Henry Maxence Cavendish Drummond-Wolff correspondence and papers
Contains digital mediaDetails
Type of record: Archive
Title: Henry Maxence Cavendish Drummond-Wolff correspondence and papers
Classmark: MS 709
Creator(s): Drummond-Wolff, Henry (1899-1982)()
Date(s): 1928-1983
Language: English
Size and medium: 1062 items stored in 5 boxes; 3 boxes
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/5782
Description
Henry Drummond-Wolff was the son of Cecil Drummond-Wolff and grandson of Sir Henry Drummond-Wolff, the Tory politician who, in the 1880s, had formed the 'fourth party' with Lord Randolph Churchill, Arthur Balfour and John Gorst. He was educated at Radley and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and from 1917 To 1919 was in the Royal Flying Corps. He married Margaret, daughter of Gibson Fahnestock of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1933. After unsuccessfully contesting the Rotherham by-election in February 1933, HDW was elected Conservative member for Basingstoke at a by-election in March 1934, though ill-health forced him to stand down at the General Election the following year. His interest in politics continued, however, and he tried, for example, to persuade the Conservative Party to adopt a new membership scheme, though his main concern was trade and economic policy, especially in relation to imperial (and later, Commonwealth) preference. In 1938-39, encouraged by Sir Joseph Ball, then
director of the Conservative Research Department, hDw paid several visits to Germany for discussions with, amongst others, Goering and Staatsrat Helmuth Wohltat. These discussions were reported to the Prime Minister via Sir Joseph Ball. After the war, HDW maintained his interest in world affairs, publishing many pamphlets on topics such as tariff reform. He was Vice-Chairman of the Empire Economic Union in 1949 and President in 1952, and was active in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association for many years. While living mainly in Switzerland and Morocco, he travelled extensively in Europe, North America, Australasia and the Indian sub-continent, promoting the Commonwealth ideal. He met and corresponded regularly with a number of Commonwealth politicians. Concern for the Commonwealth led him to oppose British entry in to the Common Market, and he was a firm supporter of the AntiCommon Market League. There is a further file on HDW held in the Bodleian library, Oxford (reference CRD 3/52/8).
HDWs letters and papers were generously presented to the Brotherton Library by his widow, Mrs Margaret Drummond-Wolff.
Downloads
Biography or history
Henry Drummond-Wolff was educated at Radley and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps, 1917-1919. He was elected as the Conservative MP for Basingstoke at a by-election in March 1934, but stood down at the 1935 General Election due to ill-health. Throughout his life he maintained an interest in world affairs and economic policy, with particular reference to free trade and the Commonwealth.
System of arrangement
The MS 709 catalogue is based on an historic inventory. The arrangement of material does not necessarily represent the original order of the archive and it is considered partly processed by an archivist. When making requests to consult, please be aware that there may be discrepancies between description and physical arrangement. The retrievable unit for this collection is file level.
Access and usage
Access
Access to this material is unrestricted.