Arthur Donaldson
Encyclopedia
Arthur Donaldson was a Scottish
politician, and leader of the Scottish National Party
(SNP) from 1960 to 1969.
, he initially became journalist in his hometown but later decided to try his hand at the same profession in the United States
, to where he emigrated at the age of 21. He did not find work as a journalist and instead found employment in the automotive industry
in Detroit. He then attended the Detroit Technical College, to study engineering.
Although he was now beginning to be established in the United States he took a keen interest in the developing political movement for Scottish independence
back home. To that end he joined the newly formed National Party of Scotland
in 1928, as an overseas member, and Scotland's political and economic plight was never far from his thoughts.
In 1932, Donaldson married Vi Bruce, another expatriate Scot (from Forfar
) and set up home in Washington D.C., where he worked for the Chrysler Corporation. In 1936 Donaldson returned to his native Scotland with his family, moving to Ayrshire
to work in farming.
, one of the leading members of the SNP and his involvement with the party deepened.
In May 1941, during World War II
, Donaldson's home was raided by police who allegedly suspected him and a number of other SNP figures, of "subversive activities", due to their support for the Scottish Neutrality League. An informant of MI5
told desk officer Richard Brooman-White
that Donaldson intended to set up a puppet government akin to that of Vidkun Quisling
in the event of a Nazi invasion. As a result of this information, Donaldson was arrested and interned under Defence Regulation 18B
, at first to Kilmarnock
Prison and then in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow
. He was held for six weeks.
According to papers released by MI5
, which led raids against many Scottish nationalists, "subversive literature" and a "large cache of weapons" was found in the house. The allegations in the MI5 files, which were initially released in 1994 after Donaldson's death, were absolutely denied by his widow, Violet Donaldson, and by the leadership of the SNP at the time. Donaldson was never charged, and no evidence for the MI5 allegations has ever been produced.
At the time, Donaldson's arrest was explained by his protests against the conscription of Scottish women for work in factories in England
, and he has thus been described as a political prisoner
by at least one former colleague. According to an MI5 file on Donaldson released in November 2005, however, he was arrested because the MI5 believed him to be a "Nazi
sympathiser", and that he hoped to become part of a "puppet government
" set up by the Nazis after they occupied Britain.
The National Archives at Kew
hold a report by an agent to the Edinburgh City Police Criminal Investigation Department
dated 8 Jan 1941 which states the following, transcribed by a blogger from the actual record in the archive -
"During a long conversation, Donaldson gave great praise to Germany saying that England would be completely crushed by the early spring; the Government would leave the country and that England's position would be absolutely hopeless, as poverty and famine would be their only reward for declaring war on Germany. Scotland on the other hand had great possibilities. We must, he declared, be able to show the German Government that we are organised and that we have a clear cut policy for the betterment of Scotland; that we have tried our best to persuade the English Government that we want Scottish Independence and that we are not in with them in this war. If we can do that you can be sure that Germany will give us every possible assistance in our early struggle. The time is not yet ripe for us to start a virile campaign against England, but when fire and confusion is at its height in England, we can start in earnest. He then went on to tell them that he had an idea in his mind for fixing up a wireless transmitting set in a thickly populated district in Glasgow or Edinburgh, in order to give broadcasts to the public. At the moment he is working very hard in an endeavour to combine all the Nationalists together as a unit, whereby they can strike out with great force when the time comes. He is naming this combined body “The National Aid Society”. If any questions are asked, he said, you can say it is to help the dependents of young men who have been called to the Services. Actually it is to help members who have refused to fight and are at present in hiding. He mentioned that he had a number of places that could be used as hide-outs."
of John MacCormick
. MacCormick had left the SNP in 1942, as he had been unable to persuade the party to adopt a position of supporting devolution rather than independence, a split which Donaldson himself had put down more to personality clash than ideological difference.
in the Kinross and West Perthshire by-election
in November 1963, although he lost his deposit
there.
, and polling more votes than any other party in the 1968 Scottish local authority elections.
This success, however, did not leave Donaldson without his critics, and at the 1967 SNP Annual Conference he faced a leadership challenge from Douglas Drysdale, which he comfortably defeated, though in 1969 he was replaced as SNP leader by Billy Wolfe
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
politician, and leader of the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) from 1960 to 1969.
Early years
Born in DundeeDundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, he initially became journalist in his hometown but later decided to try his hand at the same profession in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, to where he emigrated at the age of 21. He did not find work as a journalist and instead found employment in the automotive industry
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
in Detroit. He then attended the Detroit Technical College, to study engineering.
Although he was now beginning to be established in the United States he took a keen interest in the developing political movement for Scottish independence
Scottish independence
Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
back home. To that end he joined the newly formed National Party of Scotland
National Party of Scotland
The National Party of Scotland was a political party in Scotland and a forerunner of the current Scottish National Party.The NPS was formed in 1928 after John MacCormick of the Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association called a meeting of all those favouring the establishment of a party...
in 1928, as an overseas member, and Scotland's political and economic plight was never far from his thoughts.
In 1932, Donaldson married Vi Bruce, another expatriate Scot (from Forfar
Forfar
Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...
) and set up home in Washington D.C., where he worked for the Chrysler Corporation. In 1936 Donaldson returned to his native Scotland with his family, moving to Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
to work in farming.
Arrest and internment during World War 2
Donaldson came into contact with Robert McIntyreRobert McIntyre
Dr Robert Douglas McIntyre was the Leader of the Scottish National Party from 1947–1956 and a doctor by profession...
, one of the leading members of the SNP and his involvement with the party deepened.
In May 1941, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Donaldson's home was raided by police who allegedly suspected him and a number of other SNP figures, of "subversive activities", due to their support for the Scottish Neutrality League. An informant of MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
told desk officer Richard Brooman-White
Richard Brooman-White
Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Charles Brooman-White was a British journalist, intelligence agent and politician for the Conservative Party.-Education:...
that Donaldson intended to set up a puppet government akin to that of Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
in the event of a Nazi invasion. As a result of this information, Donaldson was arrested and interned under Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
, at first to Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
Prison and then in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. He was held for six weeks.
According to papers released by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, which led raids against many Scottish nationalists, "subversive literature" and a "large cache of weapons" was found in the house. The allegations in the MI5 files, which were initially released in 1994 after Donaldson's death, were absolutely denied by his widow, Violet Donaldson, and by the leadership of the SNP at the time. Donaldson was never charged, and no evidence for the MI5 allegations has ever been produced.
At the time, Donaldson's arrest was explained by his protests against the conscription of Scottish women for work in factories in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and he has thus been described as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
by at least one former colleague. According to an MI5 file on Donaldson released in November 2005, however, he was arrested because the MI5 believed him to be a "Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
sympathiser", and that he hoped to become part of a "puppet government
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
" set up by the Nazis after they occupied Britain.
The National Archives at Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
hold a report by an agent to the Edinburgh City Police Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
dated 8 Jan 1941 which states the following, transcribed by a blogger from the actual record in the archive -
"During a long conversation, Donaldson gave great praise to Germany saying that England would be completely crushed by the early spring; the Government would leave the country and that England's position would be absolutely hopeless, as poverty and famine would be their only reward for declaring war on Germany. Scotland on the other hand had great possibilities. We must, he declared, be able to show the German Government that we are organised and that we have a clear cut policy for the betterment of Scotland; that we have tried our best to persuade the English Government that we want Scottish Independence and that we are not in with them in this war. If we can do that you can be sure that Germany will give us every possible assistance in our early struggle. The time is not yet ripe for us to start a virile campaign against England, but when fire and confusion is at its height in England, we can start in earnest. He then went on to tell them that he had an idea in his mind for fixing up a wireless transmitting set in a thickly populated district in Glasgow or Edinburgh, in order to give broadcasts to the public. At the moment he is working very hard in an endeavour to combine all the Nationalists together as a unit, whereby they can strike out with great force when the time comes. He is naming this combined body “The National Aid Society”. If any questions are asked, he said, you can say it is to help the dependents of young men who have been called to the Services. Actually it is to help members who have refused to fight and are at present in hiding. He mentioned that he had a number of places that could be used as hide-outs."
Subsequent political involvement
Donaldson's arrest and detention did not dissuade him of the value of his political activities. He remained a member of the SNP throughout the 1940s and 1950s, when they were particularly weak, and much of the focus of nationalist efforts was being invested in the Scottish CovenantScottish Covenant
The Scottish Covenant was a petition to the United Kingdom government to create a home rule Scottish parliament. First proposed in 1930, and promoted by the Scots Independent in 1939, the National Covenant movement reached its peak during the late 1940s and early 1950s...
of John MacCormick
John MacCormick
John MacDonald MacCormick was a lawyer and advocate of Home Rule in Scotland.-Early life:...
. MacCormick had left the SNP in 1942, as he had been unable to persuade the party to adopt a position of supporting devolution rather than independence, a split which Donaldson himself had put down more to personality clash than ideological difference.
Leader of the SNP
After the split of 1942 Donaldson became a leading SNP figure along with McIntyre (who became SNP leader in 1948, serving until 1956). Donaldson became SNP leader in 1960, replacing James Halliday, and it was during his term as SNP leader that the party began to grow and impose itself on the Scottish political landscape. He was the SNP candidate opposing Sir Alec Douglas-HomeAlec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
in the Kinross and West Perthshire by-election
Kinross and West Perthshire by-election, 1963
The Kinross and West Perthshire by-election of 7 November 1963 was a by-election to the House of Commons. It was unique among by-elections since 1918 in that one of the candidates was the sitting Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home; he had been nominated for the constituency after disclaiming a...
in November 1963, although he lost his deposit
Deposit (politics)
A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.-United Kingdom:...
there.
Legacy
During his term of office the SNP began to perform credibly in elections, winning the 1967 Hamilton by-electionHamilton by-election, 1967
The Hamilton by-election, in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which took place on the 2nd of November 1967, was a milestone in the politics of Scotland...
, and polling more votes than any other party in the 1968 Scottish local authority elections.
This success, however, did not leave Donaldson without his critics, and at the 1967 SNP Annual Conference he faced a leadership challenge from Douglas Drysdale, which he comfortably defeated, though in 1969 he was replaced as SNP leader by Billy Wolfe
William Wolfe
William Cuthbertson "Billy" Wolfe was the leader of the Scottish National Party from 1969 to 1979...
.