British coalition government (1940–1945)

Following his appointment as British Prime Minister on 10 May 1940, Winston Churchill formed an all-party coalition government which held office for most of the Second World War until 23 May 1945. Churchill was appointed by King George VI to succeed Neville Chamberlain, who had resigned in the aftermath of the Conduct of the War debate on 7–9 May 1940.

At the outset, Churchill created a five-man war cabinet with himself as both Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. His colleagues were Chamberlain as Lord President of the Council; Clement Attlee as Lord Privy Seal, and later as Deputy Prime Minister; Lord Halifax as Foreign Secretary; and Arthur Greenwood as a minister without portfolio. Although the original war cabinet was officially limited to five members, in practice they were augmented by the service chiefs and ministers who attended the majority of meetings. The cabinet changed in size and membership as the war progressed but there were significant additions later in 1940 when it was increased to eight after Churchill, Attlee and Greenwood were joined by Ernest Bevin as Minister of Labour and National Service; Anthony Eden as Foreign Secretary – replacing Halifax, who was sent to Washington, D.C. as ambassador to the United States; Lord Beaverbrook as Minister of Aircraft Production; Sir Kingsley Wood as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Sir John Anderson as Lord President of the Council – replacing Chamberlain who died in November (Anderson later became Chancellor after Wood's death in September 1943).

The coalition was dissolved in May 1945, following the final defeat of Nazi Germany, when the Labour Party decided to withdraw in order to prepare for a general election. Churchill, who was the leader of the Conservative Party, was asked by the King to form an interim government, essentially a Conservative one, which managed the country's affairs until completion of the general election on 26 July that year.

Background

Neville Chamberlain

The 1935 general election had resulted in a Conservative victory with a substantial majority and Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister. In May 1937, Baldwin retired and was succeeded by Neville Chamberlain who continued Baldwin's foreign policy of appeasement in the face of German, Italian and Japanese aggression. Having signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler in 1938, Chamberlain became alarmed by the dictator's continuing aggression and, in March 1939, signed the Anglo-Polish military alliance which supposedly guaranteed British support for Poland if attacked. Chamberlain issued the declaration of war against Germany on 3 September 1939 and formed a war cabinet which included Winston Churchill (out of office since June 1929) as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Dissatisfaction with Chamberlain's leadership became widespread in the spring of 1940 after Germany successfully invaded Norway. In response, the House of Commons held the Conduct of the War debate from 7 to 9 May. At the end of the second day, the Labour opposition forced a division which was in effect a motion of no confidence in Chamberlain. The government's majority of 213 was reduced to 81, still a victory but nevertheless a shattering blow for Chamberlain.

Government members

Ministers who held war cabinet membership, 10 May 1940 – 23 May 1945

A total of sixteen ministers held war cabinet membership at various times in the coalition government. There were five at the outset of whom two, Churchill and Attlee, served throughout the ministry's entire term. Bevin, Morrison and Wood were appointed to the war cabinet while retaining offices that had originally been outer cabinet portfolios. Anderson and Eden were promoted from other offices after their predecessors, Chamberlain and Halifax, had left the government; similarly, Casey was brought in after Lyttelton switched portfolio and Moyne was appointed to replace Casey. Beaverbrook, Lyttelton and Woolton were brought in to fill new offices that were created to address current priorities. Greenwood was an original member with no portfolio and was not replaced when he assumed the role of acting Leader of the Opposition. Cripps was brought in as an extra member to reduce the workloads of Churchill and Attlee.

Senior government ministries and offices, 10 May 1940 – 23 May 1945

Of the Churchill administration's many cabinet level ministries and offices, most were portfolios in the "outer cabinet" and outside the war cabinet, although some were temporarily included in the war cabinet. Focus in this section is upon the ministerial offices. Some ministries, such as Foreign Secretary, were in the war cabinet throughout the entire administration whereas others like Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary were sometimes in the war cabinet and sometimes not, depending on priorities at the time. A number of ministries were created by Churchill in response to wartime needs. Some of the ministers retained offices that they held in former administrations and their notes include the date of their original appointment. For new appointments to existing offices, their predecessor's name is given.

Financial and parliamentary secretaries, 10 May 1940 – 23 May 1945

Often referenced as Ministerial Level 3, none of the junior officials who held titles such as Financial Secretary and/or Parliamentary Secretary were ever in the war cabinet. Their offices have rarely, if ever, been recognised as cabinet-level, although some of the office holders here did, at need, occasionally attend cabinet meetings. Some of the appointees retained offices that they held in former administrations.

Other junior ministries, 10 May 1940 – 23 May 1945

Also designated ministerial level 3 are those junior offices whose titles signify an assistant, deputy or under-secretary function. It excludes financial and parliamentary secretaries who are discussed in the previous sub-section. As before, some of the appointees retained offices that they held in former administrations.

Royal household appointments, 10 May 1940 – 23 May 1945

The Prime Minister also has responsibility for administrative and ceremonial positions in the royal household. Churchill appointed five people to individual posts and three others as Lords-in-Waiting.

The longest serving official was Lord Templemore who had been appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard by Baldwin in January 1934. Churchill retained him and he continued in office until August 1945. The Comptroller of the Household, a largely ceremonial role, was filled by three successive Labour backbenchers: William Whiteley (17 May 1940 to 12 March 1942), William John (12 March 1942 to 2 October 1944), and George Mathers from 2 October 1944.

Another Labour appointee was Lord Snell as Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms in May 1940, succeeding the 5th Earl of Lucan. Snell had been Labour's leader in the House of Lords. He died in office on 21 April 1944. The post then remained unfilled until the 5th Earl Fortescue, one of the Lords-in-Waiting, was appointed on 22 March 1945. Fortescue had been a Lord-in-Waiting since 1936 and was the chief government whip in the Lords. He was succeeded by the 4th Marquess of Normanby, a repatriated prisoner-of-war who had held Parliamentary Private Secretary roles. Lord Alness and Viscount Clifden were also Lords-in-Waiting. They were appointed by Churchill on 31 May 1940 and remained in situ till the end of the administration.

The other two posts were Treasurer of the Household and Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. They were held, respectively, by Robert Grimston and Sir James Edmondson who were both Chamberlain appointees in 1939 and were confirmed by Churchill in May 1940. On 4 March 1942, Grimston became Assistant Postmaster-General and Edmondson succeeded him as Treasurer. William Whytehead Boulton became Vice-Chamberlain. He retired from politics in July 1944 and was succeeded by Arthur Young.

Provenance

Some content on this page may previously have appeared on Wikipedia.

This article was wholly revised and then expanded by me between 2019 and 2022. The introduction has already been significantly amended and there will be further revisions in due course as more of the content is added – it will then be in order to remove the attribution tag. John (talk) 07:43, 13 July 2023 (CDT)

Bibliography

• Butler, David & Butler, Gareth (1994). British Political Facts 1900–1994, 7. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-03-12121-47-1. 
• Churchill, Winston (1967). From War to War: 1919–1939. London: Cassell. 
• Churchill, Winston (1968). The Twilight War: 3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940. London: Cassell. 
• Churchill, Winston (1970a). The Fall of France: May 1940 – August 1940. London: Cassell. 
• Churchill, Winston (1970b). Alone: September 1940 – December 1940. London: Cassell. 
• Gilbert, Martin (1983). Winston S. Churchill, Vol. 6: Finest Hour, 1939–1941. London: Heinemann. ISBN 978-04-34130-14-6. 
• Gilbert, Martin (1991). Churchill: A Life. London: Heinemann. ISBN 978-04-34291-83-0. 
• Hastings, Max (2009). Finest Years. Churchill as Warlord, 1940–1945. Hammersmith: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-00-07263-67-7. 
• Hermiston, Roger (2016). All Behind You, Winston – Churchill's Great Coalition, 1940–1945. London: Aurum. ISBN 978-17-81316-64-1. 
• Jenkins, Roy (2001). Churchill. London: MacMillan. ISBN 978-03-30488-05-1. 
• Owen, David (2016). Cabinet's Finest Hour. London: Haus. ISBN 978-19-10376-55-3. 
• Shakespeare, Nicholas (2017). Six Minutes in May. London: Vintage. ISBN 978-17-84701-00-0. 
• Wheeler-Bennett, John (1958). King George VI, His Life and Reign. London: Macmillan. OCLC 655565202. 

External links

• Cabinet Papers, 1939–1945.