Editing John Buchan (section)

==Governor General of Canada==
[[File:KingTweedsmuir1935.jpg|thumb|right|[[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]] delivers an address at the installation of Lord Tweedsmuir as [[Governor General of Canada]], 2 November 1935]]
[[File:LordTweedsmuirHeaddress.jpg|thumb|right|Lord Tweedsmuir in [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Native]] [[war bonnet|headdress]], photo portrait by [[Yousuf Karsh]],  1937]]

On 27 March 1935, Sir [[George Halsey Perley]] announced in the Canadian Parliament (in place of ailing Conservative Prime Minister [[R. B. Bennett|Richard Bedford Bennett]]) that the King had appointed Mr. John Buchan as the viceregal representative.<ref>House of Commons (Canada) Debates, 27 March 1935, page 2144.</ref> The King approved the appointment,<ref>House of Commons (Canada) Debates, 27 March 1935, page 2144. Cited with other details in Galbraith, J. William, "John Buchan: Model Governor General", Dundurn, Toronto, 2013. p.19.</ref> made by commission under the [[royal sign-manual]] and [[Seal (emblem)|signet]]. Buchan, by this time elevated to the peerage as the first Baron Tweedsmuir, then departed for Canada and was sworn in as the country's Governor General in a ceremony on 2 November 1935 in the Legislative Council of Quebec (salon rouge) of the [[Parliament Building (Quebec)|parliament buildings of Quebec]].

By the time Lord Tweedsmuir arrived in Canada, [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] had been sworn in as Prime Minister after the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] won the [[1935 Canadian federal election|federal election]] held the previous month. Tweedsmuir was the first Governor General of Canada appointed since the enactment of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] on 11 December 1931, and was thus the first to have been decided on solely by the [[monarchy of Canada|monarch of Canada]] in [[King's Privy Council for Canada|his Canadian council]].

Tweedsmuir brought to the post a longstanding knowledge of Canada. He had written many appreciative words about the country as a journalist on ''The Spectator'' and had followed the actions of the Canadian forces in the First World War when writing ''Nelson's History of the War'', and was helped by talks with Julian Byng, during a visit Canada in 1924.<ref name=jas1>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Janet Adam|title=John Buchan and his world|year=1979|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=89|isbn=0-500-13067-1}}</ref> He had also written a memoir of a previous Governor General, [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]] (1898–1904), published in 1924. His knowledge and interest in increasing public awareness and accessibility to Canada's past resulted in Tweedsmuir being made the [[Champlain Society]]'s second honorary president between 1938 and 1939.<ref>{{cite web| last=The Champlain Society| title=Former Officer's of The Champlain Society (1905–2012)| url=http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/| access-date=19 October 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027031034/http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/| archive-date=27 October 2014}}</ref> He continued writing during his time in Canada, but he also took his position as Governor General seriously, and from the outset made it his goal to travel the length and breadth of Canada, including to the [[Canadian Arctic|Arctic regions]],<ref>The first governor-general to travel to the Canadian Arctic was Lord Byng (GG 1921–1926) in 1925.  Cited in Galbraith, William, "The Literary Governor-General" in "The Literary Review of Canada", October 1996, page 19.</ref> and promoting Canadian unity in the process. He said of his job: "a Governor General is in a unique position for it is his duty to know the whole of Canada and all the various types of her people."

Tweedsmuir encouraged a distinct Canadian identity as well as national unity, despite the ongoing Great Depression and [[Great Depression in Canada|the difficulty it caused for the population]].<ref name=GGBuch/> He strengthened the sovereignty of Canada, constitutionally and culturally. However, not all Canadians shared Buchan's views. He aroused the ire of [[Imperialism|imperialists]] when he said in [[Montreal]] in 1937: "a Canadian's first loyalty is not to the British [[Commonwealth of Nations]], but to Canada, and [[Monarchy of Canada| to Canada's King]],"<ref name=jas2>{{cite book| last=Smith| first=Janet Adam| title=John Buchan: a Biography| publisher=Little Brown and Company| year=1965| location=Boston| page=423}}</ref> a statement that the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' dubbed as "disloyal"<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Royal Visit| magazine=Time| volume=IXX| issue=17| publisher=Time Inc.| location=New York| date=21 October 1957| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937945,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513184211/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937945,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=13 May 2007| issn=0040-781X| access-date=29 March 2009}}</ref> but that was largely because the news release did not include "and to Canada's King" which Tweedsmuir had added by hand to his typed draft after it had been distributed to the media.<ref>Two typed drafts of speeches, with Tweedsmuir's handwritten comments, in: Buchan Papers, Speeches, Library and Archives Canada. Details cited in Galbraith, J. William, John Buchan: Model Governor General, Dundurn, Toronto, 2013, pp. 139–144.</ref> Tweedsmuir stated that ethnic groups "should retain their individuality and each make its contribution to the national character" and "the strongest nations are those that are made up of different racial elements."<ref>{{Cite news| last=Saunders| first=Doug| title=Canada's mistaken identity| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| date=27 June 2009| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/columnists/doug-saunders/canadas-mistaken-identity/article1199074/| access-date=28 June 2009}}</ref>

George V died in late January 1936, and his eldest son, the popular [[Prince of Wales]], succeeded to the throne as Edward VIII. [[Rideau Hall]]—the royal and viceroyal residence in [[Ottawa]]—was decked in black crepe and all formal entertaining was cancelled during the [[Mourning#State and official mourning|official period of mourning]]. As the year unfolded, it became evident that the new king planned to marry the American divorcée [[Wallis Simpson]], which caused much discontent throughout the [[Dominion]]s and created a constitutional crisis. Tweedsmuir conveyed to [[Buckingham Palace]] and the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Stanley Baldwin]] Canadians' deep affection for the King, but also the outrage to Canadian religious feelings, both Catholic and Protestant, that would occur if Edward married Simpson.<ref name=Hubbard>{{cite book| last=Hubbard| first=R.H.| title=Rideau Hall| publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press| year=1977| location=Montreal and London| page=[https://archive.org/details/rideauhallillust00hubb/page/187 187]| isbn=978-0-7735-0310-6| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/rideauhallillust00hubb/page/187}}</ref> By 11&nbsp;December, [[Edward VIII abdication crisis|King Edward had abdicated]] in favour of his younger brother, [[George VI|Prince Albert, Duke of York]], who was thereafter known as George VI. In order for the line of succession for Canada to remain parallel to those of the other Dominions, Tweedsmuir, as [[Queen-in-Council|Governor-in-Council]], gave the government's consent to [[His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936|the British legislation formalising the abdication]], and ratified this with finality when he granted [[Royal Assent]] to the Canadian [[Succession to the Throne Act 1937|Succession to the Throne Act]] in 1937.<ref>{{cite court| litigants=Tony O'Donohue v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the United Kingdom| vol=01-CV-217147CM| pinpoint=s. 34| court=Ontario Superior Court of Justice| date=26 June 2006| url=http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2003/2003canlii41404/2003canlii41404.html}}</ref> Upon receiving news from Mackenzie King of Edward's decision to abdicate, Tweedsmuir [[:wiktionary:quip|quipped]] that, in his year in Canada as governor general, he had represented three kings.<ref>{{cite web| url=<!-- https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=diawlmking&IdNumber=10647&q_exact=three+kings&ecopy=60003PM1 -->http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/king/001059-119.02-e.php?&page_id_nbr=17484&interval=20&&&&&&&&PHPSESSID=bgajorjbf37d43pri9gimsmfv0| last=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| title=The Diaries of William Lyon Mackenzie King| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| page=562| year=2007| access-date=14 August 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=<!-- https://archive.today/20240930203123/https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=diawlmking&IdNumber=10647&q_exact=three+kings&ecopy=60003PM1 https://archive.today/20240930203351/https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=diawlmking&IdNumber=10647&ecopy=60003PM1 -->https://web.archive.org/web/20130612195545/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/king/001059-119.02-e.php?&page_id_nbr=17484&interval=20&&&&&&&&PHPSESSID=bgajorjbf37d43pri9gimsmfv0| archive-date=12 June 2013}}</ref>

Tweedsmuir's desire to strengthen the culture of Canada is reflected in his approval of the establishment of the [[Governor General's Awards|Governor General's Literary Awards]] in 1936. This was done after discussion with the [[Canadian Authors Association]], under the chairmanship of Dr. Pelham Edgar. The "GGs", as they are nicknamed in Canada, remain Canada's premier literary awards, announced annually, now with seven categories in English and in French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Governor General's Literary Awards |url=https://canadacouncil.ca/funding/prizes/governor-generals-literary-awards |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=Canada Council for the Arts |language=en}}</ref> Tweedsmuir also inspired and encouraged individual writers.<ref>[[Thomas Head Raddall|Thomas Randall]], [[David Walker (author)|David Walker]], and [[Ross Macdonald|Kenneth Millar]] are examples cited in Galbraith, J. William, John Buchan: Model Governor General, Dundurn, 2013, pp. 364–367.</ref> In January 1940, despite the war, Tweedsmuir invited influential Canadians to Rideau Hall, including Sam McLaughlin, President of General Motors of Canada, to support, as he wrote to his sister in Scotland, the development of "a Hollywood in British Columbia". This proved prescient; by the 21st century, [[Vancouver]] had popularly become known as "[[Hollywood North]]".<ref>Galbraith, J. William, "Hollywood in British Columbia", John Buchan Journal, Autumn, 2004, Issue 31, pp. 19–22.</ref>

In May and June 1939, King George VI and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]] [[1939 royal tour of Canada|toured Canada]] from coast to coast and paid a [[state visit]] to the United States. Tweedsmuir had conceived the royal tour before [[coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth|the coronation]] in 1937; according to the official event historian, [[Gustave Lanctot]], the idea "probably grew out of the knowledge that at his coming Coronation, George VI was to assume the additional title of King of Canada," and he wished to demonstrate vividly Canada's status as an independent kingdom<ref name=Parl>{{cite journal |last=Galbraith |first=William |title=Fiftieth Anniversary of the 1939 Royal Visit |journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review |volume=12 |issue=3 |publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association |location=Ottawa |year=1989 |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/english/issue.asp?param=130&art=820 |access-date=29 March 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205052132/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/english/issue.asp?param=130&art=820 |archive-date=5 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>In fact, the idea for a visit by a reigning monarch occurred in 1936 and came from King Edward VIII who also had a ranch in Alberta which, as Prince of Wales, he had purchased in 1919. See: Galbraith, J. William, John Buchan: Model Governor General, Dundurn, 2013, p. 146.</ref> by allowing Canadians to see "their King performing royal functions, supported by his Canadian [[Minister of the Crown|ministers]]." Mackenzie King, however, was not convinced, thinking it wrong to spend money on royalty while the poor were starving. To overcome King's reticence, Tweedsmuir argued that the royal visit "would have a 'unifying' effect on Canada<ref>Mackenzie King Diary, 29 May 1938, Library and Archives Canada, and letters from Tweedsmuir to his wife and sister, both dated 30 May 1938, Buchan Papers (microfiche), Library and Archives Canada. </ref> while the visit to the U.S. would be "helpful to relations of democracies.<ref>Mackenzie King Diary, 29 May 1938, Library and Archives Canada.</ref> Mackenzie King agreed. Tweedsmuir put great effort into securing a positive response from Buckingham Palace to the invitation; after more than a year without a reply, in June 1938 he used a trip to the United Kingdom for a rest cure at Ruthin Castle in Wales to procure a positive decision on the royal tour. After a period of convalescence at Ruthin Castle and his home near [[Oxford]], Tweedsmuir sailed back to Canada in October with a secured commitment that the royal couple would tour the country and visit the United States. Though he had been a significant contributor to the organisation of the trip, Tweedsmuir remained largely out of sight for the duration of the royal tour; he expressed the view that while the King of Canada was present, "I cease to exist as Viceroy, and retain only a shadowy legal existence as Governor-General in Council."<ref name=Parl /> In Canada, the royal couple took part in public events such as the opening of the [[Lions Gate Bridge]] in Vancouver in May 1939, and King George sat in Parliament and personally granted Royal Assent to bills passed there. The King appointed Tweedsmuir a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] while on the royal train, between [[Truro, Nova Scotia|Truro]] and [[Bedford, Nova Scotia]].<ref>{{citation| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0baizU0hFpIC| last=McCreery| first=Christopher| title=On Her Majesty's Service: Royal Honours and Recognition in Canada| page=32| publisher=Dundurn| year=2008| location=Toronto| isbn=9781459712249| access-date=20 November 2015}}</ref> The King and Queen began their visit to the United States on 8 June.

The royal visit to the United States was the high point of Tweedsmuir's efforts to develop a strong relationship with President Roosevelt, which he began soon after his arrival in Canada. The objective was to demonstrate, especially to the dictators in Europe, the friendship of America with Canada, as a member of the British Empire and Commonwealth.  Roosevelt had to be circumspect and not be seen to have direct relations with Britain because of the strong isolationist opinion in the U.S. concerned about being dragged into another European war. Tweedsmuir and Roosevelt met twice, at the end of July 1936 in Quebec City, summer residence of the Governor General, and the second in the spring of 1937 with an official visit by the Tweedsmuirs to Washington, D.C. Both visits were significant successes. 

Buchan's experiences during the First World War made him averse to war, and he tried to help prevent another one in co-ordination with Mackenzie King and the [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] by the calling of a conference, to be chaired by the U.S. and to include the European dictators. Those efforts to try to secure future peace and stability proved fruitless because the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, refused to countenance the idea. 

Tweedsmuir signed Canada's declaration of war against Germany on 10 September, a week after the British declaration of war. The week difference allowed war-related materiel, such as aeroplanes and munitions, to move to Canada from the neutral United States, which was prohibited under the Neutrality Act from exporting such materiel to belligerents.<ref>Buchan, Ursula (2019). Beyond The Thirty-Nine Steps. London: Bloomsbury. p. 382.</ref> During the fall of 1939, negotiations were held to establish an air training plan in Canada for Commonwealth air crew. The negotiations were long and difficult, in particular with Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King who was adamant that the facilities would be under the control of the Canadian government. Tweedsmuir had known from previous experience with a British mission, which had examined the possibility of aircraft production in Canada in the spring of 1938, that officials in Britain "do not seem to understand the real delicacy of the position of the self-governing Dominions, especially Canada.<ref>Letter from Tweedsmuir to his wife Susan in England on holiday, 25 May 1938, Buchan Papers, Library and Archives Canada.</ref> King had been difficult, as Chamberlain admitted to Tweedsmuir.<ref>Letter Chamberlain to Tweedsmuir, 27 December 1939, Buchan Papers, Library and Archives Canada.</ref> Tweedsmuir played a key role in securing British agreement to the final negotiations in mid-December 1939 and King acknowledged this in a letter, thank the Governor General "warmly for the help ... What a mischief there would have been had there been another moment's delay!"<ref>Letter Mackenzie King to Tweedsmuir, handwritten, 24 December 1939, Buchan Papers, Library and Archives Canada.</ref>  

[[File:Elsfield BuchanGrave.JPG|thumb|Lord Tweedsmuir's grave in St Thomas's churchyard, [[Elsfield]]]]
On 6 February 1940, he suffered a slight stroke and struck his head on the edge of a bath at Rideau Hall.<ref>John Buchan: Master of Suspense BBC4 2 June 2022</ref> Two surgeries by Doctor [[Wilder Penfield]] of the [[Montreal Neurological Institute]] were insufficient to save him, and his death on 11 February saw an outpouring of grief, gratitude and admiration, not only in Canada but throughout the English-speaking world. In a radio eulogy, Mackenzie King stated: "In the passing of His Excellency, the people of Canada have lost one of the greatest and most revered of their Governors General, and a friend who, from the day of his arrival in this country, dedicated his life to their service."<ref>King, Rt.Hon. W.L. Mackenzie, ''Tributes to the Late Lord Tweedsmuir'', J.O. Patenaude, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 1940, Library and Archives Canada.</ref>  The editor of the ''Ottawa Journal'' wrote: "He would have prepared us by deeper concern for things spiritual and intellectual, and by allegiance, above all, to the tradition of human dignity and liberty."<ref>''Ottawa Journal'', 12 February 1940</ref> The Governor General had formed a strong bond with his prime minister, even if it may have been built more on political admiration than friendship: Mackenzie King appreciated Buchan's "sterling rectitude and disinterested purpose."<ref name=TCE />

After [[lying in state]] in the [[Senate of Canada|Senate chamber]] on [[Parliament Hill]], Buchan was given a [[state funeral]] at [[St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Ottawa)|St Andrew's Presbyterian Church]] in Ottawa. His ashes were returned to the UK aboard the cruiser [[HMS Orion (85)|HMS ''Orion'']] for final burial at [[Elsfield]], the village where he lived in Oxfordshire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80011946|title=Biggs, Percy Sydney (Oral history)|last=Biggs|first=Percy|date=28 August 1991|website=Imperial War Museums|series=Catalogue number 12211|at=23m57s|language=en|others=Wood, Conrad (recorder)|access-date=5 June 2019}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, a memorial service was held in medieval Elsfield church on the Saturday after his death and services were held later that month at Westminster Abbey and at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.<ref>Buchan, Ursula (2019). Beyond The Thirty-Nine Steps. London: Bloomsbury. p.400</ref>