'FOREDOOMED TO FAILUREr: THE RESETTLEMENT OF BRITISH EX-SERVICEMEN IN THE DOMINIONS 1914-1930 A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of London by E. K. Fedorowich June 1990 UMI Number: U048282 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U048282 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 7h« F 6 7 V pOU '> IGM* y^\o7l6Z0b ABSTRACT Over five million service personnel were demobilised by Great Britain and her four self-governing Dominions after World War I. For some their reintroduction to civilian life was straightforward and uneventful. Many simply returned to the jobs they had previously occupied before the war. For others their readjustment to civilian life was difficult, full of despair and bitter disappointment. Similarly, the repatriation, resettlement and rehabilitation of the empire's soldiers and sailors presented post-war administrations with a host of social, political and economic problems. So far as they were concerned reconstruction was a daunting challenge which had to be met with the greatest possible energy, efficiency and decisiveness. Moreover, solutions developed by the Imperial and Dominion authorities were seen as the cornerstone of a new and dynamic post-war society and empire. Soldier settlement was one of these solutions. This period in imperial history provides a detailed study of the political manoeuvres and economic initiatives which formed the basis of a new period in Commonwealth relations. Primarily a study of social and economic policy, it draws together previously untapped primary sources and explores several important aspects of the transition of Anglo- Dominion relations between the onset of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research for this thesis has taken me to three continents and seemingly countless archives, libraries and record offices. It has been a rewarding and enjoyable adventure in which I have made many acquaintances, both personal and professional, and cemented a few lasting friendships. But as those who have completed a doctorate know it has not been without its darker side; fraught with frustration, loneliness and uncertainty. In the course of researching and writing this work I have been ably assisted by many talented professionals. The librarians and staff of the National Archive of Canada, Ottawa, the Public Archive*of Ontario, Toronto, the Public Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan Archive*Board, Saskatoon and Regina, the Glenbow-Alberta Archive, Calgary, the McGill University Libraries, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Montreal, and the Robarts Library, University of Toronto, were very understanding. I would also like to give a special thanks to Glenn Wright of the National Archive*for his invaluable assistance while on a brief sojourn to Ottawa in 1987. South Africa provided a rich and previously untapped source of primary material. More importantly, the librarians and staff of the Jagger Library, University of Cape Town, the Cape Archives Depot and South African Library, Cape Town, the Cory Library for Historical Research, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, the National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown, the Killie-Campbell Africana Library, University of Natal, Durban, the Johannesburg Public Library, the Central Archives Depot and Transvaal Archive Depot, Pretoria, and the National War Fund, Johannesburg, were always forthcoming and eager to help. A special thanks must be expressed to Anna Cunningham of the William Cullen Library, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and Maryna Fraser of the Barlow Rand Archive whose expertise and genuine interest were much appreciated. British librarians and archivists were very supportive and cooperative as well. It is to the House of Lords Record Office, the Public Record Office, KeW and Chancery Lane, London, the British Library, the India Office Library, the Imperial War Museum, the British Library of Economic and Political Science, the Greater London County Record Office, the Department of Palaeography and Diplomatic, Durham University, the Wiltshire Record Office, Trowbridge, the Norfolk Record Office, Norfolk, the Modern Records Department, University of Warwick, the University of Sheffield Library, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London, the Bodleian Library and Rhodes House Library, Oxford, the National Registry of Archives, London, and the National Archives of New Zealand, Wellington, that I am indebted. A very special thanks must be expressed to Donald Simpson and his successor as librarian, Miss Terry Berringer, for their able assistance at the Royal Commonwealth Society Library; the institution where I first started this project. I am equally grateful to the Warden and Fellows of New College and to the Keeper of Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library for permission to consult and to quote from the Milner Papers, to Lord Delamere for permission to examine and to quote from the Hewins Papers, and to Julian Amery MP for permission to consult and to quote from the Leo Amery Papers and Diaries. Throughout my research and travels I have been generously supported by a series of fellowships, scholarships and loans. They include the B. J. Sanderson Fellowship, University of Saskatchewan, the Overseas Research Scholarship administered by the Committee of Vice- Chancellors and Principals, the Department of National Education, South Africa, and the Canada Student Loans programme. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Duff Spafford of the Department of Economics, University of Saskatchewan, who suddenly produced much needed funding at a critical time during the research of this thesis. Many friends and relatives throughout England, Australia, Canada and South Africa contributed in one way or another to this work. Their hospitality, friendship and moral support has been unending and deeply appreciated. However, there are a few individuals who deserve special mention. Dr. Stephen Constantine, University of Lancaster, has provided me with a tremendous amount of insight into emigration history. His grasp of the subject matter and his knowledge of its broader aspects and implications have been extremely useful. Dr. Dane Kennedy, University of Nebraska, has been an enthusiastic sounding board for a variety of ideas. I learned much about South Africa, its rich sources and troubled history from long conversations with Eric Haynes, Richard Bouch and Chris Tapscott. Professor Michael Roe, University of Tasmania, Dr. Carl Bridge, University of New England, and Dr. Jeff Grey, Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales, were of invaluable assistance regarding Australian sources and historiography. Anita Burdette and Bill Russell, archives officers at the Canadian High Commission in London, and Dr. Rae Fleming were a constant source of help regarding Canadian archival material. I would also like to thank John Barnes of the Government Department, London School of Economics, for his friendly advice and help in gaining access to the Amery Papers. I also welcome this opportunity to express my sincerest thanks to Dr. Robert Boyce, who supervised this thesis, for his guidance, constructive criticism, and above all, patience. His painstaking editorial comments, penetrating analysis and quiet but firm encouragement, particularly in the last year, helped me to refine what at times was a jumble of confused and incoherent ideas. Finally, I am indebted to my wife Gudrun whose love, support and assistance has been my greatest asset. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Chapter One MILITARY COLONISATION: FAST POLICIES AND PRECEDENTS 4 1 Resettling Disbanded and Discharged Soldiers 1650-1867 5 1.1 Canadian Policies 1867-1900 12 1.2 A New Departure 1900-1914 14 1.3 The British National Efficiency Campaign 20 Chapter Two LAISSEZ FAIRE TO STATE INTERVENTION: EMPIRE MIGRATION, SOLDIER SETTLEMENT AND BRITISH WARTIME INITIATIVE 1880-1922 39 2. The Royal Colonial Institute 43 2.1 Soldier Settlement, the First Initiative 46 2.2 The New Offensive 49 2.3 Domestic Soldier Settlement and Reconstruction 56 2.4 An Administrative Landmark in Constructive Imperialism 68 Chapter Three CANADA, BRITISH IMMIGRATION AND SOLDIER SETTLEMENT 1867-1917 85 3 Meagre Beginnings 1867-1896 85 3.1 The Dawning of a New Age 1896-1914 87 3.2 Policy Review and Debate 1914-1918 93 3.3 The Rider Haggard Mission 1916 98 3.4 Soldier Settlement in 1917 106 Chapter Four CANADA: SOLDIER SETTLEMENT - A FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY 130 4 Veteran Militancy and the ’Alien' Question 131 4.1 The Soldier Settlement Act of 1919 135 4.2 Provincial Setbacks 144 4.3 Problems on the Prairies 146 4.4 Overseas Operations 153 4.5 The Watershed 162 4.6 The Final Chapter 171 Chapter Five SOUTH AFRICA AND THE POLITICISATION OF SOLDIER SETTLEMENT 192 5 The Milner Legacy, 'Poor Whiteism' and the Outbreak of War 193 5.1 Private Initiative During the War 197 5.2 Soldier Settlement and Free Passage