You are here: Home > Search the archives > DocumentsOnline > Research tools > Famous names in the First World War > John Buchan MP

Famous names in the First World War

John Buchan MP

Did you know that John Buchan, Scottish politician, diplomat, author and publisher, served in the First World War and his medal card is now available to view on DocumentsOnline?

John Buchan (1875 - 1940) was born in Perth, the son of a Free Church of Scotland minister. He was educated at the University of Glasgow and later at Brasenose College, Oxford. Buchan's first book, "Sir Quixote of the Moors" was published in 1896 whilst he was still studying at Brasenose College. During his time at Oxford, Buchan wrote a further four novels, and by the age of 25 he had written and published a total of eight books.

After graduating, Buchan read for the Bar and worked as an author and journalist, contributing to Blackwood's Magazine, before joining the staff of Lord Milner, High Commissioner to South Africa, in 1901.

You can view his 1901 census return, 1901 Census return for John Buchan

He spent the next two years working on the reconstruction of South Africa following the Boer War, before returning to London in 1903, by this time having formed a strong sympathy for the British Imperialist cause.

Back in London, Buchan worked as a barrister and continued his writing career, publishing numerous short stories and works of non-fiction. In 1907 he was made a director of the publishing firm Thomas Nelson and Son. He married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor the same year. In 1910 Buchan published "Prester John", a book based on his experiences in South Africa.

Buchan's Army Career

Medal index card for John Buchan (Catalogue reference: WO 372)

John Buchan's Victory and British War Medal entitlement (Catalogue reference: WO 329/2305)

During World War One, Buchan worked for the British War Propaganda Bureau and as a war correspondent for The Times, before joining the Intelligence Corps in France. It was during the first few months of the war that, whilst confined to a bed and recovering from illness, Buchan wrote his most famous novel, "The Thirty-Nine Steps", which was subsequently published in 1915.

In September 1914, at the beginning of the conflict, Buchan was hired by the Head of the War Propaganda Bureau, Charles Masterman, to write a publication entitled "The History of the War". This monthly magazine, published by Buchan's own company, Thomas Nelson, first appeared in 1915, to promote the British cause. The profits, including Buchan's own royalties, were donated to war charities.

As might be expected, Buchan's account of the war was heavily biased in favour of the British Government, and it is generally recognised that "The History of the War" was at best over-optimistic in its reporting of events on the Western Front. In 1915, readers were reliably informed that the Germans were on the verge of defeat, with an estimated loss of over 1,300,000 German soldiers compared to a loss of only 100,000 British lives.

In the spring of 1915, Buchan became one of five journalists attached to the British Army, responsible for writing articles for both The Times and the Daily News. The War Propaganda Bureau produced over 1160 pamphlets during the war, and as John Buchan continued to work closely with Charles Masterman, he wrote articles including "Britain's Land War" in 1915, and "The Battle of the Somme" in 1916.

In his pamphlet "The Battle of the Somme", Buchan described the offensive as being so successful that it marked "the end of trench fighting and the beginning of the campaign in the open". In reality, the first day of fighting had seen more than 57,000 British casualties and has been described elsewhere as "the blackest day in the history of the British Army".

In June 1916, the British Army recruited Buchan to draft communiqués for Sir Douglas Haig and other members of the General Headquarters staff. Based in France and given the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps, he received both the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. This entitlement can be seen on his Medal Index Card shown below:

To view the original Medal Rolls (held at The National Archives in the series WO 329), you will need to use the "Key to the Medal Rolls". This converts the Army Medal Office reference found on the index card (in this case Off 145) into a WO 329 document reference. They show the entitlement for each of the medals. You can view the WO 329 entries for John Buchan below:

There is a research guide available on propaganda in the Catalogue: British Propaganda in the 20th Century. It includes information on the First World War.

At the end of World War One, John Buchan became Assistant Director of British news agency Reuters, and then in 1927 was elected Member of Parliament for the Scottish Universities. He held this position until 1935.

His literary career continued to flourish during this period; he wrote a novel a year between 1922 and 1936, produced biographies on James Graham (1928) and Sir Walter Scott (1932), and studies of General Gordon (1934) and Oliver Cromwell (1934).

In 1933 Buchan was selected as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland which he held until 1935, when he was made Baron Tweedsmuir and appointed Governor-General of Canada.

He remained there, and continued to serve as Governor General of Canada until his death in Canada on 12 February 1940. His last novel, "Sick Heart River", was published posthumously (in 1941). In all, Buchan produced over 30 novels, 7 short story collections, and almost 100 assorted works of non-fiction during his lifetime. He received several honours in recognition of his literary and political work, including honorary degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Oxford.

John Buchan is one of the 32 million names you can search on the 1901 Census for England and Wales which is ideal for researching your family tree. You can also discover your house history by using the Address Search.

Read about other famous names in the First World War: