Category: 100 Years Ago

9 FEBRUARY 1923

Liam Deasy, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the IRA, agreed to aid in the unconditional surrender of the Irregulars in exchange for his death sentence being commuted. The Irish Free State agreed to suspend all planned executions of members of the Irregulars pending political developments.

The result of the Whitechapel and St George’s by-election in London was announced, resulting in a Labour gain from the Liberals. It had been called following the death of Charles Mathew who had died after just 85 days as an MP, one of the shortest periods served in modern British political history. The result was:

Labour : Harry Gosling – 8,398 votes 57.0% +16.8%
Liberal : James Kiley – 6,198 votes 42.1% +4.7%
National Prohibition Party : S. M. Holden – 130 votes 0.9% New

Majority 2,200

8 FEBRUARY 1923

The birth of George Henry Hubert Lascelles was announced, the son of Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood and Mary, Princess Royal. At the time of his birth he was sixth in the line of succession.

It was confirmed that the wedding of the Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon would take place on 26 April 1923.

Warren Harding, the President of the United States, said that the debt repayment agreement with the UK was “a covenant of peace, recuperation, of respect and co-operation”.

The first Prime Minister’s Honours List to have been viewed by an independent committee before being confirmed was announced, including the creation of one Viscount, two Barons, a Privy Councillor, four Baronets, one Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire and five Knights. Sir George Younger was elevated to Viscount and the new Barons were Sir Owen Philipps and Pike Pease.

7 FEBRUARY 1923

Lord Curzon, the Foreign Secretary, said that he believed that agreement could be reached at the Lausanne Conference and added that he was confident that the Turks would sign the Treaty in due course.

Sir Samuel Hoare, the Minister of State for Air, said at a conference there was a problem with aviation because neither the public nor private sector had the finances to invest in the required infrastructure. He added that the development of civil aviation was also challenging given the current state of war, or the threat of war, that existed in parts of the world.

The French Government said that they were meeting with growing resistance in the area of the Ruhr Valley in which they had occupied, with Germans resisting and opposing the regime in greater numbers. Action was taken against more local officials, especially in the railways and coal mining industry, who failed to follow the orders of French military officers.

6 FEBRUARY 1923

It was agreed at the Lausanne Conference to look at reopening talks at a future date, rather than there being a permanent rupture of the process. It was also confirmed that Turkey had said that they would be agreeable to the ending of the Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire.

George Sigerson resigned from the Irish Senate after the Irregulars threatened to burn down his house due to his involvement with the institution.

The house of John Russell, the Sub-Sheriff for County Louth, was destroyed by arsonists who allowed him just ten minutes to gather possessions before the property was completely gutted. Tinode House in County Wicklow, the residence of Colonel Eustace, was also destroyed by arsonists but they gave the owners no chance to remove property or to save their dog.

5 FEBRUARY 1923

Progress at the Lausanne Conference stalled following the decision by Turkey to sign the treaty that had been proposed. The conference came to a temporary end, although was reopened in April 1923.

The Lithuanian Government said that it was unable to fulfil the terms of the Allies’ ultimatum on the Memel Question. The Memel Question was a diplomatic and political dispute over the status of the port city of Memel (now Klaipėda), which was located in East Prussia and had a predominantly German population. After World War I, the Allies granted the city to Lithuania, which led to tension between Lithuania and Germany. The Memel Question became a matter of international concern in the years following the war and was eventually resolved through a series of negotiations and agreements, including the Treaty of Versailles. The Memel Question was resolved in 1924 with the signing of the Klaipėda Convention.

4 FEBRUARY 1923

David Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister, said that he felt the American debt terms agreed by Stanley Baldwin, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were “very hard”. He added that he would though support the measures, but he had concerns about the future of Europe. At the end of the war, the UK owed the US approximately $4.7 billion, which proved to be a significant burden on the British economy. The debt was finally fully paid off in 2006, over 90 years after the end of World War I.

The death of James William Herschell Gully, 2nd Viscount Selby (1867–1923) was announced. His father had been William Court Gully, 1st Viscount Selby, who had served as the Speaker of the House of Commons between 1895 and 1905. James married Ada Pirie in 1893, but divorced her in 1909, marrying Dorothy Grey in the same year. He died at the age of 55 and his son, Thomas Gully, became the new Viscount.

Wal Hannington, the leader of the unemployed ‘hunger marchers’ was arrested in Coventry for offences that had been alleged to have taken place in Rugby. Before his arrest, he was walking with 130 other marchers from London to Birmingham.

3 FEBRUARY 1923

Billy Hughes, the 7th Prime Minister of Australia, confirmed his resignation, having served in the role since October 1915.

Irish Senator John Bagwell, from the Irish State Parliament, came to England following his escape from the Irregulars who had kidnapped him.

More homes of members of the Irish Free State legislature were destroyed by arsonists, with Senator Thomas Linehan’s mansion at Whitechurch near Cork burned to the ground. Moore Hall, the ancestral home of Senator Maurice George Moore was also destroyed by arsonists and historic furniture lost in the fire. This building was never repaired and its external walls still remain standing to this day.

Details were given of the Indian Government Bill which would reform the situation that existed whereby European British subjects and Indians were treated differently in criminal trials and proceedings. Unsuccessful efforts had been made forty years before to give equality in law, but these had been unsuccessful at the time.

2 FEBRUARY 1923

The French Government said to the UK that in the event of the Lausanne Conference failing to reach agreement, then France would undertake its own private negotiations.

The Russians refused to sign the Straits Convention at the Lausanne Conference. The Straits Convention of Lausanne was a treaty signed later in 1923 between several European and Middle Eastern countries which regulated the use of the Turkish Straits (Bosporus and the Dardanelles). It granted the right of passage to all commercial and war ships, with certain exceptions. The Convention also granted Turkey sovereignty over the straits, but gave the naval powers the right to maintain fortifications along the straits. The Lausanne Convention helped ease tensions between Turkey and the naval powers, and established the basis for the use of the Turkish Straits for many years to come.

Attempts were made in occupied Ruhr Valley to destroy a number of trains, with the French authorities arresting a number of German railway workers.

Senator Bagwell, who had been kidnapped by Irish terrorists, was released by his captors.

The British Government asked Jersey and Guernsey to contribute towards the cost of the Imperial Exchequer.

1 FEBRUARY 1923

Agreement was made between the UK and USA with regards to repayment of the World War One loans. Previously there had been a dispute about the level of interest rates which should be paid, leading to Stanley Baldwin visiting the United States to be able to negotiate an agreeable figure.

Andrew Bonar Law, the Prime Minister, rejected a request made by Ramsay MacDonald, the Leader of the Opposition, to recall Parliament to discuss the Ruhr valley crisis.

French martial law was imposed in Essen, following their seizure of the Ruhr valley area.

A proclamation was issued by the military in Dublin stating that there would be reprisals if Senator Bagwell, who had been kidnapped earlier in the week, wasn’t released.

31 JANUARY 1923

General Jean Degoutte, the French military Commander in the occupied Ruhr Valley, warned the Germans that they would take sterner measures against the country unless there was a change in the reparations policy. French sources said that they weren’t intending to take over more territory given the difficulties they were having keeping control in the Ruhr Valley.

The Irregulars continued their attacks in Ireland, attacking and burning down the mansions of Lord Mayo and Sir Horace Plunkett.

The death of Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird, was announced, a Scottish Peer who had also served as the President of the Football Association for 33 years.