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#721
November 4th, 2011, 04:43 PM
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At 4.32 pm on Friday 24th 1939 the Prime Minister made the following statement to the House of Commons.
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#722
November 8th, 2011, 08:49 PM
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At 6pm on Friday 24 February 1939 the former king, Edward VIII, broadcast on British Broadcasting Trust [BBT] radio to Britain and the Empire. Here is what he said:
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#723
November 9th, 2011, 12:11 PM
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Hmm, I must admit I had thought you were going to make that a controversial speech, but apparently not. Am I right in thinking he will be writing guest editorials or the like for the Daily Mail or other nasty newspapers across the Empire over the coming months? Once he leaves the UK that is
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#724
November 9th, 2011, 08:01 PM
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I considered having Edward say something controversial in radio broadcast before he was cut off, but decided that his speech would be mostly bland, except for the sentences in which he thanked his friends. I had not thought of the idea of former King Edward VIII writing guest editorials/opinion pieces for the Daily Mail or similar right-wing newspapers in the British Empire. I think that would be difficult as he will be living outside the British Empire.
That night Edward and Thelma Furness, his mistress, left Buckingham Palace and travelled by car to Portsmouth. There they boarded a Royal Navy ship and sailed immediately for the French coast. It reached Boulogne late the following morning. [1] From they boarded the train for Paris, where they caught the express to Berlin. From the railway station in the German capital, Edward and Thelma were met by Robert Ley, the head of the German Labour Front, who took them in his huge black Mercedes to his home in Berlin, a twenty-six room mansion once owned by a Jewish banker. Inside they were met by Goebbels and Ribbentrop. [2] Meanwhile Sir Alexander Hardinge had resigned as Private Secretary to King Edward when he abdicated. As son as Edward had signed the Instrument of Abdication, he travelled by car to Kensington Palace where Queen Marina, the estranged wife of Edward, and her two children, Henry, Prince of Wales, and Princess Mary, were living. He told the Queen that Edward had abdicated and her son was now king. Hardinge was then taken to the Prince and told him that he was now King of Great Britain and the British Empire. Henry had difficulty in speaking so he wrote on a sheet of paper the following words: "I pray that God will give me the wisdom and strength to bear the responsibilities of the office which has been entrusted to me. By His grace I hope I will be a very good king." [1] In OTL on the night after he had abdicated, Edward boarded HMS Fury at Portsmouth and sailed to Boulogne. [2] This happened in OTL when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited Berlin in October 1937.
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#725
November 9th, 2011, 09:45 PM
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Hell, that is going to kick up a stink.  Doing it in 37 OTL, when Hitler was already controversial but not massively so and for a fairly brief stay [I think?] about a year after abdicating is one thing. TTL, although Hitler has been deterred [for the moment] from the final annexation of Bohemia things are a lot tenser and he has gone pretty much directly from abdicating. Especially if it looks like he is staying there I can see the BUF and his other supporters becoming very unpopular and some of them at least reconsidering their position.Steve
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#726
November 11th, 2011, 01:13 AM
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Edward really is a wild card in this situation. Eager to see how it develops.
__________________
"Going too far and caring too much about a subject is the best way to make friends that I know." - Sarah Vowell tumblr
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#727
November 12th, 2011, 03:39 PM
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In the morning of 24 February 1939 Charles Wegg-Prosser resigned from the British Union of Fascists [BUF] because of the anti-Semitic riots the previous night. In the general election in October 1938 he had unsucessfully stood as a BUF candidate against Clement Attlee in the Stepney, Limehouse constituency. He now wrote an open letter to Mosley which was published the following morning in all the national daily newspapers except the Daily Express and the Daily Mail. In his letter Wegg-Prosser denounced anti-Semitism and accused Mosley of unleashing hatred and the basest passions of human nature.
Wegg-Prosser was a Catholic and a sizeable number of BUF supporters, were Catholics, as were 16 percent of its leading officials. The Catholic journals the Catholic Herald and the Tablet were sympathetic to Mosley and the BUF.
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#728
November 12th, 2011, 07:38 PM
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At 11 am on Saturday 25 February 1939 King Henry IX attended his Accession Council in Kensington Palace. [1] Prince Albert, Duke of York and Regent, proposed that his brother, the former King Edward, be created a duke. King Henry vehemently objected. His father had reverted to the style and title of Prince Edward, and because of the circumstances of his abdication he should not receive a dukedom. It was agreed that the former king's formal and official title would be His Royal Highness Prince Edward, but the Royal Family would not object if he was referred to as Edward Windsor. That is how I will refer to him in this TL, unless I am quoting people who use his royal title.
In the House of Commons at 11.16 am on the same day, the Prime Minister, Issac Foot, moved the second reading of His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Bill. It gave effect to Edward VIII's Abdication the previous day, and provided that Henry, Prince of Wales, should succeed to the Throne in the same way and with the same results as if the previous reign had ended in the ordinary course. [2] It also provided that Prince Albert would act as Regent until the new king attained his 18th birthday. The debate lasted about an hour. All the other party leaders spoke in favour of the bill. James Maxton for the ILP said that while his party would prefer Britain to be a republic, they would not be allied with Fascists and reactionaries in opposing the bill. The only speech against the bill was given by Archibald Ramsay, the BUF, formerly Conservative, member. To a barrage of interruptions, he said that he still regarded Edward as the rightful King who had been forced from the Throne by a conspiracy of Jews, Reds, Liberals and so-called Conservatives. At the end of the debate the bill was passed by a majority of 419 votes to 4. The four against were Ramsay and three Tories. However 13 Tories deliberately abstained. In the next few hours the bill through all stages in the Commons and in the Senate. At 3.25 pm the Lords Commissioners gave the Royal Assent to the Bill. At 4pm Henry was proclaimed King from the balcony of Kensington Palace. [3]. On the following day, Sunday, prayers were offered for him in every place of worship throughout the country. [1] In OTL King George Vi attended his Accession Council at 11 am at St. James's Palace on 12 December 1936. I don't know who were the members of the Council. [2] Taken from the wording of His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Bill in OTL which passed through all its stages in both Houses of Parliament and received the Royal Assent on 12 December 1936. [3] Here is film of the Proclamation of King George VI: http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist/BH...12346/?v=0&a=1.
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#729
November 13th, 2011, 04:16 AM
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Keep it up, pipisme!
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#730
November 13th, 2011, 10:28 AM
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What an intransigent sod that Ramsay is, much like his "real King". Here's hoping he gets locked up behind bars during the coming War much like OTL, that'll keep everyone's eardrums from getting polluted by his vile hatred masquerading as "freedom of speech".
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#731
November 16th, 2011, 07:32 PM
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On Sunday 26 February 1939 a Pastoral Letter by Arthur Hinsley, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, was read at all masses in all Catholic places of worship in England and Wales. [i] This condemned the anti-semitic riots and race riots instigated by the British Union of Fascists [BUF] on the night of 23 February. They showed that the BUF was an organisation whose policies and activities were utterly contrary to the fundamental value of love of one's neighbour which lay at the heart of the Catholic faith. Therefore no Catholic could be a member of the BUF. A similar Pastoral Letter by Donald Mackintosh, Archbishop of Glasgow, was read at all masses in all Catholic places of worship in Scotland. In the following days almost all Catholic members resigned from the BUF.
On 27 February Edward Windsor had a very amicable meeting with Adolf Hitler at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Windsor gave the Nazi salute and Hitler addressed him as the rightful king of Great Britain and the British Empire. How long Windsor and Thelma Furness, his mistress, remain in the German Reich remains to be seen. [1] Here is the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Hinsley: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33889 . He was comparatively liberal. Last edited by pipisme; November 18th, 2011 at 06:40 PM..
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#732
November 17th, 2011, 11:05 AM
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The Independent Labour Party [ILP] met in a special conference in Bradford on 7 and 8 February 1939 to debate and vote on the proposed merger with the Labour Party to form the Socialist Labour Party [SLP]. It was not lost on the delegates that they were meeting in the same city in which the ILP was founded in 1893.
Speeches at the conference were generally in favour of the merger, but the most eagerly awaited would be that by James Maxton, the leader of the Party. In a passionate and eloquent address he urged delegates to vote in favour of the merger. He said that socialist ideals for which the ILP had always campaigned would be at the heart of the SLP. The merger was not a takeover of the ILP by the Labour Party, but the creation of a new party steeped in the values, traditions and strengths of its constituent former parties. MPs and Senators of the SLP would have the freedom to vote according to their conscience on issues of conscription, and of peace and war. The conference voted by 439 votes to 38 votes in favour of the merger and the formation of the SLP. The Labour Party met at a special conference in London on 7 and 8 February to debate and vote on the proposal for a merger with the ILP and the formation of the SLP. Speeches were overwhelmingly in favour of the merger. The vote in favour was 94.2% in favour and 5.8% against. The birthday of the Socialist Labour Party was Wednesday 1 March 1939, until then the ILP and Labour Party maintained their separate identities. The leader of the SLP was Philip Noel-Baker with Arthur Greenwood and James Maxton as joint Deputy Leaders. It had 91 out of 615 MPs and 82 out of 418 Senators. It was the third party in British politics.
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#733
November 18th, 2011, 04:59 PM
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pipisme
I think there is a word missing here, possibly something like alien or foreign? If Hitler is formally recognising Edward as still the king and he is not objecting to that description wouldn't that be in breach of the terms of the abdication? At least its likely to alienate anyone not totally committed to him, especially given the current state of relations between Britain and Germany. Also likely to anger a lot of people in Britain in terms of the Nazis. Steve Quote:
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#734
November 18th, 2011, 06:52 PM
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stevep
I have edited the relevant message to insert the words 'utterly contrary' between 'activities were' and 'to the fundamental value'. Edward Windsor didn't particularly want Hitler to recognise him as king, but didn't care enough that it was in breach of his Declaration of Abdication to make any objection. pipisme
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#735
November 20th, 2011, 05:51 PM
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Pope Pius XI died on 10 February 1939. The conclave to elect his successor convened on 1 March. Sixty-two cardinals were eligible to vote in the election for the new pope, for which a two-thirds majority was required. All this was as in OTL.
The choice was seen as between Cardinal Eugene Pacelli, the Vatican Secretary [equivalent to Minister of Foreign Affairs] or a pastoral Pope. There was also a real possibility of a non-Italian cardinal being elected Pope. Pacelli was widely regarded as the front-runner, but there is a Vatican saying to the effect that the man who enters a conclave as Pope leaves it as a Cardinal. Besides being papabile does not guarantee election to the Papacy. There was the objection that, except for 21 months from from his ordination to the priesthood in April 1899 to January 1901, he had served in the Secretariat of State. In other words he had very little pastoral experience. Also he was regarded as very Germanophilic. Francois Charles-Roux, the French ambassador to the Holy See, found the French cardinal, Eugene Tisserant, implacably opposed to Pacelli whom he believed was by nature indecisive. He believed that the Italian cardinals were split between a pastoral Pope, such as Elia dalla Costa of Florence, and a politician, in other words Pacelli. Charles-Roux thought that Tisserant could exploit these potential splits to sway a significant number of non-Italian cardinals away from Pacelli. [1] The first ballot on 1 March was inconclusive. As were the subsequent 16 ballots on the following six days. It was not until the 18th ballot on the afternoon of 7 March that Cardinal Elia dalla Costa, [2] the Archbishop of Florence received 51 votes, which was nine more than the 42 required. It was the longest conclave since that of December 1830-February 1831 which elected Pope Gregory XVI, after 50 days and 83 ballots. The newly elected Pope took the regnal title of Gregory XVII. Blessed Gregory XVII, as he is in this TL in 2011, was a much-loved Pope. [1] This happened in OTL. See the book Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII by John Cornwell, London: Viking, 1999. [2] Here is a biography of dalla Costa: http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-d.htm#DallaCosta. Last edited by pipisme; November 21st, 2011 at 10:35 AM..
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#736
November 21st, 2011, 01:01 AM
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pipisme
A different pope could affect a lot of things, although possibly not too greatly initially. However the fact he's referred to as 'blessed' suggests a lot of people in TTL 2011 liked what he did. [Not a certain sign as it depends on what people in 2011 think but unless most of Europe is under some dictatorship or religious autocracy its a good sign.  ]Steve
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#737
November 24th, 2011, 07:47 PM
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I will return to the Spanish Civil War. This post - http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...&postcount=554, gives a summary of developments in Spain in lste November 1938. This post - http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...&postcount=595 - is the last previous post on Spain. To summarise on 16 February 1939 Spanish government forces took Talavera from the nationalists.
In order to take off pressure on their troops in Estramadura, the nationalists cabinet and general staff decided to launch an offensive in southern Catalonia, north-east along the coast from the mouths of the Ebro. Their first important goal was the city of Tarragona. Here is a map of Catalonia: http://www.mapsofworld.com/spain/aut...etwork-map.jpg. In April 1938 the Nationalists had captured Cataluna [Catalonia] from Tortosa [shown as Torlosa on the map] southwards. At dawn on Saturday 18 February the Nationalist offensive was launched. It made good progress and by 22 February el Parello and L'Ametlla de Mar were captured. Last edited by pipisme; November 27th, 2011 at 05:35 PM..
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#738
November 27th, 2011, 06:43 PM
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Because the Spanish government had not expected a nationalist offensive in the south of Catalonia, they had denuded it of troops. In order to stop the nationalist advance they transferred forces to that front. But not soon enough to stop the nationalists advancing further and taking Falset, Tivissa and Vandellos by 24 February. The next day government forces stopped the nationalist advance about five miles before Cambris. See this map: http://www.mapsofworld.com/spain/aut...etwork-map.jpg.
In OTL and this TL the Basque country had fallen to the nationalists with their capture of Bilbao on 16 June 1937. Meanwhile since the Carlists in the neighbouring province of Navarra had declared for the Spanish government on 30 November 1938, they had been supplying arms and men to the underground movement in the Basque country. The Basques and the Carlists shared a common Catholic faith. In the early morning of Monday 27 February 1939 the Carlist army in Pamplona under General Jose Solchaga launched a massive offensive into the Basque country. Since their conquest of the Basque country, the nationalists had not expected that the Spanish government would try to regain it, so they had withdrawn troops from that region. Therefore the Carlists met little resistance and by nightfall on 27 February they had reached the Bay of Biscay and had captured the towns of Irun and Hendaye. They were greeted as liberators by the Basque people. See this map: http://www.letsgo.com/maps/europe/sp...ja-and-navarra. Hendaye is Hondarribia on the map.
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#739
December 2nd, 2011, 11:42 AM
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The Carlist army continued its rapid advance in the Basque country, greatly assisted by the Basque resistance. On 1 March 1939 San Sebastian was liberated, and Eibar and Ondarroa the following day. Here is a map of Pais Vasco [the Basque country]: http://www.mapsofworld.com/spain/aut...-road-map.html.
By now Franco and his cabinet and the nationalist general staff were seriously worried by the Carlist/Basque advance. On 2 March General Fidel Davila, was transferred from the Catalan Front to take command of the nationalist armed forces in the Basque country, as was the German Condor Legion under the command of Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen. The fighter wing of the Condor Legion established its base at Vitoria [see map], with the bomber squadrons at Burgos because the Vitoria airfield was too small. These were the Legion's bases in the nationalist campaign in the North in the spring of 1937 in OTL and this TL.
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#740
December 3rd, 2011, 11:24 PM
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There's some hope for the Spanish Republic.
Keep it up, pip!
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