Correlli Barnett
Correlli Douglas Barnett was born on the 28th of June 1927 in Norbury, County Borough of Croydon. He grew up as the son of Douglas and Kathleen Barnett. His early education took place at Trinity School of John Whitgift in Croydon before he moved to Exeter College, Oxford. There he earned a second class honours degree in Modern History with Military History as his special subject. He completed an MA in 1954.
From 1945 to 1948, Barnett served in the British Army during the Palestine Emergency. He held the rank of sergeant within the Intelligence Corps. This period of service provided him with direct experience of military operations and intelligence gathering in a volatile region. The conflict shaped his understanding of command structures and the realities of war beyond academic theory.
Barnett published The Desert Generals in 1960 to challenge the established narrative surrounding World War II commanders. The book attacked the perceived cult of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery while assessing the roles of his sacked predecessors. These predecessors included Richard O'Connor who drove the Italians from Cyrenaica in late 1940. It also examined Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck whom Barnett called "The Victor of Alamein".
Auchinleck forced Rommel to a halt at the First Battle of El Alamein only to be dismissed by Winston Churchill for his efforts. Barnett pointed out that Montgomery enjoyed massive superiority of men and materiel at the Second Battle of El Alamein. He described Montgomery as an "emotional cripple" in subsequent editions. His conclusions faced sharp attacks from Field Marshal Michael Carver in Dilemmas of the Desert War. Carver called Barnett "naïve" and noted numerous flaws in his work regarding British technology and strategy.
Barnett's four-volume historical series argued that Britain's decline resulted from a moral revolution in its governing class values. The sequence began with The Collapse of British Power followed by The Audit of War: The Illusion and Reality of Britain as a Great Nation. The third volume was The Lost Victory: British Dreams, British Realities, 1945-50 and the final book was The Verdict of Peace: Britain Between Her Yesterday and the Future.
He claimed statesmen of the eighteenth century were men "hard of mind and hard of will" who regarded national power as essential. They viewed commercial wealth as a means to power and war as among the means to all three. Barnett argued the British national character underwent a profound moral revolution in the nineteenth century. This shift meant foreign policy would be conducted in reverence of highly ethical standards rather than an expedient pursuit of England's interests. A.J.P. Taylor described The Collapse of British Power as fine fighting stuff based on historical records while Robert Blake called it pungently written and controversial.
In early August 2002, Barnett wrote to The Daily Telegraph opposing the American plan of invading Iraq. He rejected claims that those opposed to the war were equivalent to appeasers of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. He argued Saddam Hussein's Iraq posed no threat to the region compared to Nazi Germany disrupting the balance of power in Europe. He believed opposition stemmed from the view that attacking a sovereign state without external aggression breached international law.
Barnett also opposed British participation in the Kosovo War of 1999. He argued Yugoslavia was a sovereign state committing no aggression beyond its own borders. He claimed military action against it breached both the UN Charter and the North Atlantic Treaty. On the 30th of March 1999 he stated the war vindicated his stance on NATO's ill-thought-out policy based on emotion and simplistic moralising. Later that year he returned to the subject saying the 80-day-long air campaign demonstrated air power was a clumsy means of political coercion.
During the 2005 general election, Barnett spoke of Margaret Thatcher with deep respect for her transformative impact. He recalled living under a form of state socialism with tremendous controls over economic and social life before she came to power. People could not even buy a house abroad without special permission from the Bank of England during those years. He noted the clapped-out railways and Post Office running phones as evidence of pre-Thatcher struggles.
When Thatcher came to power she transformed the country by abolishing exchange controls and liquidating the state sector of industry. She threw the economy wide open and eliminated moribund industries relying on taxpayer funding. Barnett acknowledged cabinet government began to diminish in the collegiate sense as she became so powerful. Blair later took this further and deliberately adopted a presidential style in every possible way. Barnett viewed Blair as a plausible conman who promised much but had not achieved it compared to Thatcher's genuine conviction.
There were some Cabinet Ministers in Margaret Thatcher's government who were influenced by Barnett's works. Sir Keith Joseph served as Education Secretary from 1981 to 1986 and admired Barnett's work about anti-business culture in education. In an interview with Anthony Seldon he proclaimed "I'm a Correlli Barnett supporter". Nigel Lawson, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989, also cited Barnett's views on education as an influence specifically The Audit of War.
In 1995 when Michael Heseltine became Deputy Prime Minister in John Major's Cabinet he presented each member of the Cabinet with copies of Barnett's The Lost Victory. Barnett held the position of Keeper of the Churchill Archives Centre from 1977 to 1995. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and remained a fellow of Churchill College Cambridge until his death. His comment that an attack on Iran would effectively launch world war three was later cited by Noam Chomsky in his 2007 essay.
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Common questions
When was Correlli Barnett born and where did he die?
Correlli Douglas Barnett was born on the 28th of June 1927 in Norbury, County Borough of Croydon. He died in 2022 after serving as a fellow of Churchill College Cambridge until his death.
What military service did Correlli Barnett complete before becoming an author?
From 1945 to 1948, Correlli Barnett served in the British Army during the Palestine Emergency. He held the rank of sergeant within the Intelligence Corps and gained direct experience of military operations and intelligence gathering in a volatile region.
Which book by Correlli Barnett challenged the narrative about World War II commanders?
Correlli Barnett published The Desert Generals in 1960 to challenge the established narrative surrounding World War II commanders. The book attacked the perceived cult of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery while assessing the roles of his sacked predecessors including Richard O'Connor and Sir Claude Auchinleck.
Why did Correlli Barnett oppose the invasion of Iraq in 2003?
In early August 2002, Correlli Barnett wrote to The Daily Telegraph opposing the American plan of invading Iraq because he believed Saddam Hussein's Iraq posed no threat compared to Nazi Germany disrupting the balance of power in Europe. He argued that attacking a sovereign state without external aggression breached international law.
How did Correlli Barnett describe Margaret Thatcher's impact on Britain?
During the 2005 general election, Correlli Barnett spoke of Margaret Thatcher with deep respect for her transformative impact on the country. He recalled living under state socialism before she came to power and noted how she transformed the economy by abolishing exchange controls and liquidating the state sector of industry.