Ivor Bulmer-Thomas
CBE FSA (30 November 1905 – 7 October 1993), born Ivor Thomas, was a British journalist and scientific writer who served eight years as a
Member of Parliament (MP). His career was much influenced by his conversion to the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
in his youth, and he became a
pious believer on the
Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church.
A brilliant scholar and champion athlete while at university, Bulmer-Thomas wrote biographies and worked as a sub-editor on ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' during his early life. His experience in wartime
Italian propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
led him to doubt its value. Serving in the
Attlee Labour Party government in junior roles made him resent the influence of the Labour left; he fell out with party policy on nationalisation and moved to the
Conservative Party. He was a workaholic and after leaving politics he became a leading layman in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
; an interest in historic buildings led him to set up the
Friends of Friendless Churches group, which campaigns to prevent churches falling into disuse, and play a key role in founding the charity known today as
The Churches Conservation Trust.
Family and faith
Thomas was born in
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was ...
,
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
; his father A.E. Thomas, was working class.
[Matthew Saunders, "Ivor Bulmer-Thomas" (Obituary), ''The Independent'', 8 October 1993.] He went to
West Monmouth School in
Pontypool
Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062.
Locat ...
, where he abandoned his father's
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
faith in favour of the
Anglo-Catholic wing of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
,
["Ivor Bulmer-Thomas" (Obituary), ''The Times'', 8 October 1993.] a decision that was to affect his future career profoundly. Although a
pious believer,
his personal piety was described by
Robin Denniston in his ''Guardian'' obituary as "always gentle and humble".
[Robin Denniston, "Dissenter in the Pews: Ivor Bulmer-Thomas" (Obituary), ''The Guardian'', 9 October 1993.]
Oxford
Performing well at school, Thomas won a
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
to
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...
, where he studied both
Mathematical Mods. and
Literae Humaniores (known unofficially as 'Greats' and as 'Classics' at other universities), obtaining
Firsts in both.
He then turned to study divinity, but fell into dispute with the president of the college and moved instead to
Magdalen College where he became Senior Demy in Theology.
["Thomas, Ivor Bulmer- (1905–1993)" in ]Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
". He was the Liddon Student in 1928, the Ellerton Essayist in 1929, and the Junior Denyer and Johnson Scholar in 1930.
["Who Was Who", A & C Black.]
Thomas' achievements at Oxford were not confined to academic life; he also became a competitive
cross country runner. He represented
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
in
varsity matches against
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
from 1925 to 1927, in which year he won the three miles race.
In 1926 he had represented his country,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, in international cross-country running. But for an injury he would have stood a good chance of selection in the Great Britain team for the
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...
in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
Author
On leaving Oxford, Thomas became the Gladstone Research Student at
St Deiniol's Library in
Hawarden, the residential library founded at
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
's former house. The product of his research there was a book on Gladstone's son, published under the title "Gladstone of Hawarden" in 1936.
This book was preceded into print by a biography of
Lord Birkenhead, published in 1930 (the year its subject died). Thomas had come to know Birkenhead through his interest in university athletics and the book has been described as witty and entertaining; it was dedicated to "my creditors".
David Fowler noted the following works
*''Illustrating the History of Greek Mathematics'' (1939–1941), Loeb Classical Library
* ''The Socialist Tragedy'', Latimer House (1949)
*Contributed substantial articles to the authoritative ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' (1970–1990)
*The section on ''Greek geometry'' in ''Geschichte der Algebra'' (1990)
*Sections in ''Lehrbücher zur Didaktik der Mathematik''
*Reviewer for Classical Reviews on ancient science and mathematics; contributor of articles to journals and encyclopaedias.
Journalism
Thomas joined the staff of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' newspaper in 1930, where he served in the
sub-editors' room. He also wrote occasional
leader columns and specialist articles on scientific subjects
as well as being a sports correspondent for a brief period.
He married Dilys Llewelyn Jones in 1932, who bore him a son.
In 1935, owed some leave from ''The Times'', Thomas took it to coincide with the
general election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
for which he had been chosen as
Labour Party candidate for
Spen Valley in July.
["News in Brief", ''The Times'', 16 July 1935, p. 9.] The sitting Member of Parliament was
Sir John Simon, the
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
and the contest was a high-profile one; although Simon was elected, his margin of 642 votes was closer than expected and was said to have given him a fright.
Bereavement
Thomas moved to the ''
News Chronicle'' in 1937 as chief leader writer, finding the time to write a biography of Welsh industrialist
David Davies which was published the following year.
However, tragedy struck with the death of his wife in childbirth in the same year. Thomas' reaction was to write "Dilysia", a
threnody which combined his increasing love of
Italian literature (especially
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
) with a Christian philosophical analysis of suffering and bereavement. In later life Thomas was to identify it as his favourite piece of writing,
and it was republished in 1987. Thomas needed only four hours sleep, and kept volumes of Dante in the original mediaeval
Italian by his bedside to read at night.
Wartime service
As the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
threatened, Thomas enlisted in 1938
in a
Territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
battalion of the
Royal Fusiliers as a fusilier, equivalent in rank to a
private.
In 1940 he was commissioned into the
Royal Norfolk Regiment. While in the Army, he wrote a two-volume work "Selections Illustrating the History of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
Mathematics" which was published by the
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...
;
he was promoted to captain in 1941.
Propaganda work
As a fluent
Italian speaker, Thomas was drafted into the psychological warfare department of the
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* United ...
and
Ministry of Information with a brief to develop
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
for use against
Mussolini's Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Thomas wrote a 1942 book for
Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
called "Warfare by Words" which criticised British propaganda efforts, and defined the term as an act of "sabotage leading to revolution".
Parliament
Election
After leaving propaganda work, Thomas was appointed as intelligence officer in the
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
area. In January 1942, he was chosen as Labour Party candidate for the
Keighley byelection caused by the death of
Hastings Lees-Smith.
["Keighley By-Election", ''The Times'', 26 January 1942, p. 2.] The political parties had agreed an electoral truce, and a threatened
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidacy by B. D. Margerison of
Wibsey in
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
came to nothing when Margerison decided not to stand (despite having issued an election address).
["Keighley candidate's withdrawal", ''The Times'', 6 February 1942, p. 2.] Thomas was therefore elected unopposed on 13 February.
["New Labour M.P. for Keighley", ''The Times'', 14 February 1942, p. 2.]
Maiden speech
Thomas'
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
on 12 March concerned pensions, during which he argued that the
means test was "a blot on our national honour". He described the principle of supporting those unable to work as "the iron ration of citizenship".
["Parliament", ''The Times'', 13 March 1942, p. 8.] In his early period in Parliament he concentrated on propaganda concerns, in which he disagreed with
Stephen King-Hall's call for it to be treated on the same level as the three services. Thomas argued that this was an "entirely false perspective" and that propaganda was a "valuable but ancillary weapon".
[Letters, ''The Times'', 20 April 1942, p. 5.]
Activity
In November 1942, Thomas worked with
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...
and an all-party group of Members of Parliament to put down a motion opposing British co-operation with
Admiral Darlan in
French North Africa
French North Africa (, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French ...
.
["Terms of Commons Motion", ''The Times'', 27 November 1942, p. 4.] He was also active on domestic issues, supporting the movement to allow Sunday opening of theatres,
["Sunday Theatre Opening", ''The Times'', 4 February 1943, p. 2.] and for his stance he was denounced by the
Lord's Day Observance Society. At a meeting of the society in February 1943, one prayer asked God to "deal with Ivor Thomas as he dealt with
Saul of Tarsus".
["Protest Against Sunday Theatres", ''The Times'', 9 February 1943, p. 2.] (Saul is said in
Acts 9:4 to have been converted hearing a voice from Heaven saying "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?")
Thomas became a very active Member of Parliament, intervening in many debates on diverse subjects both domestic and foreign. In January 1945 he was also a speaker at the inaugural meeting of the League for European Freedom, a group which worked to restore the sovereignty of all "lesser European Powers existing in 1937" and for democratic government throughout Europe.
["League For European Freedom", ''The Times'', 20 January 1945, p. 2.] With the end of the war in sight, in April 1945 Thomas drew attention to a speech by
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...
which called for Government and Opposition to share common ground on foreign policy and defence by sharing information.
[Letters, ''The Times'', 13 April 1945, p. 5.]
Government
Ministry of Civil Aviation
At the
1945 general election Thomas was easily re-elected. When he saw the list of Government Ministers appointed by
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...
, Thomas took the unusual step of writing to the new prime minister to ask why his own name had not appeared on it. Attlee decided to find Thomas an appointment,
and made him
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Ministry of Civil Aviation on 10 August 1945.
["More Ministerial Appointments", ''The Times'', 11 August 1945, p. 2.] He was the Ministry's spokesman in 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 ...
as the Minister was
Lord Winster. Thomas took over responsibility for the building of
London Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...
, then known as 'Heath Row', which had been started by the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
during the war.
["House of Commons", ''The Times'' 11 October 1945, p. 8.]
Thomas felt that he could only truly understand his job if he obtained a
Private Pilot's Licence, and took up flying until he passed.
In 1946 he had responsibility for taking the
Civil Aviation Bill through the House of Commons; the Bill was controversial in that it
nationalised
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...
air transport into three corporations which were originally intended to have commercial freedom. Winster and Thomas were forced by left-wing pressure within the Labour Party to revisit the plans and make the corporations public monopolies.
["Civil Aviation", ''The Times'', 6 April 1946, p. 2.][Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, "The Growth of the British Party System" (John Baker, 1965), vol. ii, p. 168.] Some Labour Members were concerned that Thomas, still a young man with little experience of the heavy work of Parliament, was in charge of such an important Bill.
Despite a gruelling passage, including an all day Standing Committee session,
["Standing Committee's Long Day", ''The Times'', 28 June 1946, p. 4.] the Bill was enacted on schedule on 1 August.
Colonies Office
On 4 October 1946 Thomas was moved to be
Under-Secretary for the Colonies,
["Cabinet And Defence", ''The Times'', 5 October 1946, p. 4.] a shift which he later ascribed to an act of weakness by Attlee in giving in to left-wing pressure after the dispute over the Civil Aviation Bill.
With this appointment he was also a delegate to the
General Assembly of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.
["British Delegation", ''The Times'', 14 October 1946, p. 4.] He negotiated at the United Nations over continued British administration of the colonies of
Tanganyika,
Togoland
Togoland, officially the Togoland Protectorate (; ), was a protectorate of the German Empire in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400&nb ...
and the
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
s, against attempts by the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to limit the extent of control.
["Trustee Agreements", ''The Times'', 12 December 1946, p. 4.] Early the next year he intervened in a
strike in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, helping to persuade 7,000 municipal labourers to return to work.
["Singapore strike over", ''The Times'', 17 February 1947, p. 3.] The Colonies Office also had responsibility for
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
under the
British mandate, in which he followed government policy of resisting illegal immigration (which was predominantly Jewish).
["House of Commons", ''The Times'', 13 August 1947, p. 6.]
Crossing the floor
Despite thoughts that Thomas might be 'leadership material',
Attlee dropped him from the government on 7 October 1947, a dismissal which was unexpected.
["New Members of Cabinet", ''The Times'', 8 October 1947, p. 4.] The reason was Thomas' increasing disillusion with
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
.
In March 1948 he spoke at an Italian election rally for the moderate
Union of Socialists (UdS) calling for a federation of Europe;
["Mr. Ivor Thomas on European Union", ''The Times'', 1 April 1948, p. 3.]["Italians Cheer Labour M.P.: Hint about Colonies", ''The Guardian'', 31 March 1948, p. 5.] when it was revealed that left-wing Labour Members of Parliament had sent a telegram of support to
Pietro Nenni, leader of the rival
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...
(PSI) – which was fighting the
forthcoming election as part of a
Popular Front with the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...
– Thomas signed a motion calling for a Select Committee to investigate.
["Party Discipline", ''The Times'', 20 April 1948, p. 4.]
On 13 October 1948 Thomas wrote to ''The Times'' to urge the government to "drop all contentious legislation" in the forthcoming Parliamentary session, specifically the
Parliament Bill and the
Iron and Steel Bill,
["Unity at Home", ''The Times'', 15 October 1948, p. 5.] prompting considerable debate. Immediately after the
King's Speech in which both Bills were included, Thomas wrote to Attlee announcing his resignation from the Labour Party. He said he had been "particularly disturbed by the growing concentration of power in the hands of the State" and accused the government of surrendering "to its more extreme members and supporters".
["M.P. resigns from Labour Party", ''The Times'', 27 October 1948, p. 6.]
Stormy speech
When Thomas rose to speak in the debate the following day, it became clear that leaving the Labour Party had cost him many friendships.
Hyacinth Morgan intervened in his speech to ask whether he would stand for re-election immediately under his new colours; Thomas replied that he had consulted the precedent of
Tom Horabin who had moved from the
Liberals to Labour without so doing. When Thomas declared that the Labour slogan reversed the Christian declaration 'What is mine is thine' to say 'What is thine is mine', Morgan shouted at him "You are a dirty dog!". The
Speaker ordered Morgan to withdraw the words. In his conclusion, Thomas implicitly praised the leadership of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
.
["Mr. Ivor Thomas in Stormy Scene", ''The Times'', 28 October 1948, p. 4.]
During the rest of the Parliament, Thomas was treated by Labour Members as a pariah. He formed an unofficial group of two with
Alfred Edwards who had also left Labour over the nationalisation of steel,
and in the new year he formally announced he had joined the
Conservative Party; simultaneously it was announced that he had been adopted as Conservative Party candidate for
Newport (Monmouthshire), near his birthplace.
["Mr. Ivor Thomas", ''The Times'', 4 January 1949, p. 4.] However, he did not receive the Conservative
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 ...
until
Whitsun
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the H ...
.
["Mr. A. Edwards Joins Conservatives", ''The Times'', 20 August 1949, p. 4.] Thomas made an attacking speech at the 1949 Conservative Party conference: referring to
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
's remark that half the children in his class never had any boots, Thomas gibed that "if ever he went to school without any boots it was because he was too big for them".
[ Nigel Rees, "Sayings of the Century" (Unwin Paperbacks, 1987), p. 150.] He wrote a book called ''The Socialist Tragedy'' which was published that year.
Defeat
When the
general election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
came round, Thomas found himself with a formidable task in trying to win Newport. Thomas had family connections
and his stance on steel nationalisation was thought to be popular, but he found the voters not very interested.
["S. Wales apathy on steel", ''The Times'', 18 February 1950, p. 3.] Thomas was defeated by the heavy margin of 9,992 votes.
Return to journalism
Thomas' first action on losing his seat was to go with a group of friends to drive across the
Sahara
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
desert.
He then returned to journalism, becoming a reviewer for ''
The Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
''
and writing
obituaries for ''The Times''. His contributions were anonymous in print but he is known to have been responsible for many important obituaries including that of
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
.
From 1953 to 1954, he was acting deputy editor of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''.
By this time, he had changed his surname. In 1940 he had married (at
Hereford Cathedral) Joan Bulmer, from
Hereford
Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
, by whom he had a son and two daughters;
in April 1952 he took the additional surname 'Bulmer-' by
deed poll to acknowledge her.
His son by his second marriage is
Victor Bulmer-Thomas, formerly director of
Chatham House
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...
.
Church of England
In the same year as losing his Parliamentary seat, Bulmer-Thomas had found a seat in the House of Laity of the Church Assembly. There, as he had at Westminster, he intervened frequently in debate with some extravagant and controversial speeches
The issue which had become the most pressing for Bulmer-Thomas on the Church Assembly was the care of the fabric of churches. In 1951 he was appointed chairman of the London Diocesan Advisory Committee on the care of Churches,
["Roofing of Churches" (letter), ''The Times'', 3 May 1952, p. 7.] and in June of that year he successfully moved a motion in the Church Assembly to set up a
£4 million trust for the preservation of historic churches.
["Maintenance of Churches", ''The Times'', 20 June 1952, p. 3.]
The Historic Churches Preservation Trust achieved its desired funding and persuaded the Church Assembly to pass the Inspection of Churches Measure, to properly assess the condition of old churches every five years.
["Expert Inspection of Churches", ''The Times'', 9 May 1955, p. 5.] Bulmer-Thomas' obituary in ''The Independent'' commented that "more than any other single Act, this modest Measure has prevented many of those sudden 'repairs crises' which carry off too many fine churches".
Dispute with the archbishop
On 13 July 1956 long-running tensions within the Historic Churches Preservation Trust came out in the open. Bulmer-Thomas wanted the trust to save every threatened church, which included intervening with
Diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s to persuade them not to demolish unwanted churches which had lost their congregations. Other trustees, allied with the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
,
Geoffrey Fisher, thought that local autonomy should be preserved. When Bulmer-Thomas failed to persuade the trust to adopt his policy, the trust was dissolved and a new executive committee set up in which he was not involved.
["Church Preservation Trust Difference on Policy", ''The Times'', 14 July 1956, p. 6.]
At the Church Assembly on 15 November 1956, Bulmer-Thomas attacked Fisher, saying that he "held a pistol to my face while the Dean of Gloucester plunged his dagger into my back", which shocked some listeners.
["Assembly Clash On "Neglect" Of Historic Churches", ''The Times'', 16 November 1956, p. 7.] Bulmer-Thomas went away and made his own plans.
Friends of Friendless Churches
On 12 August 1957 Bulmer-Thomas announced the formation of "The
Friends of Friendless Churches", with himself as acting chairman and honorary secretary; he stressed that the group "is in no sense a rival to any existing body".
["Saving 'Friendless Churches'", ''The Times'', 13 August 1957, p. 5.] The Friends followed the policy Bulmer-Thomas had hoped the trust would adopt, opposing any suggestion of the demolition of a church. He saw some considerable success but became an even more controversial figure with those who saw new uses of old churches as being an inevitable development.
By the time of Bulmer-Thomas' death, it was estimated that the Friends had by their own efforts actively saved 17 churches, and helped to rescue many more;
They had become the guardians of 21 separate churches.
While many disagreed with Bulmer-Thomas' approach, his commitment was clear.
The Churches Conservation Trust
In 1969 Bulmer-Thomas was made the first chairman of the
Redundant Churches Fund, known today as The Churches Conservation Trust, the national charity protecting historic churches at risk.
["Latest Appointments", ''The Times'', 3 April 1969, p. 12.] Bulmer-Thomas was in charge of it for seven years. As of 2015 this body has over 345 historic churches in its care, visited by almost 2 million people a year.
Other activity
Bulmer-Thomas had other involvement in the field of heritage, being Secretary of the
Ancient Monuments Society from 1958; he served on the society's council for more than 30 years and was its chairman from 1975 to 1990.
In 1970 he became a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...
.
In addition he became a
Churchwarden at
St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, where he conducted an "Advanced Sunday School";
he had a special bond to the Church, having fought to have it rebuilt after bomb damage in the Second World War.
His interest in journalism and connection to the Church led him to get involved in the Society of the Faith and the Faith Press, which it owned as a specialist printing firm.
Honours
He never attempted to return to politics, but he did write "The Growth of the British Party System" in two volumes in 1965; it was poorly received.
In 1981 he became a member of the
Social Democratic Party, although he was not active.
He was a hard worker, but in 1985 he stood down from the
General Synod
The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion
The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...
after 35 years membership of it and its predecessor. He received several honours, including an honorary Fellowship of St John's College Oxford,
and the
CBE for his work in preserving Churches in 1984,
which Bulmer-Thomas quipped stood for "Churches Before Evangelism".
He received two honorary degrees,
that from the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
in 1979 being at the insistence of the Mathematics Department.
On his 80th birthday, the Ancient Monuments Society published a ''
Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
'' in his honour, paying tribute to the diversity of his interests.
Bulmer-Thomas was reported to have been working "literally till a few minutes before his death"
on a letter to the ''Daily Telegraph'', which was published on the same day as his obituary appeared.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulmer-Thomas, Ivor
Military personnel from Monmouthshire
People from Cwmbran
Welsh male journalists
Royal Fusiliers soldiers
Royal Norfolk Regiment officers
British Army personnel of World War II
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Thomas, Ivor
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Thomas, Ivor
Thomas, Ivor
Thomas, Ivor
British Anglo-Catholics
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
1905 births
1993 deaths
Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians
Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951