The Papers of the RT. HON. REGINALD McKENNA (1863-1943)

Introduction

Curriculum Vitae

Personal

Public

Education Board

Admiralty

Home Office

Exchequer

General

Fisher Correspondence

Later Career

They have been arranged in this list in three main groups:

Personal (1)

Public (2-5)

General (6 & 7)

Because the private correspondence of Admiral Lord Fisher with Mr. and Mrs. McKenna covers the entire period and a wide range of subjects, it has been placed in the general group instead of the Admiralty papers. Otherwise the arrangement is chronological.

<p>A more detailed calendar of Listed Correspondence in MCKN. (MCKN 2-15) is available on request from the Churchill Archives Centre.</p>

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge. Individual closures of files are indicated in the catalogue. Churchill Archives Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. A prior appointment and two forms of identification are required.

The papers of Reginald McKenna were deposited at Churchill College in 1966 by his son, Mr. David McKenna. They were received in two official boxes. One, McKenna's official despatch box, contained most of the Admiralty papers. The contents of this box had been listed, probably by the historical section of the Admiralty, in 1912, and a printed list (3/1) was included. The other box was a tin one used by McKenna at the Home Office. It contained all the Fisher letters (6), about five bundles of the Admiralty papers and everything else included in this list. Although the contents of this box had not been listed, the individual envelopes were marked quite clearly according to the contents. Any errors in the contents could usually be attributed to misplacement during the use made of these papers by scholars before they reached the College.

The most important part of MacKenna's political career was confined to the nine years between April 1908, when he became First Lord of the Admiralty, and December 1916 when he resigned the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. These papers are only complete for the four years when he was First Lord. Many of the papers listed here seem to have been preserved at the request of Mrs. McKenna and it seems unlikely that any other papers have survived.

1863 Born in London of an Irish family.

1887 Called to the bar by the Inner Temple.

1892 Liberal candidate for Clapham.

1895 M.P. for North Monmouthshire.

1905 Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

1907 President of Board of Education.

1908 First Lord of Admiralty.

1911 Home Secretary.

1915 Chancellor of the Exchequer.

1916 Resigned Chancellorship.

1918 Lost seat at general election.

1919 Chairman of Midland Bank.

1922 Refused Chancellorship of Exchequer.

1943 Died in London. Buried at Mells, Somerset.