Ernest Thurtle (11 November 188422 August 1954) was a British Labour politician.

Biography

Thurtle worked as an accountant and salesman. He saw service in the army in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was badly wounded at the Battle of Cambrai. In 1912 he married Dorothy Lansbury, the daughter of

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1 ...

, leader of the Labour Party in the 1930s. Thurtle contested South West Bethnal Green and

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

without success and was Member of Parliament (MP) for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 1923 to 1931 and from 1935 to 50, then Shoreditch and Finsbury from 1950 until his death. Thurtle's greatest achievement in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

was to bring about the abolition of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for cowardice or desertion in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. With over 300 British soldiers shot by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

after brief trials during

, Thurtle first introduced the measure for abolition in 1924, which became Labour Party policy in 1925 and eventually approved by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1930, during the Second Labour government (1929-31). Supporters of the measure included

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, but the abolition was first rejected by the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, which was encouraged in their resistance by various retired generals, including Lord Allenby. The House of Commons insisted, and the measure was enacted. The argument that it would reduce the determination of the soldiers was countered by the fact that Australia had always made it clear when it joined the war effort that none of its men would be executed for these crimes. No Australians were shot for cowardice or desertion, but it was clear that their troops had been as effective as any others in the war. Thurtle continued to be involved in ex-servicemen's associations. At the Labour Party conference in 1923, Thurtle supported two republican motions. The first stated "that the Royal Family is no longer a necessary party of the British constitution" and the second was "that the hereditary principle in the British Constitution be abolished".

Kingsley Martin Basil Kingsley Martin (28 July 1897 – 16 February 1969) usually known as Kingsley Martin, was a British journalist who edited the left-leaning political magazine the ''New Statesman'' from 1930 to 1960. Early life He was the son of (Dav ...

,''The Crown and the Establishment''. London, Hutchinson. 1962 (p.53–54) Thurtle was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Pensions in 1924, a Labour

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

from 1930 to 1931 and a junior minister at the Ministry of Information from 1941 to 1945. He was also a journalist and author. Thurtle was General Secretary of the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

1932-40 and, in 1941, its Chairman.Whyte, Adam Gowans (1949). ''The Story of the R.P.A. 1899-1949''. London: Watts & Co. p. 93

References

External links

*
Shot at Dawn
* E Thurtle: ''Times winged chariot'' Chaterson, London, 1945 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurtle, Ernest 1884 births 1954 deaths American emigrants to England English republicans English socialists Hackney Members of Parliament Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 People from Port Jervis, New York 20th-century people from New York (state) UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955