that he craved. Because of this, achievements were magnified and setbacks portrayed in a way designed to bolster his standing in their eyes. Yet read with this in mind they provide the most intimate source available about the life and views of one of the most controversial figures of 20th century British politics, one that helps to provide insight if not sympathy for Self’s subject.
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