Neville Chamberlain was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom before World War II. When Nazi Germany occuped Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain attended a conference in Munich intended to solve the crisis in a peaceful manner. However, George Limb opined that Chamberlain and the rest of the Allies allowed Adolf Hitler to step all over them which exemplified their lack of resolve. After the conference, Chamerlain returned to Britain where he made the announcement, "I have in my hand a piece of paper..." (PROSE: Illegal Alien [+]Mike Tucker and Robert Perry, adapted from Illegal Alien, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1997).) which promised that there would be "peace in our time." (PROSE: One Wednesday Afternoon [+]Alison Jacobs, Short Trips: A Day in the Life (Short Trips short stories, 2005).)
However, Chamberlain's attempts to keep the peace in Europe were unsuccessful. Hitler invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, triggering World War II. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus [+]Terrance Dicks, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1991)., Just War [+]Lance Parkin, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996)., AUDIO: Neverland [+]Alan Barnes, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2002)., Just War [+]Jacqueline Rayner, adapted from Just War (Lance Parkin), Bernice Summerfield: Single Releases (Big Finish Productions, 1999).) Chamberlain had some oversight over the Torchwood Institute, and notably signed off on the idea a training base that used animated mannequins as targets. (PROSE: Risk Assessment [+]James Goss, BBC Torchwood novels (BBC Books, 2009).)
Chamberlain was succeeded as Prime Minster by Winston Churchill who led Britain during the war. (TV: The Beast Below [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 5 (BBC One, 2010)., Victory of the Daleks [+]Mark Gatiss, Doctor Who series 5 (BBC One, 2010)., The Pandorica Opens [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 5 (BBC One, 2010)., PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass [+]Justin Richards and Stephen Cole, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2001)., Magic of the Angels [+]Jacqueline Rayner, Quick Reads (BBC Books, 2012)., COMIC: The Instruments of War [+]Mike Collins, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2014-2015)., AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure [+]Terrance Dicks, adapted from The Ultimate Adventure (Terrance Dicks), The Stageplays (Big Finish Productions, 2008)., Old Soldiers [+]Simon Gerard and Colin Hill, Sontarans (BBV Productions, 2000).)
The Fifth Doctor opined that Chamberlain was ultimately wrong in the Munich decisions but, as he was trying to maintain peace, he was wrong for the right reasons, and for that the Doctor sympathised with him. Stan and Peggy Garratt named their son after Chamberlain. (PROSE: One Wednesday Afternoon [+]Alison Jacobs, Short Trips: A Day in the Life (Short Trips short stories, 2005).)
Behind the scenes[]
- He was played by Roger Brierley in the miniseries Mosley, Christopher Good in Dunkirk, Roger Parrott in The King's Speech and Ronald Pickup in Darkest Hour.
- The voice of the character Atrias was based on that of Neville Chamberlain by voice actor Ian Crowe. Despite Atrias' non-exemplary leadership, Crowe did not intent to imply that Chamberlain was a coward. (BFX: Daughter of the Gods [+]David K Barnes, The Early Adventures (Big Finish Productions, 2019).)
- Timewyrm: Exodus [+]Terrance Dicks, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1991). references real-world Nazi plans, discovered after World War II, to arrest many significant British figures during Operation Sealion. Known as The Black Book in real life, Chamberlain was on that list. However, he died in November 1940.