World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseEdward Frederick Lindley Wood was born the fourth son of the 2nd Viscount Halifax. All children of the family suffered health issues: all three older brothers died before their time, and Wood suffered the disability of a lack of a left hand. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church of the University of Oxford, both in England, United Kingdom. Between 1910 and 1925, he served in the Parliament, representing the constituency of Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. During WW1, he served in the rear with the Yorkshire Dragoons at the rank of major. Between 1922 and 1924, he served as the President of the Board of Education under Andrew Bonar Law. Between 1924 and 1926, he was appointed the Minister for Agriculture under Stanley Baldwin.

ww2dbaseBetween 1 Apr 1926 and 1931, Wood served as the Viceroy of India; the appointment was personally made by King George V, no doubt with his family's history in mind (his grandfather had been Secretary of State for India). The appointment for India also brought upon him the title of Baron Irwin (since 1925). Faced with an Indian independence movement, he was originally chosen as a religious man to deal eye-to-eye with Mahatma Gandhi, but for the first 19 months of his time in India, he ignored him. In fact, he generally excluded Indians from most portions of government, which angered Indians, and the independence movement turned violent. Lord Irwin was forced to make concessions, which was viewed as too excessive by the British leaders and not serious enough by the Indian leaders. Without effective support from London, Lord Irwin had little choice but to declare emergency powers and placed Gandhi and other Indian leaders under arrest, which still helped little. In Jan 1931, he signed the Delhi Pact which promised a round table discussion (later named the Round Table Conference) which eased tensions. On 20 Mar 1931, he publicly praised Gandhi's dedication and patriotism. In the following month, he returned to England.

ww2dbaseReturning to education, Lord Irwin became the Chancellor of Oxford University in 1933. In 1934, he inherited the title Viscount Halifax from his father.

ww2dbaseLord Halifax was the Secretary of State for War in 1935, Lord Privy Seal between 1935 and 1937, and the Lord President of the Council between 1937 and 1938. In 1938, he served as the Foreign Secretary. His political view for continental affairs was that of appeasement, having no objections with the German re-armament of Rhineland. When Germany annexed Austria and then Czechoslovakia, it was Lord Halifax's view that Germany would not start a war if it was given enough to satisfy its ambitions, despite his own doubts on losing Czechoslovakia as a staunch ally against German expansion. When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stepped down, Lord Halifax was viewed as a favorite successor, but he announced that he was not seeking the position; Winston Churchill was chosen instead, who kept Lord Halifax as his Foreign Secretary.

ww2dbaseOn 24 Jan 1941, Lord Halifax arrived at the Chesapeake Bay in the United States aboard battleship HMS George V. President Franklin Roosevelt arrived in person to welcome the new British ambassador. Instead of getting to work immediately, however, he partook fox hunting trips in Virginia in his first few weeks in the United States. Despite his initial reputation as yet another stiff and distant British aristocrat, the Americans soon realized he was an effective leader of the British propaganda machine in Washington, DC. By mid-1941, he was running marketing campaigns around the American capital city to gather support for Britain's war effort. "At one point, Halifax had a truck that had been dented by German bombs shiped over from London, placed signs on it saying 'Buy British,' and sent it off around the city." An old man by now, however, he was no longer the authoritative figure he once was as the Viceroy of India. In 1942, he morned the loss of one of his children, who died in combat. Churchill's preference of keeping tight personal contact with Roosevelt meant Lord Halifax's post as ambassador was much less important, and his influence waned as the war went on. In late 1942, he asked to be relieved, but the request was denied.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Lord Halifax retired from public service in 1946. He passed away at his estate at Garrowby in 1959.

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1.  Alan Chanter says:
19 Nov 2007 02:34:42 PM

Hitler may plant the swastika where he will, but unless he can sap the strength of Britain, the foundations of his empire are based on sand...Lord Halifax (Broadcast: 22 July 1940 in response to Hitlers appeal for peace)