Guy Molesworth Kindersley
Encyclopedia
Guy Molesworth Kindersley (28 February 1876-30 November 1956) was a Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom
who represented Hitchin
, Hertfordshire.
Kindersley was the son of Edward Nassau Molesworth Kindersley and his wife Ada Good Murray and brother of Lord Kindersley
. He became a stockbroker and was a Major in the army. In the 1923 general election
he was elected as MP
for Hitchin and retained the seat in 1924
. He inadvertently played a major part in this Conservative victory. He was explosively anti-Communist and was used in the matter of the Zinoviev letter
. A former MI5 agent and a director of a City company, took the forged letter to Kindersley, his "trusted friend in the City", just before the 1924 election. Kindersley, unaware of the plot, took the letter to the Daily Mail
, and its publication is said to have had devastating results for the Labour Party at the 1924 election.
Kindersley retained the safe seat in the 1929 general election
. Harold Macmillan
, later Prime Minister, had lost his seat at that election and was looking at Hitchen as a safer seat, knowing that Kindersley was planning to retire. However Macmillan wrote a letter of support for Oswald Mosley
and an attack on the Baldwin
government because it would not implement a programme of public works to tackle unemployment. Kindersley told him not to do it again, and when Macmillan refused to back down, Kindersley announced he would fight the seat again, thus scuppering Macmillan's chances. In the event he did resign his seat at 1931 general election
(and Macmillan was returned at his old seat at Stockton).
Kindersley married Kathleen Agnes Rhoda Elton 21 Jan. 1905. She was the daughter of the Arts and Crafts potter Sir Edmund Elton
. Their son David Kindersley
became an engraver and script designer.
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
who represented Hitchin
Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)
Hitchin was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
, Hertfordshire.
Kindersley was the son of Edward Nassau Molesworth Kindersley and his wife Ada Good Murray and brother of Lord Kindersley
Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley
Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley GBE was an English businessman, stockbroker, merchant banker, and public servant who organised the National Savings movement.Kindersley was born in Wanstead, Essex...
. He became a stockbroker and was a Major in the army. In the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
he was elected as MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Hitchin and retained the seat in 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
. He inadvertently played a major part in this Conservative victory. He was explosively anti-Communist and was used in the matter of the Zinoviev letter
Zinoviev Letter
The "Zinoviev Letter" refers to a controversial document published by the British press in 1924, allegedly sent from the Communist International in Moscow to the Communist Party of Great Britain...
. A former MI5 agent and a director of a City company, took the forged letter to Kindersley, his "trusted friend in the City", just before the 1924 election. Kindersley, unaware of the plot, took the letter to the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, and its publication is said to have had devastating results for the Labour Party at the 1924 election.
Kindersley retained the safe seat in the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, later Prime Minister, had lost his seat at that election and was looking at Hitchen as a safer seat, knowing that Kindersley was planning to retire. However Macmillan wrote a letter of support for Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
and an attack on the Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
government because it would not implement a programme of public works to tackle unemployment. Kindersley told him not to do it again, and when Macmillan refused to back down, Kindersley announced he would fight the seat again, thus scuppering Macmillan's chances. In the event he did resign his seat at 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
(and Macmillan was returned at his old seat at Stockton).
Kindersley married Kathleen Agnes Rhoda Elton 21 Jan. 1905. She was the daughter of the Arts and Crafts potter Sir Edmund Elton
Sir Edmund Elton, 8th Baronet
Sir Edmund Harry Elton, 8th Baronet was an English inventor and studio potter noted for his production of Elton Ware at the Clevedon Elton Sunflower Pottery....
. Their son David Kindersley
David Kindersley
David Guy Barnabas Kindersley was a British stone letter-carver and typeface designer, and the founder of the Kindersley Workshop . His carved plaques and inscriptions in stone and slate can be seen on many churches and public buildings in the United Kingdom...
became an engraver and script designer.
External links
- Portrait in the National Gallery Collection
- Letter about the Zinoviev letter The Independent Feb 11, 1999