Brendan Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken
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Brendan Rendall Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken (15 February 1901 – 8 August 1958), was an Irish-born businessman, politician and a Minister of Information and First Lord of the Admiralty in
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
's War Cabinet. He is best remembered for supporting Churchill during his whole political career. A noted publisher and editor, he was also the founder of the modern version of the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' and of the monthly business magazine ''
The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by '' The Financial Times'' and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding editor Brendan ...
,'' as well as Managing Editor of ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
.'' He was Minister of Information from 1941 to 1945, managing the United Kingdom's propaganda efforts against
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during the War.


Early life

Brendan Rendall Bracken was born in Templemore,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the second son and third of the four children of Joseph Kevin Bracken (1852–1904), builder and monumental mason, and his second wife, Hannah Agnes Ryan (1872–1928). His father had belonged to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Widowed in 1904, Hannah Bracken had moved her family (including two stepdaughters) by 1908 to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, where Brendan attended St Patrick's National School, Drumcondra, until 1910, when he was transferred to the O'Connell School, run by the Irish Christian Brothers. Distressed by his misbehaviour, his mother sent him in 1915 to Mungret College, a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
boarding school in County Limerick, but he quickly bolted and ran up hotel bills. She then sent him to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
to live with a cousin who was a priest in
Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...
, Victoria. The young man led a nomadic existence in Australia, moving often but reading avidly, as an auto-didact. In 1919, Bracken returned briefly to Ireland, finding his mother settled in
County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
. He distanced himself from Ireland as well as his siblings, who were in revolt over their father's inheritance. He moved instead to settle in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. In 1920, he appeared at
Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...
, claiming to be a 15-year-old and an Australian, to have been orphaned in a bush fire and to have a family connection to Montagu Rendell, the headmaster of
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
. Without fully believing the story, Sedbergh's headmaster, impressed by the young Bracken's depth of knowledge and eagerness to progress, accepted him. By the end of one term, his Irish republican heritage and his five formative years in Australia had blended with the elements and trappings of a British public school man. He might have had good reason to hide his Irish heritage, as the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
(1919–1921) had aroused hostility toward Irish people living in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. For whatever reason, that denial became a regular feature of his life. Another example occurred in 1926, when he met Major-General Emmet Dalton, a former senior commander in the new
Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...
, in London. The former
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer, turned IRA confidant, who was one of General Michael Collins's right-hand men, recalled meeting Bracken at national school in Dublin. Bracken denied that, but Dalton insisted that he remembered the smell of Bracken's corduroy trousers. A third example occurred during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when Bracken told people that his brother had been killed in action at
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, but his brother was alive and well in Ireland and was importuning Brendan for money.


Business and political career

After Sedbergh, whose "old boy" tie he used to good effect, Bracken was briefly a schoolmaster at Bishop's Stortford College. He moved to London, where he joined the League of Nations Union and made pro-imperialist speeches. He obtained a job at the ''Empire Review'', where he got acquainted with J. L. Garvin, former editor of ''The Observer'', who would introduce him to Winston Churchill in the summer of 1923. He then made a successful career from 1922 as a magazine publisher and newspaper editor in London. His initial success was based on selling advertising space to at least cover the cost of each number. In the 1923 election, he assisted
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
's unsuccessful attempt to be elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West, which began their political association. He also assisted in Churchill's 1924 Westminster Abbey by-election campaign. In the fighting that occurred on the streets, Bracken was stabbed. He joined the publishing company Eyre & Spottiswoode and, in 1925, became a director of the company. In 1926, he was the founding editor of ''
The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by '' The Financial Times'' and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding editor Brendan ...
'', and magazine and bankers still name their respected annual Bank of the Year awards "Brackens" in his honour. ''The Banker'' features a regular column called "Bracken", focusing on providing views and perspectives on how to improve the
global financial system The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal agent (economics), economic action that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investme ...
. He edited the ''Financial News,'' and ''The Practitioner'' before being promoted to managing director of ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' in 1928. Many of his early magazine stories included a political flavour, and he commissioned articles from a wide range of politicians such as Churchill and
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
. Business and politics permanently overlapped in his life, like that of the career of his occasional friend Lord Beaverbrook. He needed politicians for stories and they needed the publicity his publications gave. A supporter of Churchill from 1923, who was out of Parliament and in his political wilderness, Bracken was invited to join Churchill's " Other Club". Their lives changed from the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Bracken himself was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
in 1929 as a Unionist for the London constituency of North Paddington, which he won with just 528 votes.
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...
described Bracken as Churchill's "faithful chela", ''chela'' being the
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
word for disciple. During Churchill's "Wilderness Years", Bracken would become his main support. From 1934 Brendan also supported Churchill's calls for rearmament in Parliament. Later, when King George VI personally expressed his concern that an Irishman, son of an IRB man, should be appointed a Government Minister and member of the Privy Council. Churchill stood up for his protégé and wrote to the King: “He has sometimes been almost my sole supporter in the years when I have been striving to get this country properly defended”.


Assists in selection of Churchill

In two matters relating to Churchill, Bracken can be said to have played a key part behind the scenes. When
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...
prepared to resign in May 1940, the candidates to succeed him were Churchill or Lord Halifax. The political issue at stake at the time was which potential successor would the Labour Party accept in the formation of a National Government. Churchill's view was that the Labour Party would not support him and so agreed with Chamberlain to nominate Halifax. When Bracken became aware of Churchill's agreement to nominate Halifax, he convinced Churchill that the Labour Party would indeed support him as Chamberlain's successor and Lord Halifax's appointment would hand certain victory to Hitler. Bracken advised Churchill tactically to say nothing when the three met to arrange the succession. After a silence when Churchill was expected to nominate Halifax, the latter obligingly ruled himself out, and Churchill was put forward as Britain's wartime Prime Minister, having avoided any appearance of disloyalty to Chamberlain.Lysaght, pp. 172–173


Support from the US 1940–1941

When Churchill became
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
in May 1940, Bracken helped in moving him into
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
. Bracken was sworn into the Privy Council in 1940, despite his lack of ministerial experience, and became Churchill's parliamentary private secretary. An insight into the nature of the relationship between Churchill and Bracken is found in Churchill's history of the Second World War. Churchill wrote that he had received telegrams from Washington about Harry Hopkins "stating that he was the closest confidant and personal agent of the President. I therefore arranged that he should be met by Mr. Brendan Bracken on his arrival." The suggestion was that Churchill had arranged, as is diplomatic custom, for Hopkins to be met by the person who was his closest counterpart in British government and that Bracken often played the role of confidant and personal agent to Churchill. After Bracken met Hopkins's flight on 9 January 1941, Churchill and Hopkins forged a close association. According to Charles Lysaght's biography, Bracken and Hopkins had met in America in the late 1930s, and that personal tie helped speed the decision to assist Britain nearly a year before the US actually entered the war.


Minister of Information

In 1941, Bracken was persuaded by Lord Beaverbrook and Churchill himself to become Britain's wartime Minister for Information. At the same time, he was one of the heads of the Political Warfare Executive. He won over most of the proprietors by giving them more news, often on a confidential basis, and censorship was kept to a minimum. The BBC was also allowed a lot of freedom as long as it behaved according to the UK's war interests. The initials B.B. coincide with those of Bracken.


Postwar years

In 1945, after the end of the wartime coalition, Bracken was briefly First Lord of the Admiralty in the Churchill caretaker ministry, but lost the post in the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
won by
Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...
's Labour Party. Bracken lost his North Paddington seat but soon returned to the Commons, as Member of Parliament for
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
in a November 1945 by-election. He was a relentless critic of the Labour government's policy of nationalisation and the retreat from empire. At the 1950 general election, he was returned for Bournemouth East and Christchurch, a seat he held until the general election the following year. His last speech in the House of Commons would take place on 5 July 1951 on the Hants and Dorset Bus Company Dispute. In early 1952 he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Bracken, of
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
in the
County of Southampton Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wilt ...
, but never used the title or sat in the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, which he called "the Morgue". At that stage, he was also publishing ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
''. In 1951, with his love of history, he helped found ''
History Today ''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...
'' magazine. From 1950 he was chairman of the board of governors of his former school, Sedbergh School, where he went frequently. He organised and financed the restoration of the eighteenth-century school building as a library, with a commemoratory inscription, "Remember Winston Churchill", which still stands today. From 1955 he was a trustee of the National Gallery.


Death

A heavy smoker, Bracken died of oesophageal cancer on 8 August 1958, aged 57, at the flat of his friend Sir Patrick Hennessy in Park Lane, in London. Although raised a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, he refused the last rites of the Church despite efforts by his nephew, Rev Kevin Bracken, a Cistercian monk at Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenone,
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
, to persuade him. As he was unmarried, the viscountcy died with him. Upon learning of his demise, Churchill reacted to the news of his death by saying "Poor, dear Brendan.

By his own wishes, he was
cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...
without ceremony at Golders Green Crematorium in north London. His ashes were scattered behind the Cinque Ports by his chauffeur, Alex Aley, at Romney Marshes of which "his master, Winston Churchill was the then Lord Warden". At the time of his death estate came to £145,032. On his instructions his papers were burnt by his chauffeur. Some of his documents are kept at the Churchill College Archive Centre of the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.


Legacy

Bracken was a consequential figure in British politics during his lifetime. His biographer, Charles Lysaght, wrote about him: “Without him Churchill might not have survived politically, let alone become Prime Minister. He was also a spin doctor par excellence half a century before the term was invented. And he was the effective founding father of the modern ''Financial Times'', Britain’s highest quality daily newspaper.” Lord Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill's son, once described Bracken as “the fantasist whose dreams came true". Bracken and his relationship with Churchill were the focus of an exhibit at The Little Museum of Dublin in 2016 called ''Churchill & the Irishman''. The exhibit featured a collection of Bracken's letters to his mother. This was the first time that Bracken had been the subject of an exhibition. The exhibition was formally opened by John Ridding, at the time the Chief Executive of the ''Financial Times''.


In popular culture

In
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
's 1945 novel '' Brideshead Revisited'', Bracken served as a model for the character of Rex Mottram. Bracken is featured in the 1981 TV miniseries '' Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'', portrayed by Tim Pigott-Smith. In '' The Gathering Storm'' (2002), he is played by Anthony Brophy. It has been theorized that Bracken may have been the inspiration for Big Brother and/or O'Brien of the novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four'', as
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
worked at the Ministry of Information under Bracken's term as Minister of Information. Bracken appears as a major character in Thomas Kilroy's 1986 play ''Double Cross''. Stephen Rea originated the role.


2010 and 2015 television documentaries

On 21 December 2010, RTÉ One broadcast an hour-long TV documentary about his life entitled ''Brendan Bracken – Churchill's Irishman''. The programme was made by Spanish production company, Marbella Productions, in association with
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
, and examined Bracken's life through photographs, interviews, rare archive footage and dramatic reconstructions, and told of his importance in the areas of British political and journalistic life, despite his attempt to hide from history by having all his papers burned after his death. The 2015 television documentary ''Churchill's Secret Son'' is the 90-minute version of the previous documentary ''Churchill's Irishman'', updated by the producers including additional images, stories about Bracken's life and additional footage. The programme was transmitted on Discovery UK's
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
on 24 January 2015 at 10pm, as part of the British History week, and coincided with the 50th anniversary of Churchill's death in 1965.


References


Bibliography

* Lysaght, Charles. ''Brendan Bracken''. London; Allen Lane, 1979. . * Andrew Boyle. "Poor, Dear Brendan: The Quest for Brendan Bracken"; Hutchinson, 1974. SBN 978–0091208608 * Charles Lysaght & Trevor White. Churchill and the Irishman: The Unbelievable Life of Brendan Bracken; The Little Museum of Dublin 2016. ISBN 978–0957028630


External links


History Today – Brendan Bracken mini-biography by Charles Lysaght

The Churchill Centre's review of Bracken's life, 2002
* *
The Papers of Brendan Bracken
held at Churchill Archives Centre
Effective interpersonal communication skills: The Case of Brendan Bracken
by Brian Leggett at IESE. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bracken, Brendan Bracken, 1st Viscount 1901 births 1958 deaths 20th-century Irish people Admiralty personnel of World War II British publishers (people) Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Deaths from esophageal cancer in England First Lords of the Admiralty Foreign Office personnel of World War II Former Roman Catholics Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Parliamentary private secretaries to the prime minister People educated at O'Connell School People educated at Sedbergh School People from Templemore Politicians from County Tipperary UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs who were granted peerages Viscounts created by George VI 20th-century British businesspeople 20th-century British politicians