Who Was Rufus Isaacs? And What Did He Do During the Great War?

Rufus Isaacs (1860–1935)

On my shelf is a book titled Who's Who in World War One that claims to contain 1,000 entries on notables persons from the war. It's been very handy for me over the years but has no information about the gentleman shown above.  The Imperial War Museum identifies him as Lord Reading, Rufus Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading, Lord Chief Justice and Viceroy of India. His photo is included in the museum's collection which suggests he did, indeed, play a significant role in the Great War. One, however, has to do some additional digging to discover just what that might have involved. The first interesting fact this researcher discovered, though, is that the good lord was one of the principals in the prewar Marconi Scandal of 1912. More on that below.  Further research, made it clear to me that, in any case, he deserved an entry in the above mentioned work.

Born into a talented Jewish family engaged in the London fruit trade, Isaacs went on to become a brilliant Queen's Council, Member of Parliament, Knight, and Attorney General. For starters! A stalwart of the Liberal Party, he was trusted by Prime Minister Asquith and became  very close to  future P.M. David Lloyd George and his allies, like Winston Churchill.  

His succeeding—even more brilliant career—was almost sidetracked by his familial connection (through his brother, Godfrey) and his own financial ambitions to the infamous Marconi scandal. Despite being cleared in a parliamentary investigation dominated by Isaac's fellow Liberals, it was eventually shown that he had purchased shares in the American Marconi Company that had been made available through Isaacs's brother at a favourable price. As one Labor MP put it, there had been "scandalous gambling in Marconi shares." Nevertheless, his career rolled on as he was appointed as Lord Chief Justice of England in October 1913 and was raised to the peerage as Baron Reading of Erleigh. War came the following year and there was lots to keep him busy as public attention was drawn away from last year's scandal.

Second from the Right, Chief Justice Isaacs Joins
Lloyd George on a Visit to the Front

By August 1914, Lord Reading, Rufus Isaacs, the Lord Chief of Justice of England was a Reading resident, living at Foxhill House in Whiteknights. Following the outbreak of the war, he became increasingly involved in government finances by helping Lloyd George, then Chancellor of Exchequer, during the financial crisis that was brought about by the outbreak of the war.  In 1915 he went to the United States as president of the Anglo-French mission and secured a loan of $500 million. As Lord Chief Justice (1913–21), Isaacs presided over the trial for treason of the Irish patriot Sir Roger Casement (1916) and sentenced him to death.

He was to return to the U.S. in August 1917, this time as a special envoy with the object of persuading America to join the Allies. In the following spring he went for a third time and was central to convincing the American government to to integrate America's war effort (recall, the U.S. was an "Associated Power" not an "Ally" per se) more closely with that of the Allies, to prioritize the deployment of military supplies and shipping, and to grant regular credits for the duration of the war. Isaacs is credited with securing financing for the Allies to win the war.

Wearing the Ceremonial Robes of Viceroy of India

After the Armistice, Issacs became Viceroy of India, and, despite pursuing a conciliatory policy with forces for Independence there, he goes down in history as the man who imprisoned Mahatma Gandhi in 1922.  He did, however, reach the conclusion that self-rule for India was inevitable and made his views known at the highest circles.

On his return to England in April 1926, Isaac was granted the new title, the Marquess of Reading. He was the first commoner to rise to the rank of marquess since the Duke of Wellington. He refused to retire and held many diplomatic, business, and governmental posts, culminating with his appointment as Foreign Secretary. Rufus Isaacs died of heart disease on 30 December 1935. Despite his intense, relentless ambition, business dealings, and his involvement at the center of the Marconi affair, he remained popular throughout his career and, apparently, made few enemies.

Sources:  The Reading Museum; Spartacus Educational; Wikipedia; Imperial War Museum; TwelveYearHistory.com