Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess Of Londonderry
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Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, (13 May 1878 – 10 February 1949), styled Lord Stewart until 1884 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1884 and 1915, was a British peer and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
. He is best remembered 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 his tenure as
Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...
in the 1930s and for his attempts to reach an understanding with
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. In 1935, he was removed from the Air Ministry but retained in the Cabinet as
Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
and
Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...
. In
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 ...
, especially within
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
, Lord Londonderry is best remembered for his opposition to Home Rule for Ireland in the early twentieth century.


Background and education

The eldest son of Charles, 6th Marquess of Londonderry, and Lady Theresa Chetwynd-Talbot, a daughter of the 19th Earl of Shrewsbury, he was educated at Eton and at the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...
. His father's family was partly of Donegal Ulster-Scots descent.


Early career

On 22 May 1895, Lord Castlereagh was appointed a second lieutenant in the 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps, a corps within the
Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...
attached to the
Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...
(Western Division) and at the time commanded by his father who owned Seaham Colliery from which many of the part-time gunners were recruited. After passing out from Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards as a second lieutenant on 8 September 1897. He was promoted lieutenant on 30 August 1899, and appointed adjutant on 9 May 1900. In early 1901 he was appointed by
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
to take part in a special diplomatic mission to announce the King's accession to the governments of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, and
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. In August 1903, following the King's visit to Ireland, he was appointed a Member Fourth Class (present-day Lieutenant) of the
Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
, his father being honoured with the Knight Grand Cross of the Order at the same time. He resigned his position of adjutant in the Royal Horse Guards on 24 March 1904, and was promoted to captain on 6 April. Castlereagh was subsequently pressed by his parents to stand for election 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 ...
at the
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for
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
. He retained his army commission but was placed on the half-pay list from January 1910. His relatively unsuccessful career on the depleted Unionist backbenches was broken by a return to the
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 ...
during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


First World War

As Captain Castlereagh MP he travelled to northern France in the first weeks of the war and reached Paris on 29 August 1914, having been gazetted ADC to General William Pulteney the previous day. Although a staff officer, Castlereagh immediately saw plenty of fighting and believed he had shot and killed one of the enemy on 2 September 1914. In the following months of 1914, Castlereagh extensively witnessed the destruction of war and the terrible suffering of the British wounded. He was promoted to the temporary rank of major in his old regiment on 1 November, and to the substantive rank on the 7th. Hitherto reluctant to involve himself, like his father, in
Irish politics 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 war prompted him to take up the cause of recruitment in Ireland. With his father's death in February 1915, he ceased to be MP for Maidstone and inherited the Londonderry title and the immense wealth and status that went with it. His exalted position helped his political career, not least in Ireland, which later brought him favourable attention from the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
. In 1915, Lord Londonderry (as he had now become) ll, was mentioned in despatches and rejoined his regiment, the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues). He saw in 1915 for the first time the horrific effects of gas attack upon human beings when visiting soldiers gassed at the
first Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (, , – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German A ...
. In 1916 Londonderry was appointed second-in-command of The Blues, part of the 8th Cavalry Brigade. He served at the front during the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
, witnessing the mass slaughter first-hand; his closest friend, Lieutenant Colonel Harold Brassey, best man at his wedding in 1899, was killed. He was an acting lieutenant colonel from 15 December 1916 to 20 January 1917. In 1917, Londonderry took command of a composite battalion drawn from the 8th Cavalry Brigade with the brevet rank of Lt-Colonel, and the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) took part in the massed mounted cavalry attacks on Monchy-le-Preux on the morning of 11 April 1917, during the Battle of Arras. Monchy-le-Preux was one of the keys to the northern end of the Hindenburg Line. While reconnoitring the enemy near Monchy the GOC 8th Cavalry Brigade, Brigadier-General Charles Bulkeley-Johnson, was shot in the face; he fell with a piercing shriek, the thirtieth British General to be killed in action or to die of wounds on the Western Front. This put Brevet Lt-Colonel Londonderry temporarily in command of the 8th Cavalry Brigade during their charge in the Battle of Arras. At Monchy 600 cavalrymen were casualties and many more horses died. The animals were tethered in the open, as their riders took cover; attempts to take them to the rear during a " box barrage" only increased the casualties. For Londonderry, the experiences of war and the carnage of his brother officers and the family and school friends he grew up with would, as
Ian Kershaw Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's foremost experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is ...
commented, "leave an indelible mark on him". After serving in the Irish Convention of 1917–18, Lord Londonderry served on the short-lived Viceroy's Advisory Council, meeting at
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...
in the autumn of 1918. Promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 7 November 1918, he retired from the army on 10 September 1919 as a major and brevet lieutenant-colonel. On 13 August 1920, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 55th Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery in the Territorial Army, the successor unit to his father's 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteers. He continued in that role until
World War II 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 ...
, after it had been converted into the 63rd (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery in
Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...
.


In the Northern Ireland cabinet

He was appointed to the new
Air Council Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed ...
at Westminster in 1919 by the postwar
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
. Promoted to Under-Secretary of State for Air in 1920, Londonderry was nevertheless frustrated and took advantage of his
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
connections to join the first Cabinet of the
Government of Northern Ireland A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
in June 1921, as Leader of the
Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Se ...
and Minister of Education for Northern Ireland. Londonderry was particularly interested in education, and favoured a secularised interest, not the least as a way to end
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 ...
education.Moore, Cormac ''Birth of the Border: The Impact of Partition in Ireland'' Newbridge: Merrion Press, 2019 Lord Londonderry appointed the Lynn Commission, headed by Robert Lynn, for advice about education. Lynn stated during the commission's hearings his belief that it would be a waste of public funds to teach the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
in the schools, a proposal that was widely seen as promoting Unionism, and led to a Catholic boycott of the commission. In 1923, his Education Act sought to advance the prospect of mixed Protestant-Catholic education by permitting religious instruction only after school hours and with parental consent. Both
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
and
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 ...
educational interests objected, and the measure was amended in 1925 to the point that its purpose, to secularise schooling in Northern Ireland, was lost. In 1926, Londonderry resigned from the
Government of Northern Ireland A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and, in 1929, he left the
Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
entirely.


In the British Cabinet

Londonderry was to involve himself in the
General Strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
of 1926, playing the role of a moderate mine owner, a stance made easier for him by the relative success of the Londonderry mines in
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
. His performance earned him high praise, and along with the Londonderrys' role as leading political hosts, he was rewarded by Prime Minister
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 ...
with a seat in the Cabinet in 1928 as First Commissioner of Works. Londonderry was invited to join the emergency National Government under Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
and Lord President Baldwin in 1931. That was the cause of some scandal as MacDonald's many critics accused the erstwhile Labour leader of being too friendly with Edith, Lady Londonderry. When the National Government won the 1931 General Election he returned to the Cabinet as
Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...
(Londonderry held a pilot's licence). This position became increasingly important during his tenure, not least due to the deliberations of the League of Nations Disarmament Conference at Geneva. In September 1931, Japan seized the Manchuria region of China, setting up the sham state of
Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
while making claims to the effect that the rest of China was in the exclusive Japanese sphere of influence, an interpretation that the Chinese government vehemently objected to. In January 1932, the First Battle of Shanghai began which saw the Japanese bomb much of Shanghai into rubble.Kershaw, Ian ''Making Friends with Hitler: Lord Londonderry, the Nazis, and the Road to War'', London: Penguin, 2004 The scenes of Shanghai in flames together with the increasingly assertive Japanese claims about China and the Far East in general as within its sphere of influence convinced Londonderry that Britain needed a strong Royal Air Force as the best way to deter Japan from attacking the British empire and to ensure that Britain was prepared for war should Anglo-Japanese relations take a turn for the worse. Londonderry's record at the Air Ministry has been outlined by a biographer: Londonderry toed the British government's equivocal line on disarmament but opposed in Cabinet any moves that would risk the deterrent value of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
. He was thus attacked 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 ...
and the Labour Party and became a liability to the National Government. In the spring of 1935, he was removed from the Air Ministry but retained in the Cabinet as
Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
and
Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...
. Combined with his role as a leading member of the
Anglo-German Fellowship The Anglo-German Fellowship was a membership organisation that existed from 1935 to 1939, and aimed to encourage friendly relations between the United Kingdom and Germany. Previous groups in Britain with the same aims had been wound up when Ado ...
, he attracted the popular nickname of "Londonderry Herr".


Contacts with Nazi Germany

The sense of hurt Lord Londonderry felt at that and accusations that he had misled Baldwin about the strength of Nazi Germany's ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
'' led him to seek to clear his reputation as a "warmonger" by engaging in amateur diplomacy. The British historian Richard Griffiths made a distinction between appeasers, a term that he reserved for government officials who believed in appeasement of the Axis states for a variety of reasons, many quite pragmatic, and the enthusiasts for Nazi Germany, which he described a group of individuals who acting on their own as private citizens sought better relations with the Third Reich, usually for ideological reasons.Griffiths, Richard T., ''Fellow Travellers of the Right: British enthusiasts for Nazi Germany, 1933-9'', Constable, 1980, p. 1 Griffiths defined Londonderry as an enthusiast for Nazi Germany, instead of an appeaser, by noting that after June 1935, Londonderry was speaking mostly for himself when he sought out the company of Nazi leaders. Londonderry joined the
Anglo-German Fellowship The Anglo-German Fellowship was a membership organisation that existed from 1935 to 1939, and aimed to encourage friendly relations between the United Kingdom and Germany. Previous groups in Britain with the same aims had been wound up when Ado ...
, a society that sought to bring together elites from Britain and Germany with the aim of forging an Anglo-German alliance.
William Shirer William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian. His '' The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany, has been read by many and cited in schol ...
, an American reporter assigned to Berlin in the years leading to the Second World War, referred to Londonderry simply as "an all-out pro-Nazi." Between January 1936 and September 1938, Londonderry made six visits to Nazi Germany, the first lasting for three weeks, but a seventh invitation that had been accepted for March 1939 was abruptly declined by Londonderry after the Nazi occupation of
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. From early 1936 onward, Londonderry's public statements about the Third Reich became markedly admiring and sympathetic. In March 1936, Leopold von Hoesch, the German ambassador in London in a report to Berlin called Londonderry "one of those on whom the German government relied for the right opinions". As part of his amateur diplomacy, at the end of May 1936 Londonderry invited in
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
, the German Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, later the German foreign minister, to his ancestral home in Northern Ireland,
Mount Stewart Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Iris ...
. Ribbentrop is reported to have landed in
Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...
with a "noisy gang of SS men" and the four-day visit became a national newspaper story. Londonderry entertained Ribbentrop for a further four days at his family home in
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, Wynyard Hall on 13–17 November and accompanied him to briefings with government officials in London. During the first two visits, prior to the abdication of
Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
, whom the Nazis assessed as a supporter, Londonderry was considered an aristocrat of real influence by Hitler. The friendly regard in which Londonderry was held in Berlin was reflected in Hitler indiscreetly informing his guest, in October 1936, of his intended moves both on
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, years before two invasions happened. Although Londonderry immediately passed that information regarding Hitler's indicated future direction of German policy on to a member of the British government by a letter to
Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...
on 24 December 1936, rearmament was not notably accelerated in Britain. In the end, Londonderry's high-profile promotion of Anglo-German friendship marked him with a far greater slur than what had led him to engage in
appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...
in the first place.


Fall from grace

Under attack from anti-Nazis inside and outside Westminster, Lord Londonderry attempted to explain his position by publishing ''Ourselves and Germany'' in March 1938. Then, after the
Munich agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
, in October 1938, Londonderry wrote in a letter that he was aware that Hitler was "gradually getting back to the theories which he evolved in prison", when working on ''
Mein Kampf (; ) is a 1925 Autobiography, autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The book outlines many of Political views of Adolf Hitler, Hitler's political beliefs, his political ideology and future plans for Nazi Germany, Ge ...
''. Londonderry's work was openly antisemitic, declaring: "I have no great affection for the Jews ... it is possible to trace their participation in most of the international disturbances which have created so much havoc in different countries." After playing a marginal role in the resignation of
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 ...
as Prime Minister in 1940, he failed to win any favour from the new Prime Minister,
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, ...
(his second cousin), who thought little of his talents. With talk of his possible internment, Londonderry retreated to Mount Stewart, where he produced ''Wings of Destiny'' (1943), a relatively short memoir that was considerably censured by some of his former colleagues, and where he died in 1949. On the mantlepiece of his smoking room at Mount Stewart, Londonderry retained a memento of his diplomatic démarche: an Allach porcelain figurine of an ''SS Fahnenträger'' (SS flag bearer). The gift from ''Reichmarshall''
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
was neither destroyed nor removed at the outbreak of war. Lord Londonderry served as
Lord Lieutenant of County Down This is a list of ''Lord Lieutenant, lords lieutenants of County Down''. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreate ...
between 1915 and 1949 and of
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
between 1928 and 1949 and was Chancellor of the
University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...
and
The Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is St ...
. He was Mayor of Durham during the year of George VI's Coronation (1937). He was sworn of the
Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execut ...
in 1918, of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland in 1921 and of the Imperial Privy Council in 1925 and appointed a Knight Companion of the Garter in 1919.


Family

On 28 November 1899, Lord Londonderry married the Hon. Edith Helen Chaplin, eldest daughter of
Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin Henry Chaplin, 1st Viscount Chaplin (22 December 1840 – 29 May 1923) was a British landowner, racehorse owner and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 until 1916 when he was raised to the peerage. Backgrou ...
, and Lady Florence Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (herself a daughter of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland) at St Peter's Church, Eaton Square and had issue: * Lady Maureen Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1900–1942), who married in 1920 the Hon.
Oliver Stanley Oliver Frederick George Stanley (4 May 1896 – 10 December 1950) was a prominent British Conservative politician who held many ministerial posts before his early death. Background and education Stanley was the second son of Edward Stanley, 1 ...
and had issue: (i) Michael Charles Stanley (1921–1990), who married (Aileen) Fortune Constance Hugh Smith and had two sons; and (ii) Kathryn Edith Helen Stanley DCVO (1923–2004),
Lady-in-Waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
to
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
from 1955 to 2002 and who married Sir John Dugdale KCVO (1923–1994) and had two daughters and two sons. * Edward Charles Stewart Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry (1902–1955) * Lady Margaret Frances Anne Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1910–1966), who married in 1934 (div. 1939) Frederick Alan Irving Muntz and in 1952 (div.1958) as his 3rd wife,
Hugh Falkus Hugh Falkus (15 May 1917 – 30 March 1996) was a British writer, filmmaker and presenter, World War II pilot and angler. In an extremely varied career, he is perhaps best known for his seminal books on angling, particularly salmon and sea trout ...
(1917–1996). * Lady Helen Maglona Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1911–1986), who married, firstly (of three marriages), in 1935 Edward Jessel, 2nd Baron Jessel, and had issue: (i) Hon. Timothy Edward Jessel (1935–1969) who married twice and had issue; (ii) Hon. Camilla Edith Mairi Elizabeth Jessel (b. 1940) who was married and has issue; and (iii) Hon. Joanna Margaret Jessel (1945-1980) who was married and had issue. * Lady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1921–2009), who married in 1940 (div. 1958) Derek William Charles Keppel, Viscount Bury (1911–1968), eldest son of
Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle Colonel Walter Egerton George Lucian Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle (28 February 1882 – 14 July 1979), was a British nobleman and soldier, styled Viscount Bury from 1894 to 1942. Life Keppel was the eldest son of Arnold Keppel, 8th Earl of Alb ...
and had issue: (i) Lady Elizabeth Mairi Keppel (1941–2014) who married in 1962 (div.) Alastair Michael Hyde Villiers (1939–2005) and has issue, and in 1980 (div. 1988) Merlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley; and (ii) Lady Rose Deirdre Margaret Keppel (b. 1943) who married Peter Lathrop Lauritzen, son of George F. Lauritzen, of River Forest, Illinois, U.S.A., founder of a food manufacturing, processing and export firm, and has issue. Lord Londonderry had an illegitimate daughter with actress
Fannie Ward Fannie Ward (born Fannie Buchanan; February 22, 1872 – January 27, 1952), also credited as Fanny Ward, was an American actress of stage and screen. Known for performing in both comedic and dramatic roles, she was cast in ''The Cheat (1915 film ...
, named Dorothé Mabel Lewis (b. 1900). She first married, in 1918, a nephew of mining magnate Barney Barnato, Capt. Jack Barnato, who died of pneumonia shortly after their wedding. Her second husband, whom she married in 1922, was Terence Plunket, 6th Baron Plunket, and with him, she had three sons: Patrick Plunket, 7th Baron Plunket, Robin Plunket, 8th Baron Plunket, and the Hon Shaun Plunket. Lord and Lady Plunket were killed in an aircraft crash in California in 1938. Having suffered a stroke after a gliding accident a few years after the end of the war, Lord Londonderry died on 10 February 1949 at
Mount Stewart Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Iris ...
,
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, aged 70.


References


Further reading

* Fleming, Neil C. "Aristocratic appeasement: Lord Londonderry, Nazi Germany, and the promotion of Anglo-German misunderstanding." ''Cardiff Historical Papers'' (2007)
online
* Fleming, Neil C. "Lord Londonderry and education reform in 1920s Northern Ireland", ''History Ireland'' (spring 2001) * Fleming, Neil C. ''The Marquess of Londonderry: Aristocracy, Power and Politics in Britain and Ireland''. (London, 2005) * Griffiths, Richard. '' Fellow Travellers of the Right: British Enthusiasts for Nazi Germany, 1933–1939'' (Constable, 1980) * Hyde, H. Montgomery. ''British air policy between the wars, 1918–1939'' (1976) · * Hyde, H. Montgomery ''The Londonderrys: A Family Portrait''. (London, 1979) * Jackson, Alvin. "Stewart, Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-, seventh marquess of Londonderry (1878–1949)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 6 Jan 2016
* Kershaw, Ian. ''Making Friends with Hitler: Lord Londonderry and the British Road to War''. (London, 2004) * Strobl, Gerwin. '' The Germanic Isle: Nazi Perceptions of Britain'' (Cambridge University Press, 2000)


Primary sources

* Edith, Lady Londonderry, ''Retrospect''. (London, 1938) * Lord Londonderry, ''Ourselves and Germany''. (London, 1938) * Lord Londonderry, ''Wings of Destiny''. (London, 1943)


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Londonderry, Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess Of 1878 births 1949 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army personnel of World War I Royal Horse Guards officers British racehorse owners and breeders Secretaries of State for Air (UK) Chancellors of Durham University Chancellors of Queen's University Belfast Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Charles Honorary air commodores Leaders of the House of Lords Lords Privy Seal Lord-lieutenants of Down Lord-lieutenants of Durham Knights of the Garter Northern Ireland Cabinet ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Charles Londonderry, M7
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
7 Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Antisemitism in the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College British anti-communists British businesspeople in the coal industry