Lord Halifax (1881–1959): A Reassessment of British Far Eastern Policy, 1938–1941

INTRODUCTION IN ACCOUNTS OF the life of Edward Wood, the first Earl Halifax, it cannot be said that his thoughts on the subject of Anglo-Japanese relations loom large as a subject. However, considering the fact that he was the Foreign Secretary between February 1938 and December 1940 and then the ambassador in Washington during the time of the Hull-Nomura talks in 1941, it is clear that he was an important figure during this difficult time when the ties between Britain and Japan became increasingly frayed. The question therefore arises of what attitude he took towards Japan and what role he played in this period of increasing tension. Considering that Lord Halifax's historical reputation rests largely on the fact that he served under Neville Chamberlain during the period when the latter was determined to reach an accommodation with Hitler, it might be thought likely that he, as with the Prime Minister, was sympathetic towards the idea of appeasing Japan. Certainly, this was the view of the man who was the Japanese ambassador in London for most of the time when Halifax was at the Foreign Office, Shigemitsu Mamoru. In his post-war memoirs Shigemitsu described Halifax as one of what he called the ‘orthodox faction’ within the Conservative Party, which he saw as pro-Japanese in its outlook. However, the historical record presents us with a far more complex figure than this simple classification would have us believe. Even in regard to Germany, Halifax's views were subject to great change; he realized a long time before Chamberlain that Hitler could not be appeased. In particular, it needs to be recalled that his biographer has put much emphasis on the impact that the events of Kristalnacht (9–10 November 1938) when the Nazis’ anti-Semitism exploded into overt attacks on Jewish lives and property, had on toughening his stance towards Germany. What this reveals is that there was a strong moral core to Halifax, based on his devout High-Church Christianity, and that he felt distinctly uneasy about interaction with regimes that he found morally repugnant. It was this outlook that coloured his attitude towards the Japanese government, for in his time as Foreign Secretary, contrary to Shigemitsu's belief, he consistently pushed for a hard-line towards Japan in the face of opposition from his fellow Cabinet ministers.

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