HC Deb 31 March 1969 vol 781 cc36-9
The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Fred Peart)

I am sure that I speak on behalf of all Members of this House in paying tribute to the late General Eisenhower. The House, too, will wish to extend its deep sympathy to Mrs. Eisenhower and the family.

General Eisenhower was, of course, above all a great American, who as a soldier was one of the principal architects of ultimate victory in the Second World War, and who later, as President, led his country through difficult years. He will also be remembered in many countries as the man who forged the unity of the Western Alliance; who, by his tact, humanity and genius for organisation, welded into a single team the troops of the many nations who made up that Alliance.

But it is primarily to a great friend of this country, and one to whom we all remain profoundly indebted, that I wish to pay tribute today. General Eisenhower shared with us the trials and difficulties of those grim war years, from 1942 onwards. He remained with us as the scales gradually tilted in our favour; and, of course, he had an outstanding rôle in the preparations, on these islands, which led to the tremendous events of D-Day and the liberation of Europe. He saw, as we did, the menace that hung over us; he shared to the full those ideals for which we were fighting. He won the respect and affection of all those with whom he worked.

Mr. Speaker, there must be many Members of this House—and many men and women throughout the country in all walks of life—who cherish warm personal memories of him, and to whom his death has come as a personal loss. I personally once had the privilege of meeting him, in January. 1962, when I was a member of a Parliamentary delegation which included my right hon. Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition, and many other colleagues—including my hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Mr. David Griffiths).

As the House will recall, in 1945 the British people paid tribute to General Eisenhower when he received the Freedom of the City of London. I can think of no way in which the country as a whole could then have done more honour to him than that. As Leader of the House of Commons, I am proud today to express on behalf of all right hon. and hon. Members this tribute to a great American who did so much for the free world.

Mr. Maudling

I wish to associate my right hon. and hon. Friends and myself with the tribute which the Leader of the House has paid to the late General Eisenhower and also to extend our sympathy to the family. The whole world has felt a sense of loss, as is only too evident. We in this country have a special reason for gratitude to the late General Eisenhower for the part he played in the war which liberated us from such appalling prospects.

General Eisenhower's career was a great one. He started from no remarkable origins and rose to the top, in a country where competition is very fierce, by personal qualities and served his people both as general and as politician—a rather unusual if not unique combination.

I think that, above all, what we will recall is not the career of the man but his quality, his ability, his integrity, his humility and his likeableness. He was known to the whole world as "Ike". All of us in all walks of life who did not know him—and I did not know him—nevertheless knew him as "Ike", despite the fact that he was for many years the most powerful man in the world. I think that he would above all like to be remembered as a representative of all that is best in the American people, the most powerful people in the world, generous of spirit and simple in their approach—people, at their best, of simple faith, of great courage and great determination. It is, therefore, meet that the House of Commons should pay this tribute of respect to a great man.

Mr. Thorpe

May I associate my right hon. and hon. Friends and myself with the tributes paid by the Leader of the House and the right hon. Member for Barnet (Mr. Maudling), particularly with their expression of sympathy to the late General Eisenhower's family.

As the Leader of the House said, General Eisenhower was a staunch friend of this country both in war and in peace. Just as Churchill welded together the people of many nations who were either invaded or under threat of invasion to carry on the fight against the Nazis, so Eisenhower welded together in North Africa and Europe the fighting forces of many countries. He did so not simply because he was a military genius, but because—more important—he was a man of very great humanity and integrity and a man who sought to understand and appreciate the views of his allies.

Indeed, General Eisenhower enjoyed the trust of leaders as diverse as Franklin D. Roosevelt, de Gaulle and Churchill, and the unswerving loyalty of generals as controversial—perhaps one could even say idiosyncratic—as Patton and Montgomery. The fact that he gained their trust was a measure of his success, and I think that his success could be judged against the experience in the First World War; for many of the military disasters of the First World War could be attributed to divided leadership in the field.

General Eisenhower's successes and disappointments during his Presidency must never obscure his attempts in the Middle East and the Far East to remove the causes of war. Perhaps his greatest political success was to remove much of the political bitterness which had overtaken American public life.

There is a statue in London of Marshal Foch and on the plinth there is the inscription: I am conscious of having served Britain as I served my own country. I believe that that would be an appropriate epitaph to Eisenhower from the people of this country. Therefore, we salute him today as a good man great in his simplicity who will be mourned as much by the people of this country as by the people of his own.

Mr. Turton

Perhaps I may add merely these few words from the back benches. As a commander-in-chief, General Eisenhower always appeared to have the great qualities of a politician. When he became President and statesman, he appeared to have the qualities of a soldier. I think, as the right hon. Member for Devon, North (Mr. Thorpe) said, that this paradox arose from the fact that General Eisenhower had in him the great power to generate unity. It was because of that power and as a result of that power that nations and armies were brought together both in war and in peace. It was because of that power and as a result of that power that we as a nation, and we Members of Parliament, are drawn so much more closely to America, and it is for that reason that today we mourn one who was a distinguished American and a great friend of this country.