Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (16 February 1871 – 23 March 1946), was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the son of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and Mary Elizabeth Bulteel, daughter of

John Crocker Bulteel John Crocker Bulteel (1793–1843) of Fleet, Holbeton, in South Devon, was a Whig MP for South Devon 1832-4 and was Sheriff of Devon in 1841. He was Master of the Dartmoor Foxhounds and bred the finest pack of hounds in England. Origins He ...

. He was also the great-grandson of The 3rd Earl of Bessborough, The 3rd Earl of Bathurst and The 2nd Earl Grey. The 1st Baron Sysonby was his elder brother. Ponsonby is often quoted as the author of the dictum "When war is declared, truth is the first casualty", published in his book '' Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War'' (1928). However, he uses this phrase in quotation marks as an epigram at the start of the book and does not present it as his own words. Its likely origin is the almost identical line spoken in 1917 by the United States Senator

Hiram Johnson Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the Governor of California, 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century ...

: "The first casualty when war comes is truth".

Education and early career

Ponsonby was a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The onl ...

from 1882 to 1887. From an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

family, he was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. While at Eton, Ponsonby was whipped for organising a

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

in his dormitory. Ponsonby studied at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, before joining the Diplomatic Service and taking assignments in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Politics

At the 1906 general election, Ponsonby stood unsuccessfully as

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

. He was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Stirling Burghs at a by-election of 1908, succeeding former Prime Minister

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 190 ...

, who had died a few weeks earlier. In Parliament, Ponsonby opposed the British involvement in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and, with George Cadbury,

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

E. D. Morel Edmund Dene Morel (born Georges Edmond Pierre Achille Morel Deville; 10 July 1873 – 12 November 1924) was a French-born British journalist, author, pacifist and politician. As a young official at the shipping company Elder Dempster, Morel ob ...

, Arnold Rowntree, and Charles Trevelyan, he was a member of the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World War I The impetus for the ...

, which became a prominent antiwar organisation in Britain. Queen Victoria and her page, Arthur Ponsonby

Ponsonby was defeated at the 1918 general election in which he stood as an "

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Democrat" in the new Dunfermline Burghs constituency. He then joined the Labour Party and returned to the House of Commons at the 1922 general election as member for the Brightside division of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. In 1924,

appointed Ponsonby as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affair ...

, and he later served as

Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs The position of Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British ministerial position, subordinate to that of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, created in 1925 to deal with British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Aust ...

and then as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport was a junior position at the British Ministry of Transport. The office was renamed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its former name at the end of the S ...

in 1929.

In 1930, Ponsonby was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as a hereditary

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

, taking the title Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede from his home at Shulbrede Priory in Sussex. He served as leader of the Labour Party in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

from 1931 until 1935, resigning because he was opposed to the party's support for sanctions against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for its invasion of Abyssinia. In 1927–1928, Ponsonby ran a significant Peace Letter campaign against British preparations for a new war, and from 1936 he was an active member of the

Peace Pledge Union The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determine ...

, contributing regularly to ''

Peace News ''Peace News'' (''PN'') is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), and from 1990 to 2004 w ...

''. Ponsonby opposed the initiative of Lord Charnwood and

Cosmo Gordon Lang William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, to ask his Majesty's Government to react against the genocidal

Holodomor The Holodomor ( uk, Голодомо́р, Holodomor, ; derived from uk, морити голодом, lit=to kill by starvation, translit=moryty holodom, label=none), also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, was a man-made famin ...

policies of the Soviet Government. From 1935 to 1937, he was Chair of the International Council of the War Resisters' International.

Resignation

In May 1940, Ponsonby resigned from the Labour Party, opposing its decision to join the new coalition government of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. He wrote a biography of his father which won the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...

in 1942: ''Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria's Private Secretary: His Life and Letters''.

Death

Ponsonby died on 23 March 1946 and was succeeded by his son Matthew Henry Hubert Ponsonby.

Personal life and family

On 12 April 1893, he married Dorothea Parry, daughter of

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...

and Elizabeth Maude Herbert (1851–1933), a daughter of

Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, PC (16 September 1810 – 2 August 1861) was a British statesman and a close ally and confidant of Florence Nightingale. Early life He was the younger son of George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke, his m ...

. They had a daughter,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1900–1940), who during the 1920s became well known as a leading figure of the

Bright Young People __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

, and a son,

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

(1904–1976), who became the 2nd Baron.

Arms

Works

''Rebels and Reformers: Biographies for Young People''
with Dorothea Ponsonby. New York: H. Holt and Company (1919). .
''The Priory and Manor of Lynchmere and Shulbrede''.
Taunton: Barnicott and Pearce, and Wessex Press (1920). .
''A Conflict of Opinion, a Discussion on the Failure of the Church''.
London: Swarthmore Press (1919). . * ''The Camel and the Needle's Eye'' (1910). * ''The Decline of the Aristocracy'' (1912). * "Democracy and Diplomacy" (1915) * "Wars And Treaties" (1918) * "A Conflict of Opinion: A Discussion on the Failure of the Church" (1922) * "Now Is The Time: An Appeal For Peace" (1925)
More English diaries; further reviews of diaries from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century with an introduction on diary reading"
(1927) * '' Falsehood in War-Time'' (1928). * "Samuel Pepys" (1929) * "Casual Observations" (1930)
"John Evelyn, fellow of the Royal society: author of "Sylva"
(1933) * "Life Here And Now: conclusions derived From an examination of the sense of duration" (1936) * The Little Torch: Quotations From Diaries Of The Past For Every Day Of The Year" (1938) * ''Henry Ponsonby: Queen Victoria's Private Secretary:His Life from his Letters'' (1942).

Notes

Bibliography

* Jones, Raymond A. (1989). ''Arthur Ponsonby: The Politics of Life''. Helm. * Kidd, Charles, and David Williamson, eds (1990). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage''. New York:

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

. * *

External links

*
Catalogue of the papers of Arthur Ponsonby at the Bodleian Library, Oxford

* ttp://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp03605 Two picturesof Ponsonby at The National Portrait Gallery (UK)
Brief bio
at Spartacus Schoolnet * Google HTML of a PDF document.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby of Shulbrede, Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford

Arthur Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (16 February 1871 – 23 March 1946), was a British politician, writer, and social activist. He was the son of Henry Ponsonby, Sir Henry Ponsonby, Private Secretary to Que ...

Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Ponsonby, Arthur Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stirling constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur Ponsonby, Arthur UK MPs who were granted peerages Ponsonby, Arthur James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers People from Windsor, Berkshire Barons created by George V Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster People educated at Eton College