My Life

My Life - Oswald Mosleylegitimate relaxation for the warrior. But the 'perfumed popinjay' stuck in my gorge,as never by any stretch of the imagination could I have been described as of thatcompany, and these seemed improper terms in which to describe the said warrior.I bided a short time to seek revenge, and my opportunity soon came in the debate onthe address on January 17, 1924. It was easy to stalk F.E. via Joynson-Hicks, who asMinister of Health and later as Home Secretary was a sublime figure of fun. They hadboth been involved in Sir Edward Carson's Ulster rebellion before the First WorldWar, F.E. as 'Galloper Smith' in the role of A.D.C. to Carson, and 'Jix' as general fireeaterand blowhard. 'Jix' in this debate had raised a noisy alarm at the approach of aLabour Government, and after accusing him of'trying to dress up the red bogey' and ofsuggesting that 'behind Labour members who made statesmanlike speeches there aregreat masses of subversive and bloodthirsty savages who want to deluge this land ofours in blood', I said: 'It is time that honourable Gentlemen opposite realised that anyGovernment formed in this country will be composed of British men and women. TheGovernment are posing as models of constitutional decorum, and they are holdingthemselves out as the one body which has never talked of violence or bloodshed inthis country. The Minister of Health talked about the forces behind Labour. It mightbe of interest to inquire into some of the forces which he once claimed were behindhim.'He said: "Behind us is the Lord God of battle. In His name and our names"—amodest conjunction—"I say to the Prime Minister, let your armies and batteries fire.Fire if you dare, fire and be damned." The House will be relieved to learn that theydid not fire, and that the heroic orator survived to occupy at present the position ofMinister of Health. That is a quotation from a speech which the right honorableGentleman delivered at Warrington on 6 December, 1913, as a responsible member ofthe Conservative party .... After the speeches we have heard from benches opposite,we feel that the fields of Ulster never resounded to the thundering hoofs and thedoughty deeds of Galloper Smith, a man of war right up to the very moment the warbegun. Now, after a seasonable interlude, in which he has indulged in more peacefulavocations, he is a man at war again.'The sting was, of course, in the tail with its reference to F. E. Smith's war record. Inretrospect I much regret this attack— despite the provocation I received— because itwas completely unfair. F. E. Smith was a most gallant man, but the government wasquite right to insist that his almost unique abilities in his own sphere should be used inadministration rather than dissipated in the field. He often gave striking proof of hiscourage. However, by this time tempers were up, and I refused to withdraw whenapproached by our mutual friend Freddie Guest. I took the line that F.E. must alsowithdraw what he had said about me at the election, which was, of course, impossiblefor a man in his position, and was indeed an arrogant demand on my part. The attackcaused considerable comment and widespread indignation among some of our friends,which surprised me at the time.F. E. Smith, like Winston Churchill, was quite devoid of malice, and he greeted me inthe old, genial way at a dinner party some time later. I last saw him in a bath-chairwhen he was very ill shortly before his death, and had a strong impulse to approachhim and to express my warm regard for him, but suffered an inhibition I had knownbefore in face of the gulf of generations. I say now what I would have liked to saythen: he was a big-hearted, generous, brave and brilliant man; his faults were trivial in142 of 424