# Chamberlain war ministry

Neville Chamberlain formed the Chamberlain war ministry in 1939 after declaring war on Germany. Chamberlain led the country for the first eight months of the Second World War, until the Norway Debate in Parliament led Chamberlain to resign and Winston Churchill to form a new ministry.

## History

On 3 September 1939, Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, reconstructed his existing government so as to be suited for the Second World War. The most dramatic change to the ministerial line-up saw the return of Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty. Other changes included Lord Caldecote replacing Lord Maugham as Lord Chancellor, Sir John Anderson replacing Sir Samuel Hoare as Home Secretary (Hoare became Lord Privy Seal with a wide-ranging brief) and the return of Anthony Eden to the government as Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. However, the administration was not a true national unity government as it was made up primarily of Conservatives with support from some National Labour and National Liberal members. There were no representatives from the Labour Party or Liberal Party
The government was notable for having a small war cabinet consisting of only the principal and service ministers, with most other government positions serving outside the Cabinet. The War Cabinet included Chamberlain, Hoare, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Simon, Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax, Churchill, Secretary of State for Air Sir Kingsley Wood, Minister for Coordination of Defence Lord Chatfield, Lord Hankey (as Minister without Portfolio), and Secretary of State for War Leslie Hore-Belisha. Oliver Stanley replaced Hore-Belisha in January 1940 while Chatfield left the war cabinet in April 1940.
The government ended on 10 May 1940 when Chamberlain resigned and was succeeded by Churchill who formed the War Coalition.

## Cabinet
### War Cabinet, September 1939 – May 1940

Upon the outbreak of the war, Chamberlain carried out a fullscale reconstruction of the government and introduced a small War Cabinet who were as follows:
* Neville Chamberlain – Prime Minister and Leader of the House of Commons
* Sir Samuel Hoare – Lord Privy Seal
* Sir John Simon – Chancellor of the Exchequer
* Lord Halifax – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
* Leslie Hore-Belisha – Secretary of State for War
* Sir Kingsley Wood – Secretary of State for Air
* Winston Churchill – First Lord of the Admiralty
* Lord Chatfield – Minister for Coordination of Defence
* Lord Hankey – Minister without Portfolio

#### Changes

* January 1940 – Oliver Stanley succeeds Leslie Hore-Belisha as Secretary of State for War.
* April 1940 – Hoare swaps Lord Privy Seal with Wood for Secretary of State for Air. Lord Chatfield leaves the government and the office of Minister for Coordination of Defence is abolished.

### Key office holders not in the Cabinet

* Lord Caldecote – Lord Chancellor
* Lord Stanhope – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords
* Sir John Anderson – Secretary of State for the Home Department
* Malcolm MacDonald – Secretary of State for the Colonies
* Anthony Eden – Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
* Lord Zetland – Secretary of State for India and Burma
* John Colville – Secretary of State for Scotland
* Oliver Stanley – President of the Board of Trade
* Lord De La Warr – President of the Board of Education
* Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith – Minister of Agriculture
* Ernest Brown – Minister of Labour and National Service
* Walter Elliot – Minister of Health
* Euan Wallace – Minister of Transport
* Leslie Burgin – Minister of Supply
* William Shepherd Morrison – Minister of Food and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
* Herwald Ramsbotham – First Commissioner of Works
* Lord Macmillan – Minister of Information
* Ronald Cross – Minister of Economic Warfare
* Sir Walter Womersley – Minister of Pensions
* George Tryon – Postmaster General
* Lord Winterton – Paymaster General
* Sir Donald Somervell – Attorney General
* Sir Terence O'Connor – Solicitor General
* David Margesson – Chief Whip

#### Changes

* October 1939 – The position of Minister of Shipping is created, with Sir John Gilmour the first holder.
* November 1939 – Lord Winterton resigns as Paymaster General and no successor is appointed.
* January 1940 – Oliver Stanley becomes Secretary of State for War and a member of the War Cabinet in succession to Leslie Hore-Belisha (resigned) (see above) and is succeeded as President of the Board of Trade by Andrew Duncan. Lord Macmillan resigns as Minister of Information and is succeeded by Sir John Reith.
* April 1940 – Robert Hudson succeeds Sir John Gilmour (deceased) as Minister of Shipping. Lord De La Warr exchanges President of the Board of Education with Herwald Ramsbotham for First Commissioner of Works. William Shepherd Morrison swaps the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for the Postmaster General with George Tryon and is succeeded as Minister of Food by Lord Woolton.
* May 1940 – Sir Terence O'Connor dies and no new Solicitor General is appointed before the government falls.

## List of ministers

Members of the Cabinet are in bold face.
| Office | Name | Party | Dates | Notes |
| Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Commons | Neville Chamberlain | Conservative | 3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Lord Chancellor | The Viscount Caldecote | Conservative | 3 September 1939 | |
| Lord President of the Council Leader of the House of Lords | The Earl Stanhope | Conservative | 3 September 1939 | |
| Lord Privy Seal | Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt | Conservative | 3 September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Lord Privy Seal | Sir Kingsley Wood | Conservative | 3 April 1940 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Sir John Simon | Liberal National | September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury | David Margesson | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Harry Crookshank | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | James Stuart | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Thomas Dugdale | Conservative | September 1939 – 12 February 1940 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Patrick Munro | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Stephen Furness | Liberal National | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Sir James Edmondson | Conservative | September 1939 – 13 November 1939 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | Patrick Buchan-Hepburn | Conservative | 13 November 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords of the Treasury | William Boulton | Conservative | 12 February 1940 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Viscount Halifax | Conservative | September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | R. A. Butler | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department | Sir John Anderson | National | 3 September 1939 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | Osbert Peake | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Security | Alan Lennox-Boyd | Conservative | 6 September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Home Security | William Mabane | Liberal National | 24 October 1939 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | Winston Churchill | Conservative | 3 September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Geoffrey Shakespeare | Liberal National | September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty | Sir Victor Warrender, Bt | Conservative | 3 April 1940 | |
| Civil Lord of the Admiralty | Sir Austin Hudson, Bt | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries | The Lord Denham | Conservative | 19 September 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for Air | Sir Kingsley Wood | Conservative | September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Secretary of State for Air | Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt | Conservative | 3 April 1940 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Under-Secretary of State for Air | Harold Balfour | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | Malcolm MacDonald | National Labour | September 1939 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Minister for Coordination of Defence | The Lord Chatfield | Independent | September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet until 3 April 1940; Office abolished 3 April 1940 |
| Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | Anthony Eden | Conservative | 3 September 1939 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs | The Duke of Devonshire | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Minister for Economic Warfare | Ronald Cross | Conservative | 3 September 1939 | |
| President of the Board of Education | The Earl De La Warr | National Labour | September 1939 | |
| President of the Board of Education | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative | 3 April 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education | Kenneth Lindsay | National Labour | September 1939 | |
| Minister of Food | William Morrison | Conservative | 4 September 1939 | Combined with the Duchy of Lancaster |
| Minister of Food | The Lord Woolton | Conservative | 3 April 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food | Alan Lennox-Boyd | Conservative | 11 October 1939 | |
| Minister of Health | Walter Elliot | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health | Florence Horsbrugh | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for India and Burma | The Marquess of Zetland | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma | Hon. Sir Hugh O'Neill | Ulster Unionist | 11 September 1939 | |
| Minister of Information | The Lord Macmillan | Conservative Party | 4 September 1939 | |
| Minister of Information | Sir John Reith | National | 5 January 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information | Sir Edward Grigg | Conservative Party | 19 September 1939 | Office vacant 3 April 1940 |
| Minister of Labour and National Service | Ernest Brown | Liberal National | 3 September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and National Service | Ralph Assheton | Conservative Party | 6 September 1939 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | William Morrison | Conservative Party | September 1939 | From 4 September 1939 – 3 April 1940 combined with Minister for Food |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | George Tryon | Conservative Party | 3 April 1940 | Lord Tryon |
| Paymaster General | The Earl Winterton | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Paymaster General | Vacant | | November 1939 | |
| Minister of Pensions | Sir Walter Womersley | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Minister without Portfolio | The Lord Hankey | Independent | 3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Postmaster-General | George Tryon | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Postmaster-General | William Morrison | Conservative Party | 3 April 1940 | |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | William Mabane | Liberal National | September 1939 | |
| Assistant Postmaster-General | Charles Waterhouse | Conservative Party | 24 October 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | John Colville | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | John McEwen | Conservative Party | 6 September 1939 | |
| Minister of Shipping | Sir John Gilmour, Bt | Conservative Party | 13 October 1939 | |
| Minister of Shipping | Robert Hudson | Conservative Party | 3 April 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Shipping | Sir Arthur Salter | Conservative Party | 13 November 1939 | |
| Minister of Supply | Leslie Burgin | Liberal National | September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply | John Llewellin | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | Hon. Oliver Stanley | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| President of the Board of Trade | Sir Andrew Duncan | National | 5 January 1940 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | Gwilym Lloyd George | Independent Liberal | 6 September 1939 | |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Robert Hudson | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Secretary for Overseas Trade | Geoffrey Shakespeare | Liberal National | 3 April 1940 | |
| Secretary for Mines | Geoffrey Lloyd | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Minister of Transport | Euan Wallace | Conservative Party | September 1939 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport | Robert Bernays | Liberal National | September 1939 | |
| Secretary of State for War | Leslie Hore-Belisha | Liberal National | September 1939 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Secretary of State for War | Hon. Oliver Stanley | Conservative Party | 5 January 1940 | Member of the War Cabinet |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | The Viscount Cobham | Conservative | 19 September 1939 | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Sir Victor Warrender, Bt | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | Sir Edward Grigg | Conservative | 3 April 1940 | |
| First Commissioner of Works | Herwald Ramsbotham | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| First Commissioner of Works | The Earl De La Warr | National Labour | 3 April 1940 | |
| Attorney General | Sir Donald Somervell | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Solicitor General | Sir Terence O'Connor | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Lord Advocate | Thomas Cooper | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | James Reid | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Charles Waterhouse | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Treasurer of the Household | Robert Grimston | Conservative | 12 November 1939 | |
| Comptroller of the Household | Charles Kerr | Liberal National | September 1939 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Robert Grimston | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | Sir James Edmondson | Conservative | 12 November 1939 | |
| Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms | The Earl of Lucan | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard | The Lord Templemore | Conservative | September 1939 | |
| Lords-in-Waiting | The Earl Fortescue | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords-in-Waiting | The Earl of Birkenhead | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords-in-Waiting | The Viscount Bridport | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |
| Lords-in-Waiting | The Lord Ebury | Conservative | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | |