Digitised Documents - Colonel Wedgwood's Questionnaire
In 1936 Col. Josiah C. Wedgwood sent out a questionnaire to all those Members of Parliament who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1918 in an effort to document the experiences of MPs before and during World War One.
Some MPs refused to answer his 24 questions about their parliamentary careers, whereas other wrote back with gusto and provided information which Wedgwood edited into biographies. There were also those who had passed away leaving Wedgwood to correspond with widows, sons, and colleagues, some of whom were able to assist in the production of accounts of their loved one's political endeavours.
Below the digitised documents are listed by name of MP (plus party, date of first election, date of exit) under the following categories:
Questionniare - Questionniare sent by Wedgwood and any responses given
Biography - Any biographies compiled from the questionnaire
Correspondence - Any letters between Wedgwood and MPs or their families, friends or staff
Pamphlets, leaflets and notes - Some MPs provided biographical information by way of other local publications or extracts from publications such as Who's Who?
Click the links below to view the documents
ADAM, Major William Augutus: Conservative, Jan. 1910 - Dec. 1910
ASHLEY, Rt Hon Wilfrid William: Conservative, 1906 - Jan. 1932
BARLOW, Rt Hon Sir (Clement Anderson) Montague: Conservative, Dec. 1910 - 1923
BRIGHT, Allen Heywood: Liberal, July 1904 - 1906
CHAMBERLAIN, Rt Hon Sir (Joseph) Austen: LU, 1892 - Mar. 1937
COHEN, Sir Benjamin Louis: Conservative, 1892 - 1906
ESSEX, Sir Richard Walter: Liberal, 1906 - Jan. 1910
JOWETT, Rt Hon Sir Frederick W.: Labour, 1906 - 1931
KENNEDY, Patrick James: Irish National, 1900 - 1906
O'DONNELL, John: Irish National, Feb. 1900 - Jan. 1910
Biography (written by son)
ROTHSCHILD, Major Lionel Nathan de :LU, Jan. 1899 - Jan. 1910
ROYDS, Edmund: Conservative, Jan. 1910 - 1922
SHACKLETON, Sir David J: Labour, Aug. 1902 - Nov. 1910
STARKEY, Sir John Ralph: Unionist, 1906 - 1922
WARDLE, George James: Labour, 1906 - Mar. 1920
The full collection is held at the History of Parliament Trust - for more information please contact Sammy Sturgess, Public Engagement Officer at ssturgess@histparl.ac.uk
