And I love Churchill’s comment to them in the Beeley transcription that Ardis posted. When Mr. Houston asked again about Germany expelling the Mormons, then asked if “the right hon. Gentleman” was aware that rioting and conflict in the north of England would escalate if something were not done, Churchill dryly replied, “That does not arise out of a question about Mormonism in Germany.”

It’s nice to know that he resisted piling on and joining the mob mentality.

They can do a great many things by police action in Germany which we cannot do in this country, and to do which I do not propose to ask the House to give me powers.

The members of the House of Commons quoted here come off a bit like Monty Python’s Upper Class Twits.

In 1904, Elder Hugh B. Brown, a brand new missionary, was sent to Cambridge, in East Anglia. His mission president said “You might be interested to know that the last Mormon elders in Cambridge were driven out by a mob at the point of a gun. And he was told that the next Mormon elder that came to town would be shot on sight. I thought you’d be glad to know that.” His wry comment, 60 years or so later, was that he wasn’t glad to know that, but thought it well that he did. He describes the reception they received when they arrived in Cambridge, which is consistent with what Ardis writes. The story is here, beginning at about 42 minutes. (But, listen to the whole talk–it’s well worth the hour!)

Adding to the interesting mix were Britain’s royal family ties to Germany before WWI (when Mountbatten was Battenberg), and Churchill’s maternal family ties to Palmyra, New York.

Thanks for this very interesting post, Ardis, and for your absolutely workhorse devotion to selecting and relaying the relevant reports, and then transcribing the Beeley pamphlet. That’s how serious history is done!