James Louis Garvin - First World War

First World War

Though a fan of German culture, Garvin was alarmed by the growing challenge the country posed to Britain in international politics. Through his friendship with First Sea Lord Admiral John Fisher, he gained access to inside information on naval matters which he used to inform editorials calling for a greater naval construction program. When war broke out in 1914, Garvin embraced Britain's involvement in the conflict. He was close to many people in power, most notably Fisher (who though retired returned to the position as First Sea Lord soon after the start of the conflict), Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill, and he enjoyed considerable influence during this period.

Yet the conflict brought great personal tragedy to Garvin. At the start of the war his only son Roland Gerard Garvin (known to his family as "Ged") enlisted with the South Lancashire Regiment and was shipped to France. Though subsequently assigned a staff position, Ged transferred back to a combat posting soon after the start of the Somme campaign and was killed in a night assault on German line in late July. Heartbroken at the loss, Garvin never recovered from Ged's death, and it shaped many of his attitudes to subsequent events.

Despite his bitterness towards the Germans, Garvin believed in the need for a just settlement of the war. Soon after the armistice he published his first book, The Economic Foundations of Peace, in which he called for a lenient treaty and Anglo-American cooperation as the cornerstone for an effective League of Nations. When the punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles were published, he denounced it in an editorial as leaving the Germans "no real hope except in revenge."