A COMMENTARY ON LORD EUSTACE PERCY'S 'THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS'

摘要

This lecture by Lord Eustace Percy, at what was then called the Royal United Services Institution, was delivered a little less than a year after the armistice of 1918 that brought an end to active combat in the First World War. It, and the discussion that followed, offers a vibrant snapshot of not only the issues at the forefront of the minds of the Institution's members in the immediate post-war period, but also the assertiveness and discipline that was characteristic of RUSI and its members at the time. These men, and they were indeed all men at this time,1 clearly take their role as members of the Institution very seriously, recognising their discussions and debates as highly topical and likely influential on the future of British military and diplomatic endeavours. As noted at the outset of the event by Herbert Miles, who served as the governor of Gibraltar during the war, this was the first lecture to be held at the Institution since the building was handed back to RUSI by the Home Office following the First World War, during which time it was used by the Press Bureau.2 With approximately 600 of RUSI's members having fallen in the conflict, the sombre tone under which this meeting may have been called quickly turns to one of fierceness. This lecture vehemently makes the case for a new international governance structure and generates a lively discussion on how best to rebuild the global order after the devastation of 'the war to end all wars'. Clearly, no speaker whose remarks are captured in this transcript has attended the lecture without having a strong interest in vocalising convictions and prescriptions shaped by his own wartime experiences.