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For a brief moment in November 1938 Bridgwater hit International headlines, appearing on Adolf Hitler's morning papers and making him choke on his cornflakes. An Independent Anti-Fascist Candidate had won a By-Election on the platform of Opposing the Munich Agreement, standing up to dictators and defending Czechoslovakia. The new MP was campaigning journalist Vernon Bartlett; the constituency was 'safe Tory' Bridgwater.
In the 1930's Nazi Germany was on the rise – re-arming and expanding , pursuing a racist and militaristic policy of Aryanisation and the subjugation of non-Germanic races. But no -one would stand up to him. Indeed the two main European Democracies ,Britain and France, feared the newly Communist Soviet Union more and hoping Hitler (Right) would keep heading east with his conquests, stuck to a policy of 'Appeasement' .
Although some argued that Britain was too weak to fight a war against a re-armed Germany, many others realized that a war was inevitable and the longer Britain failed to stand up to Hitler the less likely would be the chance of the Democracies winning. Westminster at the time was in the hands of a 'National Government' led by the Conservative Neville Chamberlain (below) but the parties divided variously on the issue of appeasement.
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Leading the fight against fascism were Socialists, Trades Unionists, and Progressives from parties as diverse as the Communist Party through to that old Imperialist Winston Churchill. Locally the key figure was Sir Richard Acland, Liberal MP for North Devon and later to become a founding member of the Socialistic 'Commonwealth Party' alongside Bartlett and other progressives like J.B Priestley. At the time the 'Left Book Club' was a beacon for progressive thought in Britain and had an active branch in Bridgwater where it was proposed that the author Langdon Davies-whose book 'Silent Approach' warned of the intentions of the Nazis, should stand as a candidate to raise the profile of the Popular Front against Fascism – currently fighting a military struggle in the Spanish Civil War. In his final interview before he died in 1990, Richard Acland explained that they chose Bridgwater because the Liberal & Labour vote were about neck and neck and admitted being involved in machinations to get sitting-MP 'Croom Johnson' elevated to the bench to create a vacancy necessitating a by-election.
"Peace in Our Time"
Davies was sceptical of success without a formal agreement with the strong Labour Party in the town and declined the invitation but Acland was able to convince News Chronicle Journalist Vernon Bartlett to stand , especially after an approach by Exmoor vicar Cresswell Webb who had been in the trenches of the First World War with Bartlett.
In 1938 Vernon Charles Oldfield Bartlett was 44 and had made a name for himself with his campaigning journalism from the Trenches of World War One through the establishment of the League of Nations to the rise of Fascism in Italy and Germany. Although reluctant at first, the progressives' dilemma was resolved when the Liberals offered full support and the Labour Party carefully offered 'no candidate'.
"No more Territorial demands..."
Standing as a 'National Conservative' Patrick Heathcoat Amory was 26 and a Lawyer from Tiverton. Assured of a safe Tory seat with a guaranteed solid agricultural vote he was confident of victory. On top of this he had the Peace Pledge Union backing him and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was still riding high , promising 'Peace in our Time' after signing the Munich Agreement in September 1938.
At Munich , Britain and France had in fact signed the death warrant for Czechoslovakia. Hitler had claimed the German speaking 'Sudetenland' border regions trumping up allegations of anti-German oppression by the Czechs. In reality 1930's Czechoslovakia was a model Progressive Multi-Ethnic Democracy with a strong army , natural mountainous defences and was eager to defend it's independence -which had only been gained from the Austrian Empire in 1918.
Chamberlain and French PM Daladier called Czechoslovakia 'a far away country of which we know little ' and trusted Hitler that if they let him take the Sudetenland he would have 'no further territorial ambition'. The Czechs weren't even invited to the Munich Conference.
Throughout October and November 1938 Bridgwater became the centre of the National debate on Appeasement with big names(Churchill,Lloyd George etc) sending messages of support and in some cases turning up in person to speak at the many public meetings.
The Bridgwater Constituency-which in 1938 stretched from Burnham-on-sea to Minehead, cast it's vote on November 17th 1938 and the result sent a clear warning to the National Government to end Appeasement and to start the fight back against Fascism.
The Result;-
Vernon Bartlett
(Independent Progressive) 19,540
P.G.Heathcoat Amory
(National Conservative) 17,208
With a Majority of 2,332 , Bartlett had won.
"Nazi Occupation ... Lidice 1942"
Vernon Bartlett served 2 terms as MP for Bridgwater-standing again in 1945 and his victory sent waves of inspiration around the world , shocking both the British and German Governments. Churchill and Eden led Tory backbenchers in support of a General re-alignment of Government foreign Policy and in March 1939,when Hitler casting aside the Munich agreement as the worthless front it was, moved beyond the Sudetenland and occupied the rest of the Czech lands, the British Government entered into a series of alliances with threatened countries which were to eventually lead to the Outbreak of the Second World War in defence of Poland in September 1939.
The Czechs suffered Nazi occupation for 7 years until liberated by the Red Army in 1945 and then remained part of the Soviet Bloc until the Velvet Revolution – which coincidentally occurred on November 17th 1989.
On June 18th 1992, Bridgwater officially twinned with the Czech town of Uherske Hradiste, becoming the first post-Velvet Revolution Anglo-Czech twinning.
