Chamberlain war ministry

Government of the United Kingdom September 1939 – May 1940

Conservative Party

Liberal National Party

National Labour

Status in legislatureMajority (coalition)
428 / 615 (70%)

Opposition party Labour PartyOpposition leaderClement AttleeHistoryLegislature term(s)37th UK ParliamentOutgoing formationNorway DebatePredecessorFourth National GovernmentSuccessorChurchill war ministry

Neville Chamberlain formed the Chamberlain war ministry in 1939 after declaring war on Germany. Chamberlain led the country for the first eight months of the Second World War, until the Norway Debate in Parliament led Chamberlain to resign and Winston Churchill to form a new ministry.

History

On 3 September 1939, Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, reconstructed his existing government so as to be suited for the Second World War. The most dramatic change to the ministerial line-up saw the return of Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty. Other changes included Lord Caldecote replacing Lord Maugham as Lord Chancellor, Sir John Anderson replacing Sir Samuel Hoare as Home Secretary (Hoare became Lord Privy Seal with a wide-ranging brief) and the return of Anthony Eden to the government as Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. However, the administration was not a true national unity government as it was made up primarily of Conservatives with support from some National Labour and National Liberal members. There were no representatives from the Labour Party or Liberal Party^[1]

The government was notable for having a small war cabinet consisting of only the principal and service ministers, with most other government positions serving outside the Cabinet. The War Cabinet included Chamberlain, Hoare, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Simon, Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax, Churchill, Secretary of State for Air Sir Kingsley Wood, Minister for Coordination of Defence Lord Chatfield, Lord Hankey (as Minister without Portfolio), and Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha. Oliver Stanley replaced Hore-Belisha in January 1940 while Chatfield left the war cabinet in April 1940.

The government ended on 10 May 1940 when Chamberlain resigned and was succeeded by Churchill who formed the War Coalition.

Cabinet

War Cabinet, September 1939 – May 1940

Upon the outbreak of the war, Chamberlain carried out a fullscale reconstruction of the government and introduced a small War Cabinet who were as follows:

Neville Chamberlain – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
Sir Samuel Hoare – Lord Privy Seal
Sir John Simon – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Lord Halifax – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Leslie Hore-Belisha – Secretary of State for War
Sir Kingsley Wood – Secretary of State for Air
Winston Churchill – First Lord of the Admiralty
Lord Chatfield – Minister for Coordination of Defence
Lord Hankey – Minister without Portfolio

Changes

January 1940 – Oliver Stanley succeeds Leslie Hore-Belisha as Secretary of State for War.
April 1940 – Hoare swaps Lord Privy Seal with Wood for Secretary of State for Air. Lord Chatfield leaves the government and the office of Minister for Coordination of Defence is abolished.

Key office holders not in the Cabinet

Lord Caldecote – Lord Chancellor
Lord Stanhope – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords
Sir John Anderson – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Malcolm MacDonald – Secretary of State for the Colonies
Anthony Eden – Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
Lord Zetland – Secretary of State for India and Burma
John Colville – Secretary of State for Scotland
Oliver Stanley – President of the Board of Trade
Lord De La Warr – President of the Board of Education
Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith – Minister of Agriculture
Ernest Brown – Minister of Labour and National Service
Walter Elliot – Minister of Health
Euan Wallace – Minister of Transport
Leslie Burgin – Minister of Supply
William Shepherd Morrison – Minister of Food and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Herwald Ramsbotham – First Commissioner of Works
Lord Macmillan – Minister of Information
Ronald Cross – Minister of Economic Warfare
Sir Walter Womersley – Minister of Pensions
George Tryon – Postmaster General
Lord Winterton – Paymaster General
Sir Donald Somervell – Attorney General
Sir Terence O'Connor – Solicitor General
David Margesson – Chief Whip

Changes

October 1939 – The position of Minister of Shipping is created, with Sir John Gilmour the first holder.
November 1939 – Lord Winterton resigns as Paymaster General and no successor is appointed.
January 1940 – Oliver Stanley becomes Secretary of State for War and a member of the War Cabinet in succession to Leslie Hore-Belisha (resigned) (see above) and is succeeded as President of the Board of Trade by Andrew Duncan. Lord Macmillan resigns as Minister of Information and is succeeded by Sir John Reith.
April 1940 – Robert Hudson succeeds Sir John Gilmour (deceased) as Minister of Shipping. Lord De La Warr exchanges President of the Board of Education with Herwald Ramsbotham for First Commissioner of Works. William Shepherd Morrison swaps the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for the Postmaster General with George Tryon and is succeeded as Minister of Food by Lord Woolton.
May 1940 – Sir Terence O'Connor dies and no new Solicitor General is appointed before the government falls.

List of ministers

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.

Office	Name		Dates	Notes
Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons	Neville Chamberlain	Conservative	3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940	Member of the War Cabinet
Lord Chancellor	The Viscount Caldecote	Conservative	3 September 1939
Lord President of the Council Leader of the House of Lords	The Earl Stanhope	Conservative	3 September 1939
Lord Privy Seal	Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt	Conservative	3 September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet
Lord Privy Seal	Sir Kingsley Wood	Conservative	3 April 1940
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir John Simon	Liberal National	September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	David Margesson	Conservative	September 1939
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	Harry Crookshank	Conservative	September 1939
Lords of the Treasury	James Stuart	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
	Thomas Dugdale	Conservative	September 1939 – 12 February 1940
	Patrick Munro	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
	Stephen Furness	Liberal National	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
	Sir James Edmondson	Conservative	September 1939 – 13 November 1939
	Patrick Buchan-Hepburn	Conservative	13 November 1939 – 10 May 1940
	William Boulton	Conservative	12 February 1940 – 10 May 1940
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	The Viscount Halifax	Conservative	September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	R. A. Butler	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir John Anderson	National	3 September 1939
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Osbert Peake	Conservative	September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Security	Alan Lennox-Boyd	Conservative	6 September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Security	William Mabane	Liberal National	24 October 1939
First Lord of the Admiralty	Winston Churchill	Conservative	3 September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Geoffrey Shakespeare	Liberal National	September 1939
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty	Sir Victor Warrender, Bt	Conservative	3 April 1940
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Austin Hudson, Bt	Conservative	September 1939
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries	Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith	Conservative	September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries	The Lord Denham	Conservative	19 September 1939
Secretary of State for Air	Sir Kingsley Wood	Conservative	September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet
Secretary of State for Air	Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt	Conservative	3 April 1940	Member of the War Cabinet
Under-Secretary of State for Air	Harold Balfour	Conservative	September 1939
Secretary of State for the Colonies	Malcolm MacDonald	National Labour	September 1939
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava	Conservative	September 1939
Minister for Coordination of Defence	The Lord Chatfield	Independent	September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet until 3 April 1940; Office abolished 3 April 1940
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	Anthony Eden	Conservative	3 September 1939
Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs	The Duke of Devonshire	Conservative	September 1939
Minister for Economic Warfare	Ronald Cross	Conservative	3 September 1939
President of the Board of Education	The Earl De La Warr	National Labour	September 1939
President of the Board of Education	Herwald Ramsbotham	Conservative	3 April 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education	Kenneth Lindsay	National Labour	September 1939
Minister of Food	William Morrison	Conservative	4 September 1939	Combined with the Duchy of Lancaster
Minister of Food	The Lord Woolton	Conservative	3 April 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food	Alan Lennox-Boyd	Conservative	11 October 1939
Minister of Health	Walter Elliot	Conservative	September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health	Florence Horsbrugh	Conservative	September 1939
Secretary of State for India and Burma	The Marquess of Zetland	Conservative	September 1939
Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma	Hon. Sir Hugh O'Neill	Ulster Unionist	11 September 1939
Minister of Information	The Lord Macmillan	Conservative Party	4 September 1939
Minister of Information	Sir John Reith	National	5 January 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information	Sir Edward Grigg	Conservative Party	19 September 1939	Office vacant 3 April 1940
Minister of Labour and National Service	Ernest Brown	Liberal National	3 September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and National Service	Ralph Assheton	Conservative Party	6 September 1939
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	William Morrison	Conservative Party	September 1939	From 4 September 1939 – 3 April 1940 combined with Minister for Food
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	George Tryon	Conservative Party	3 April 1940	Lord Tryon
Paymaster General	The Earl Winterton	Conservative Party	September 1939
Paymaster General	Vacant		November 1939
Minister of Pensions	Sir Walter Womersley	Conservative Party	September 1939
Minister without Portfolio	The Lord Hankey	Independent	3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940	Member of the War Cabinet
Postmaster-General	George Tryon	Conservative Party	September 1939
Postmaster-General	William Morrison	Conservative Party	3 April 1940
Assistant Postmaster-General	William Mabane	Liberal National	September 1939
Assistant Postmaster-General	Charles Waterhouse	Conservative Party	24 October 1939
Secretary of State for Scotland	John Colville	Conservative Party	September 1939
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland	John McEwen	Conservative Party	6 September 1939
Minister of Shipping	Sir John Gilmour, Bt	Conservative Party	13 October 1939
Minister of Shipping	Robert Hudson	Conservative Party	3 April 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Shipping	Sir Arthur Salter	Conservative Party	13 November 1939
Minister of Supply	Leslie Burgin	Liberal National	September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply	John Llewellin	Conservative Party	September 1939
President of the Board of Trade	Hon. Oliver Stanley	Conservative Party	September 1939
President of the Board of Trade	Sir Andrew Duncan	National	5 January 1940
Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade	Gwilym Lloyd George	Independent Liberal	6 September 1939
Secretary for Overseas Trade	Robert Hudson	Conservative Party	September 1939
Secretary for Overseas Trade	Geoffrey Shakespeare	Liberal National	3 April 1940
Secretary for Mines	Geoffrey Lloyd	Conservative Party	September 1939
Minister of Transport	Euan Wallace	Conservative Party	September 1939
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport	Robert Bernays	Liberal National	September 1939
Secretary of State for War	Leslie Hore-Belisha	Liberal National	September 1939	Member of the War Cabinet
Secretary of State for War	Hon. Oliver Stanley	Conservative Party	5 January 1940	Member of the War Cabinet
Under-Secretary of State for War	The Viscount Cobham	Conservative	19 September 1939
Financial Secretary to the War Office	Sir Victor Warrender, Bt	Conservative	September 1939
Financial Secretary to the War Office	Sir Edward Grigg	Conservative	3 April 1940
First Commissioner of Works	Herwald Ramsbotham	Conservative	September 1939
First Commissioner of Works	The Earl De La Warr	National Labour	3 April 1940
Attorney General	Sir Donald Somervell	Conservative	September 1939
Solicitor General	Sir Terence O'Connor	Conservative	September 1939
Lord Advocate	Thomas Cooper	Conservative	September 1939
Solicitor General for Scotland	James Reid	Conservative	September 1939
Treasurer of the Household	Charles Waterhouse	Conservative	September 1939
Treasurer of the Household	Robert Grimston	Conservative	12 November 1939
Comptroller of the Household	Charles Kerr	Liberal National	September 1939
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Robert Grimston	Conservative	September 1939
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Sir James Edmondson	Conservative	12 November 1939
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Earl of Lucan	Conservative	September 1939
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Lord Templemore	Conservative	September 1939
Lords-in-Waiting	The Earl Fortescue	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
	The Earl of Birkenhead	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
	The Viscount Bridport	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940
	The Lord Ebury	Conservative	September 1939 – 10 May 1940

References

^ Liberal MP Gwilym Lloyd George accepted the post of Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade. He doesn't appeared to have officially resigned from the party or was expelled at this tine.

D. Butler and G. Butler, Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900–2000.

Preceded by

Fourth National Government

Government of the United Kingdom
1939–1940

Succeeded by

Churchill war ministry

British governments

Great Britain
(1707–1801)

UK (GB and Ire)
(1801–1922)

UK (GB and NI)
(1922–present)

Current ministry

v t e Neville Chamberlain
Premierships	1938–1939 1939–1940
Constituencies	Birmingham Ladywood Birmingham Edgbaston
Family	Joseph Chamberlain (father) Austen Chamberlain (half-brother) Beatrice Chamberlain (half-sister) Ida Chamberlain (sister) Hilda Chamberlain (sister) Anne Chamberlain (wife)
Career	Career before 1937 Conservative Research Department European foreign policy of the Chamberlain ministry Appeasement Munich Agreement Peace for our time Declaration of war on Germany Anglo-Polish alliance Phoney War Norway Debate
Cultural depictions	The Gathering Storm (TV, 1974) Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (TV, 1981) Countdown to War (Film, 1989) Heil Honey I'm Home! (TV, 1990) Dunkirk (TV, 2004) Into the Storm (TV, 2009) Darkest Hour (Film, 2017)