Lancelot Lawton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lancelot Francis Lawton (1880-12-28)28 December 1880 Liverpool, England |
| Died | June 1947 (aged 66) Cambridge, England |
| Education | St Francis Xavier's College |
| Occupations |
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Lancelot Francis Lawton (28 December 1880[1][a] – September 1947) was a British historian, military officer, scholar of Ukrainian studies, activist, and international political journalist who reported from Japan and the Soviet Union. He authored books about theRussian Revolution and the economic history of Soviet Russia. In the early 1930s, he contributed to the formation of pro-Ukrainian public opinion in the British society with his reports and articles about Ukraine. He was one of the founders and active participants in the Anglo-Ukrainian Committee established in 1935.
Lawton was born inLiverpool. He studied at theSt Francis Xavier Jesuit college of his hometown. With the outbreak of theRusso-Japanese War broke out, he moved to Tokyo, reporting forThe Daily Telegraph.[4]
Lancelot wrote a columnForeign Politics of the Day in the Catholic periodicalDublin Review, beginning in 1911.[5]
Lawton lived in Russia before theFirst World War, and visited again in 1924. Based on his experiences and collection of information, and assisted by his wife, Lydia Alexandrovna, who had graduated in political economy and commerce inSaint Petersburg, he published a bookThe Russian Revolution, 1917–1926 in 1927.[6] It was intended for the general reader, not only for specialists. In the same spirit, he published another book,An Economic History of Soviet Russia in 1932, again assisted by his wife.[7][8]
In the early 1930s, he contributed to the formation of pro-Ukrainian public opinion in the British society with his reports and articles about Ukraine. In 1935, he addressed a committee of theHouse of Commons in London, beginning: "The chief problem in Europe to-day is the Ukrainian problem", expanding that the nationality of Ukraine had been suppressed by mighty neighbours.[9][10] He urged Great Britain to support theUkrainian movement for independence,[9] and was one of the founders and active participants in theAnglo-Ukrainian Committee [uk] established in 1935.[11]
Lawton also was involved, or on the fringes of, the [British Fascist] leadership. He attended a meeting at 129 Grosvenor Road, London on 9th November [1939]. Other attendees included [Barry Domvile] Lady Domvile [Aubrey lees], [Neil Francis Hawkins], and [Lord Lymington].[Archibald Ramsay] There were hints from [Oswald Mosley] in the days running up that the [British Union of Fascists] would be the focal point of an underground movement, or that it would be put at the disposal of leading lights of Hitlerites and antisemites at the meeting.[12]
Lawton died inCambridge in September 1947, at age 66.[1]
Some of Lancelot's articles about the status of Ukraine in the 1930s were collected in a book by the Ukrainian historianSerhiy Kot, and published in 2006 in London and Kyiv asLancelot Lawton, Ukrainian Question. Ланцелот Лоутон Украiнське питання.[13] Kot spent two years tracing Lawton's original articles, held by theLibrary of Congress in the U.S.[14]
