Background
William Joynson-Hicks was born in Canonbury on 23 June 1865, the eldest son of Henry Hicks, a merchant, and his wife, Harriet.
lawyer politician statesman Home Secretary
William Joynson-Hicks was born in Canonbury on 23 June 1865, the eldest son of Henry Hicks, a merchant, and his wife, Harriet.
He was educated at Merchant Taylor’s School before being articled to a firm of London solicitors in 1882.
He became a solicitor in 1887 and built up a considerable practice.
Joynson-Hicks showed an interest in Conservative politics and unsuccessfully contested the North Manchester seat in 1900. He also failed to capture the Manchester Northwest seat in 1906, being defeated by Winston Churchill. However, there was a by-election in 1908 after Churchill was appointed president of the Board of Trade, in which Joynson-Hicks was elected M.P. It was during this election that he earned the nickname Jix. He lost his seat in the general election of January 1910 and was defeated in Sunderland in December 1910, but was elected unopposed for Brentford in the by-election of March 1911. In 1918 he was elected M.P. for Twickenham, and he held that seat until he became the first Viscount Brentford in 1929.
He had a secure seat in the House of Commons, but found himself in opposition to David Lloyd George, who headed the coalition government. There seemed little prospect of advancement in his political career, and he busied himself with fringe political interests. He traveled to India in 1920 to investigate the shootings at Amritsar; and upon returning to the House of Commons, spoke in defense of the actions of Brigadier R. E. H. Dyer.
In October 1922, Jix was among the Conservatives who demanded the removal of David Lloyd George, and he was appointed to a number of important posts in the subsequent Conservative governments. In 1922 he was offered the post of parliamentary secretary to the department of overseas trade, in Andrew Bonar Law’s ministry; and in March 1923 he was made postmaster and paymaster-general. When Stanley Baldwin became prime minister in May 1923, Joynson-Hicks became financial secretary to the Treasury, as well as a member of the cabinet and of the Privy Council. In August he became minister of health. He was in opposition between June and October 1924, during the first Labour government, but then became home secretary in Baldwin’s second ministry, filling this post until May 1929.
Just a few years after leaving the House of Commons, with his health in decline, Joynson- Hicks died on 8 June 1932.
His most important task as home secretary was to prepare the government for the General Strike of May 1926. In January 1926 he informed his cabinet colleagues that the government was prepared for a general strike by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in support of the miners, should it occur. During the strike, between 3 and 12 May, he was responsible for maintaining public order and for disabusing Sir Herbert Samuel, who the TUC wanted to act as an arbiter, of the idea that the government would be bound by any compromise package offered by the TUC. In other words, Joynson- Hicks made it clear that the famous “Samuel Memorandum”—a list of the terms under which the TUC would call off the strike—was unacceptable to the government. He also appealed for special constables to maintain public order.
In 1927 he was responsible for the raid on Arcos Limited, which brought an end to diplomatic relations between Great Britain and the Soviet Union, which was represented by that firm. In 1928 he was largely concerned with passing the Shops Act, which laid down the conditions of employment for shop assistants, and the Summer Time Act. His political career came to an end in May 1929, however, when he decided not to contest a parliamentary seat and was created Viscount Brentford.
As a young M.P., and particularly after 1911, he revealed great interest in the new technologies of aviation, telecommunications, and automobiles. During World War I, he developed a great interest in the Royal Flying Corps, and in 1916 he published The Command of the Air.
Joynson-Hicks was a strong churchgoer throughout his life. He was a member of the Church Assembly and in 1921 became president of the National Church League. He was prominently involved in the defeat of the Prayer Book measure in Parliament in 1927, and was influential in getting Parliament to reject the amended Deposited Book Measure when it was before the House of Commons in June 1928.
Today he is remembered as a politician of considerable ability and is particularly credited for his early recognition of the potential impact of new technologies on warfare, and for the maintenance of public order during the General Strike of 1926.
In 1894 he met Richard Hampson Joynson, a Manchester silk manufacturer, and his only daughter, Grace Lynn. He married her in 1895 and added the name Joynson to his own name in 1896. He and Joynson were both philanthropic Conservatives, well known and in high standing in Manchester.
