Archibald Maule Ramsay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay
Member of Parliament for Peebles and Southern Midlothian
In office 27 October 1931 – 15 June 1945
Preceded by	Joseph Westwood
Succeeded by	David Pryde
Majority	8,250 (31.0%)
Personal details
Born	(1894-05-04)May 4, 1894
Died	March 11, 1955(1955-03-11) (aged 60)
Political party	Scottish Unionist
Spouse	Lady Ninian Crichton-Stuart
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Years of service	1913-1920
Rank	Captain

Captain Archibald Henry Maule Ramsay (born May 4, 1894 – died March 11, 1955) was a British Army officer. He later became a politician, serving as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Scottish Unionist party. Towards the end of the 1930s, his views became strongly antisemitic. In 1940, he was held by the government under a special wartime rule. This happened after he was linked to a suspected spy at the United States embassy. He was the only British MP to be held in this way during World War II.

Early Life and Military Career

Archibald Ramsay came from an important Scottish family. He went to Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1913, he joined the Coldstream Guards, a famous army regiment.

Serving in World War I

When World War I began, Ramsay served in France for two years. He was badly injured in the head and had to leave active duty. He was then moved to the War Office in London. In 1917, he married Lady Ninian Crichton-Stuart. She was already a widow with three children. They later had four sons together. Sadly, their oldest son died while serving in the war in 1943.

Life After the War

As the war ended, Ramsay worked for the British War Mission in Paris. He left the Army in 1920 with the rank of Captain. During the 1920s, he worked as a director for companies near Arbroath, Angus. He also became active in the Conservative Party.

Becoming a Member of Parliament

In the 1931 general election, Ramsay was elected as an MP. He represented the area of Peebles and Southern Midlothian. He was not expected to hold a very high position in government. His most important role was on the Potato Marketing Board.

Views on the Spanish Civil War

When the Spanish Civil War started, Ramsay strongly supported the Nationalists led by Francisco Franco. He was against the attacks on the Roman Catholic Church by the Spanish Republicans.

Concerns About News Reporting

In the early part of the war, Ramsay complained in Parliament about what he saw as unfair news reports from the BBC about Spain. He pointed out connections between the Spanish Republicans and the Soviet Union.

Forming the United Christian Front

In late 1937, Ramsay started a group called the 'United Christian Front'. Its goal was to fight against attacks on Christianity that he believed came from Moscow. Many important people joined this group. However, some senior religious leaders, like Archbishop William Temple, criticized the group. They said that while they supported Christian unity, they disagreed with the group's views on the Spanish Civil War.

Opposing a "Godless Conference"

Ramsay learned about a meeting of freethinkers planned for London in 1938. He and his supporters in Parliament called it a "Godless Conference" organized by a group linked to Moscow. In June 1938, he tried to pass a law called the "Aliens Restriction (Blasphemy) Bill." This bill would have stopped people attending the conference from entering Britain. He won the vote to introduce the bill, but it did not become law.

Views on Communism and Jews

Ramsay's strong opposition to communism led him to look at other countries. In January 1938, he gave a speech where he said that Adolf Hitler's dislike of Jews came from Hitler's belief that Jews were behind the Third International. Later in 1938, Ramsay read a book that claimed many members of the Soviet Union's Communist Party were Jewish. Around this time, he also became more supportive of Germany. He wrote to The Times newspaper to support the right of the Sudetenland region to decide its own future.

Meeting German Sympathizers

In November 1938, Ramsay attended a lunch at the German Embassy in London. There, he met British people who supported Nazi Germany. In December, he tried to pass another law about how shares in news companies were held. He claimed the press was controlled by "international financiers" in New York City who wanted to start a war. He was allowed to introduce this bill, but it also did not become law.

The Right Club

Ramsay wanted to influence others to remove what he saw as Jewish control from the Conservative Party. So, in May 1939, he created the Right Club. He kept a list of members in a special red book. The club had 135 men and 100 women members. Some members were openly antisemitic, like William Joyce. Others might have joined without fully knowing the club's true purpose. The 5th Duke of Wellington often led the early meetings.

Controversial Speech

While starting the Right Club, Ramsay spoke at a meeting where he was reported saying they needed to end Jewish control. He added, "if we don't do it constitutionally, we'll do it with steel." This statement was met with applause. A popular magazine, John Bull, and his local newspaper challenged him about this. Ramsay admitted he made the speech. He claimed that three halls refusing to host the meeting showed Jewish control.

During World War II

When Leslie Hore-Belisha, who was the Secretary of State for War, left his job, Ramsay shared copies of a magazine called Truth in Parliament. This magazine suggested that Hore-Belisha's departure was not a loss to the government. Ramsay also proposed a motion claiming that newspapers' reactions to Hore-Belisha's removal showed Jewish control of the press.

The "Phoney War" Period

Ramsay attended some private meetings where people who opposed the war discussed their plans. However, he left these meetings when Oswald Mosley and his supporters started to dominate them. During the period known as the Phoney War (the early part of World War II when there was little fighting), the Right Club handed out leaflets and stickers. Ramsay later said he wanted to keep an atmosphere where the "Phoney War" could lead to a peaceful agreement. Some of these leaflets claimed that the war was planned by Jews for "world-power and vengeance."

In Parliament and Internment

In Parliament, Ramsay spoke against the process of holding people without trial under Defence Regulation 18B. He also opposed the arrest of a speaker named Richard A. V. "Jock" Houston. In March 1940, he asked a question about a German radio station, even giving its exact frequency. This made some people suspect he was trying to promote it. In May, he asked the Home Secretary to not be pressured by "a ramp in our Jew-ridden press." His increasingly open antisemitism was noticed by other Members of Parliament.

Arrest and Detention

One of the last people to join the Right Club was Tyler Kent. He worked as a code clerk at the U.S. Embassy in London. Ramsay gave Kent the red book with the Right Club's member list for safekeeping. Kent was secretly taking important documents from the embassy and was already under suspicion. On May 20, Kent's apartment was searched, and he was arrested. The locked red book was found and opened.

Ramsay's connection to Kent was very concerning to the authorities. This was because Ramsay had parliamentary privilege, meaning he could say things in Parliament without being sued. If Kent had given the stolen documents to Ramsay, and Ramsay had spoken about them in Parliament, the information could have become public. The government decided to expand the powers of Defence Regulation 18B to allow them to hold people suspected of disloyalty.

Ramsay was arrested on May 23, 1940, and held in Brixton Prison under Regulation 18B. He tried to defend his reputation through his lawyers. When Lord Marley claimed in the House of Lords that Ramsay was Hitler's chosen leader for Scotland if an invasion happened, Ramsay's lawyers immediately sent a complaint.

As someone held under Regulation 18B, Ramsay could only challenge his detention by appealing to an Advisory Committee. However, the committee recommended he remain held. Some of Ramsay's colleagues argued that holding an MP was against parliamentary privilege. The matter was sent to the Committee of Privileges, but in October, the committee decided that his detention was not a breach of privilege.

Libel Trial

The New York Times newspaper published an article in July 1940 about "Britain's Fifth Column" (a group secretly working against their own country). The article claimed that "informed American sources said that he had sent to the German legation in Dublin treasonable information given to him by Tyler Kent." Ramsay sued the newspaper for libel, which is publishing false statements that harm someone's reputation.

Court Proceedings

The trial took place in July 1941. Ramsay stated his loyalty to Britain. However, some of his answers in court caused him problems. For example, when asked if he wanted Nazism to be defeated, he replied, "Not only Germany, but also the Judaic menace." In his summary, the judge said he believed Hitler would call Ramsay "friend." The judge also stated that Ramsay was disloyal in his heart and soul to his King, government, and people.

However, The New York Times could not prove its story. They found no evidence that Ramsay had sent information to the German legation. So, the newspaper was found responsible for libel. The judge awarded Ramsay a very small amount of money, a farthing (a quarter of a penny). This small award is usually given when someone technically wins a libel case but is seen as having caused their own trouble. Because The New York Times had paid £75 into court before the trial, Ramsay became responsible for both his own legal costs and the newspaper's costs. After the trial, Ramsay's local political party group disowned him. They asked another MP to take over Ramsay's work in his area.

Later Political Actions

While in prison, Ramsay continued to submit written questions in Parliament. He sometimes took up the cases of other people held under Regulation 18B. His oldest son, Alec, who was serving in the Scots Guards, died of pneumonia in South Africa in August 1943.

Ramsay was finally released from detention on September 26, 1944. He was one of the last people to be held under Regulation 18B. He immediately returned to Parliament. His return caused at least one member to leave the chamber. His only notable action for the rest of his time in Parliament was a motion. It called for the old 1275 Statute of the Jewry law, passed under King Edward I, to be brought back. He did not run for re-election in the 1945 general election.

Writing The Nameless War

In 1952, Ramsay wrote a book called The Nameless War. It was partly his autobiography and an attempt to explain his actions. Much of the book presented an antisemitic conspiracy theory. It claimed that the English, French, Russian, and Spanish Revolutions were all part of a Jewish plan for world control. The book used many quotes from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which Ramsay believed was real. He also claimed that Calvin was a Jew named "Cohen," and that Cromwell was "a paid agent of the Jews." He even suggested that the entire English Civil War and the execution of King Charles I were staged just to allow Jews to return to England.

Ramsay attended some far-right political meetings after his release but did not gain much attention. He passed away in 1955.

Sources

• Nicholson, Peter [writer and director]. Churchill and the Fascist Plot Channel 4 2011 TV documentary detailing how Winston Churchill and MI5 hunted down a group of British fascist aristocrats plotting to bring down the government and forge an alliance with Adolf Hitler.
• The Nameless War by Archibald Maule Ramsay (Britons Publishing Company, London, 1952) – text available online here
• Conspirator: The Untold Story of Churchill, Roosevelt and Tyler Kent, Spy by Ray Bearse and Anthony Read (Macmillan, London, 1991)