Arthur Ponsonby Quotes

Arthur Ponsonby was a British politician, writer, and social activist. Ponsonby is often quoted as the author of the dictum "When war is declared, truth is the first casualty", published in his book Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, before joining the Diplomatic Service and taking assignments in Constantinople and Copenhagen. At the 1906 general election, Ponsonby stood unsuccessfully as Liberal candidate for Taunton. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Stirling Burghs at a by-election of 1908. In May 1940 Ponsonby resigned from the Labour Party, opposing its decision to join the new coalition government of Winston Churchill. He wrote a biography of his father which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1942: Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria's Private Secretary: His Life and Letters.