Peter Emmanuel Wright (''c''. 1880/81 – 1957) was a British writer.‘Captain P. E. Wright’, ''The Times'' (17 April 1957), p. 13. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

bookmaker and was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. He won an

Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

when he was 16 and a full scholarship at 17. During the

First World War 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 ...

he served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

and later, in Versailles, as an assistant secretary to the

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the United States, and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian Revolu ...

.'High Court of Justice', ''The Times'' (14 July 1926), p. 5. When the idea of an Allied General Reserve was brought up at Versailles, it was to be placed under the command of an independent Controlling Board. The Board consisted of General’s Foch (France), Wilson (UK), Cadorna (Italy) and Bliss (US). Peter Wright was the Secretary of the Controlling Board. When General’s Haig, Petain, and Prime Minister Clemenceau conspired to ignore the order, in favor of a verbal mutual support agreement, Wright was a witness to this, and the ensuing German Spring Offensive that the reserve, if it had existed, would have stopped dead in its tracks. His ensuing book, “At the Supreme War Council” is critical of both generals for this reason. He wrote that the British lost 19,000 officers and over 300,000 men during the

German Spring Offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

due to "a flawless jewel of perfect incompetence". Wright's 1921 book, ''At the Supreme War Council'', discussed Great War strategy and the failings of politicians and generals. The release of sensitive information almost had him charged with Defense of the Realm Act (DORA, i.e. national security) violations. His 1924 work, ''The Shirt'', was a collection of essays and stories. On 11 June 1925 his ''Portraits and Criticisms'' was published.‘The Gladstone Case’, ''The Times'' (4 February 1927), p. 14. This was a collection of character sketches which included

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

Margot Asquith Emma Alice Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite and author. She was married to British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith from 1894 to his ...

and Lord Robert Cecil. In the essay on Cecil, Wright said of

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 ...

: "Gladstone...founded the great tradition since observed by many of his followers and successors with such pious fidelity, in public to speak the language of the highest and strictest principle, and in private to pursue and possess every sort of woman".

M. R. D. Foot Michael Richard Daniell Foot, (14 December 1919 – 18 February 2012) was a British political and military historian, and former British Army intelligence officer with the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Foot was the a ...

, ‘Introduction’, in Foot (ed.), ''The Gladstone Diaries: Volume I: 1825-1832'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. xxxiii. Gladstone's two surviving sons,

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

and

Henry Gladstone Henry Gladstone (c. 1911 — January 22, 1995) was an American radio newscaster and actor. He was a newscaster for WOR (AM) for 32 years; and was notably that station's United Nations correspondent. He also narrated documentaries for ''The March o ...

, wrote to Wright on 22 July 1925: "Your garbage about Mr. Gladstone in ''Portraits and Criticisms'' has come to our knowledge. You are a liar. Because you slander a dead man, you are a coward. Because you think that the public will accept invention from such as you, you are a fool". In a letter to Herbert Gladstone, the publishers (Eveleigh Nash and Grayson) claimed that Wright inserted the offending passage in the proof stage of printing. The Gladstones sent a copy of their letter to Wright to ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' and Wright replied with a letter to the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

''. On 27 July Herbert Gladstone complained to the

Bath Club The Bath Club was a sports-themed London gentlemen's club in the 20th century. It was established in 1894 at 34 Dover Street. Its swimming pool was a noted feature, and it is thought that the swimming pool of the fictional Drones Club (also on D ...

that Wright ("a liar, a coward, and a foul fellow") had written letters on the controversy to ''The Nation'' on Club notepaper, which led to Wright's expulsion (Wright had replied to earlier criticism of the book in a letter to ''The Nation''). Wright subsequently sued the Club for damages and Herbert Gladstone for libel for his 27 July letter. After the trial, which lasted from 27 January to 3 February 1927, Wright was awarded £125 in damages from the Club for wrongful expulsion but he lost the libel case.Gardiner, p. 194. The jury explained that "the gist of the defendant's letter of July 27 was true" and added that they were "of the unanimous opinion that the evidence which has been placed before us has completely vindicated the high moral character of the late Mr. W. E. Gladstone".

Works

* Internet Archive (sign in to view footnotes and reference sources
''Link''

''At The Supreme War Council''
(1921). *''The Shirt'' (1924). *''Portraits and Criticisms'' (1925).

Footnotes

References

* ''The Times (of London)'' archive (requires a paid subscription) * Wright, Peter, ''Portraits and Criticisms'', London: Eveleigh, 1925 * Lloyd George, David
''War Memoirs of David Lloyd George, Vol. V''
Boston: Little Brown, December 1936 * Wright, Peter
''At The Supreme War Council''
New York: G.P. Putnam, 1921 * ''

Pearson's Magazine ''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contribu ...

'', London: Pearson, July 1921 * Gardiner, John, ''The Victorians: An Age in Retrospect'', London: Hambledon, 1925 * Foot, M.R.D., ''The Gladstone Diaries: Volume I: 1825-1832'', Oxford: Oxford University, 1968 1880s births

Works

Footnotes

References

Further reading