Sir Gilbert Parker: The British World War I Propagandist with a St. Louis Connection



British WWI Propaganda Poster

During World War I, propaganda was used by the Central Powers and the Allies.  In 1914, in response to Germany’s creation of a propaganda agency, the British government created a propaganda office of its own. The British War Propaganda Bureau also known as Wellington House was located at Wellington House in the London Headquarters of the National Insurance Commission. Writer and politician, Charles Masterson, was selected to head the organization. The Bureau began its propaganda campaign by inviting 25 leading British authors to Wellington House to develop the best way to promote the British government's interests during the war. All of the writers in attendance were sworn to secrecy, and several of them agreed to write pamphlets and books that would promote the government’s point of view.  Masterson believed that the Bureau should focus most of its attention on the United States and fortunately, one of the authors in attendance was Sir Gilbert Parker, a novelist and politician with ties to America. To Masterson, Gilbert’s American ties made him a perfect candidate to coordinate official propaganda in the United States.

Gilbert Parker n.d.

Parker was married to the wealthy heiress, Amy Van Tine, of New York  and had developed friendships with many American elites.  Parker started with a staff of nine that would eventually grow to fifty four. Parker's first task was to conduct a long analysis of the American press. Through his analysis, Parker  discovered that although the Allies enjoyed more support than Germany, the majority of the American press, like President Wilson, were neutral.   Parker set out to systematically change this.  He began by developing a list of thousands of influential Americans from Who’s Who and other sources. Parker then targeted these individuals as well as public libraries, universities, and clubs, by sending them books and pamphlets.   He often included a charming letter with the materials he sent to those on his mailing list. In the letter, he sold himself as a concerned British citizen. As a result, the individuals on his mailing list had no idea they were being manipulated. Below is an excerpt from a letter that Parker sent to St. Louis businessman, William Clark Breckenridge.

“My dear Mr. Breckenridge, I am very grateful to you for your kind letter enclosing an extract of part of the testimony of Captain Polack.  I have read it with interest and will look into the matter.  It has occurred to me that perhaps you would care to have the documents that are at my disposal from time to time sent to you direct, and for this purpose I have given instructions that they should be dispatched to you in the future.  I am grateful for Dr. DeMenil’s warm message.  With kind greetings, I remain, Yours very truly, Gilbert Parker”

 

Letter dated August 31, 1916 from Sir Gilbert Parker to William Clark Breckenridge

Parker also provided news stories and other propaganda materials to hundreds of newspapers.  In fact, he had a column, known as the "White Papers: A Modest Appeal from Sir Gilbert Parker to read the British Side" that was published in the New York Times.  



Although, by 1917, Parker’s mailing list had grown to 170,000, he was very concerned about President Wilson’s rhetoric which called for a “Peace without Victory.”  In January 1917, he decided to risk exposure and travel to the U.S. personally to counter the President.  While in the U.S., Parker attended several meetings and events.  He argued that the war would be over later that year with a victory for the Allies. Therefore, President Wilson's call for a negotiated peace was unnecessary.  This counter-offensive approach also was used in mailings from that time. Below is an excerpt from a letter that was sent to William Clark Breckenridge of St. Louis by Professor W. Macneile of London in Parker’s absence.

Letter dated February 22, 1917 from Professor W. Macneile to William Clark Breckenridge

 “...I am very glad to feel that the overwhelming sympathy of the American people is on our side.  We all wish that the war might be brought to a close, but we are absolutely convinced that peace now would be a German victory, and that it is far better to continue the war than to submit to that...”

In February of that year, while Parker continued his propaganda campaign in the U.S., Germany announced its plan to sink all ships bound for Allied ports without warning.  This angered the American people, who still recalled the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, a tragic event that had been greatly exploited by Parker and his staff.  In response to Germany's announcement, President Wilson gave a speech in which he severed diplomatic ties with Germany and came close to declaring war on the country.  Although Parker had never come out and advocated for the United States’ entry into the war, the fact that he resigned from his position at Wellington House the same day that President Wilson gave his speech spoke volumes.

Well, after the war ended, individuals such as Upton Sinclair commented on the influence that Parker’s propaganda campaign had on America. He wrote that he was “one of the hundred and ten million suckers who swallowed the hook of the British official propaganda, conducted by an eminent bourgeois novelist, Gilbert Parker, who was afterwards knighted for what he did to me...”

St. Louisan, William C. Breckenridge, seemed to have been heavily influenced by Parker, as well. Prior to corresponding with Parker, he appeared to be fairly neutral in his correspondence. However, shortly thereafter, his letters began to reflect a definite anti-German sentiment.  The excerpt below from a letter dated December 19, 1917 reflects this change.

Letter dated August 1,1917 to Sir Gilbert Parker from William Clark Breckenridge

“....The Germans of this City have a grape-vine telegraph through which they get the latest news from Berlin.  (Confidentially they meet at the Liederknanz, and certain speakers then tell them the latest news.)  I fail to see why this Government does not shoot without a trial every member of that Club.  Pardon the digression, but I started to tell you the latest news from HELL... We Americans here in St. Louis are doing all we can to help win the War, but we are in the midst of traitors who are hampering us all they dare...”

Sources

Messinger, Gary S. British Propaganda and the State in the First World War. New York: Manchester University Press, 1919. books.google.com/books?isbn=0719030145

William Clark Breckenridge Papers, Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri

The William Clark Breckenridge Papers have been digitized by Over There project staff and will be available for review here in the near future.