Ivor Bulmer-Thomas (30 November 1905 – 7 October 1993), born Ivor Thomas, was a British journalist and scientific writer who served eight years as a Member of Parliament (MP). His career was much influenced by his conversion to the Church of England in his youth, and he became a pious believer on the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church.
A brilliant scholar and champion athlete while at university, Bulmer-Thomas wrote biographies and worked as a sub-editor on The Times during his early life. His experience in wartime Italian propaganda led him to doubt its value. Serving in the Attlee Labour Party government in junior roles made him resent the influence of the Labour left; he fell out with party policy on nationalisation and moved to the Conservative Party. He was a workaholic and after leaving politics he became a leading layman in the Church of England; an interest in historic buildings led him to set up the Friends of Friendless Churches group, which campaigns to prevent churches falling into disuse, and to play a key role in founding the charity known today as the Churches Conservation Trust.
Family and faith Thomas was born in Cwmbran, Monmouthshire; his father A.E. Thomas, was working class.Matthew Saunders, "Ivor Bulmer-Thomas" (Obituary), The Independent, 8 October 1993. He went to West Monmouth School in Pontypool, where he abandoned his father's Baptist faith in favour of the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England,"Ivor Bulmer-Thomas" (Obituary), The Times, 8 October 1993. a decision that was to affect his future career profoundly. Although a pious believer, his personal piety was described by Robin Denniston in his Guardian obituary as "always gentle and humble".Robin Denniston, "Dissenter in the Pews: Ivor Bulmer-Thomas" (Obituary), The Guardian, 9 October 1993.
Oxford Performing well at school, Thomas won a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford, where he studied both Mathematical Mods. and Literae Humaniores (known unofficially as 'Greats' and as 'Classics' at other universities), obtaining Firsts in both. He then turned to study divinity, but fell into dispute with the president of the college and moved instead to Magdalen College where he became Senior Demy in Theology."Thomas, Ivor Bulmer- (1905–1993)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". He was the Liddon Student in 1928, the Ellerton Essayist in 1929, and the Junior Denyer and Johnson Scholar in 1930."Who Was Who", A & C Black.
Thomas' achievements at Oxford were not confined to academic life; he also became a competitive cross country runner. He represented Oxford in varsity matches against Cambridge from 1925 to 1927, in which year he won the three-miles race. In 1926 he had represented his country, Wales, in international cross-country running. But for an injury he would have stood a good chance of selection in the Great Britain team for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
Author On leaving Oxford, Thomas became the Gladstone Research Student at St Deiniol's Library in Hawarden, the residential library founded at William Ewart Gladstone's former house. The product of his research there was a book on Gladstone's son, published under the title Gladstone of Hawarden in 1936. This book was preceded into print by a biography of Lord Birkenhead, published in 1930 (the year its subject died). Thomas had come to know Birkenhead through his interest in university athletics and the book has been described as witty and entertaining; it was dedicated to "my creditors". David Fowler noted the following works Illustrating the History of Greek Mathematics (1939–1941), Loeb Classical Library The Socialist Tragedy, Latimer House (1949) Contributed substantial articles to the authoritative Dictionary of Scientific Biography (1970–1990) The section on Greek geometry in Geschichte der Algebra (1990) Sections in Lehrbücher zur Didaktik der Mathematik Reviewer for Classical Reviews on ancient science and mathematics; contributor of articles to journals and encyclopaedias.
Journalism Thomas joined the staff of The Times newspaper in 1930, where he served in the sub-editors' room. He also wrote occasional leader columns and specialist articles on scientific subjects as well as being a sports correspondent for a brief period. He married Dilys Llewelyn Jones in 1932, who bore him a son.
In 1935, owed some leave from The Times, Thomas took it to coincide with the general election for which he had been chosen as Labour Party candidate for Spen Valley in July."News in Brief", The Times, 16 July 1935, p. 9. The sitting Member of Parliament was Sir John Simon, the Home Secretary and the contest was a high-profile one; although Simon was elected, his margin of 642 votes was closer than expected and was said to have given him a fright.
Bereavement Thomas moved to the News Chronicle in 1937 as chief leader writer, finding the time to write a biography of Welsh industrialist David Davies which was published the following year. However, tragedy struck with the death of his wife in childbirth in the same year. Thomas' reaction was to write "Dilysia", a threnody which combined his increasing love of Italian literature (especially Dante) with a Christian philosophical analysis of suffering and bereavement. In later life Thomas was to identify it as his favourite piece of writing, and it was republished in 1987. Thomas needed only four hours sleep, and kept volumes of Dante in the original mediaeval Italian by his bedside to read at night.
Wartime service As the Second World War threatened, Thomas enlisted in 1938 in a Territorial battalion of the Royal Fusiliers as a fusilier, equivalent to a private. In 1940 he was commissioned into the Royal Norfolk Regiment. While in the Army, he wrote a two-volume work Selections Illustrating the History of Greek Mathematics which was published by the Loeb Classical Library. He was promoted to captain in 1941.
Propaganda work As a fluent Italian speaker, Thomas was drafted into the psychological warfare department of the Foreign Office and Ministry of Information with a brief to develop propaganda for use against Mussolini's Italy. Thomas wrote a 1942 book for Penguin Books called Warfare by Words which criticised British propaganda efforts, and defined the term as an act of "sabotage leading to revolution".
Parliament
Election After leaving propaganda work, Thomas was appointed as intelligence officer in the Cambridge area. In January 1942, he was chosen as Labour Party candidate for the Keighley byelection caused by the death of Hastings Lees-Smith."Keighley By-Election", The Times, 26 January 1942, p. 2. The political parties had agreed an electoral truce, and a threatened Independent candidacy by B. D. Margerison of Wibsey in Bradford came to nothing when Margerison decided not to stand (despite having issued an election address)."Keighley candidate's withdrawal", The Times, 6 February 1942, p. 2. Thomas was therefore elected unopposed on 13 February."New Labour M.P. for Keighley", The Times, 14 February 1942, p. 2.
Maiden speech Thomas' maiden speech on 12 March concerned pensions, during which he argued that the means test was "a blot on our national honour". He described the principle of supporting those unable to work as "the iron ration of citizenship"."Parliament", The Times, 13 March 1942, p. 8. In his early period in Parliament he concentrated on propaganda concerns, in which he disagreed with Stephen King-Hall's call for it to be treated on the same level as the three services. Thomas argued that this was an "entirely false perspective" and that propaganda was a "valuable but ancillary weapon".Letters, The Times, 20 April 1942, p. 5.
Activity In November 1942, Thomas worked with Aneurin Bevan and an all-party group of Members of Parliament to put down a motion opposing British co-operation with Admiral Darlan in French North Africa."Terms of Commons Motion", The Times, 27 November 1942, p. 4. He was also active on domestic issues, supporting the movement to allow Sunday opening of theatres,"Sunday Theatre Opening", The Times, 4 February 1943, p. 2. and for his stance he was denounced by the Lord's Day Observance Society. At a meeting of the society in February 1943, one prayer asked God to "deal with Ivor Thomas as he dealt with Saul of Tarsus"."Protest Against Sunday Theatres", The Times, 9 February 1943, p. 2. (Saul is said in Acts 9:4 to have been converted hearing a voice from Heaven saying "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?")
Thomas became a very active Member of Parliament, intervening in many debates on diverse subjects both domestic and foreign. In January 1945 he was also a speaker at the inaugural meeting of the League for European Freedom, a group which worked to restore the sovereignty of all "lesser European Powers existing in 1937" and for democratic government throughout Europe."League For European Freedom", The Times, 20 January 1945, p. 2. With the end of the war in sight, in April 1945 Thomas drew attention to a speech by Ernest Bevin which called for Government and Opposition to share common ground on foreign policy and defence by sharing information.Letters, The Times, 13 April 1945, p. 5.
Government
Ministry of Civil Aviation At the 1945 general election Thomas was easily re-elected. When he saw the list of Government Ministers appointed by Clement Attlee, Thomas took the unusual step of writing to the new prime minister to ask why his own name had not appeared on it. Attlee decided to find Thomas an appointment, and made him Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 10 August 1945."More Ministerial Appointments", The Times, 11 August 1945, p. 2. He was the Ministry's spokesman in the House of Commons as the Minister was Lord Winster. Thomas took over responsibility for the building of London Heathrow Airport, then known as 'Heath Row', which had been started by the Royal Air Force during the war."House of Commons", The Times 11 October 1945, p. 8.
Thomas felt that he could only truly understand his job if he obtained a Private Pilot's Licence, and took up flying until he passed. In 1946 he had responsibility for taking the Civil Aviation Bill through the House of Commons; the Bill was controversial in that it nationalised air transport into three corporations which were originally intended to have commercial freedom. Winster and Thomas were forced by left-wing pressure within the Labour Party to revisit the plans and make the corporations public monopolies."Civil Aviation", The Times, 6 April 1946, p. 2.Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, The Growth of the British Party System (John Baker, 1965), vol. ii, p. 168. Some Labour Members were concerned that Thomas, still a young man with little experience of the heavy work of Parliament, was in charge of such an important Bill. Despite a gruelling passage, including an all day Standing Committee session,"Standing Committee's Long Day", The Times, 28 June 1946, p. 4. the Bill was enacted on schedule on 1 August.
Colonies Office