Paul Addison

Paul Addison
Portrait photograph
Born	(1943-05-03)3 May 1943 Whittington, Staffordshire,England
Died	21 January 2020(2020-01-21)(aged 76) Edinburgh,Scotland
Alma mater	University of Oxford
Spouse	Rosy Sheehan ​ (m.1979)​
Children	2
Academic career
Discipline	Political history
Sub-discipline	20th Century Britain andWorld War II
Institutions	University of Edinburgh
Notable works	The Road to 1945(1975)
Doctoral advisor	A.J.P. Taylor
Notable students	Gordon Brown

Paul Addison,FRSE(bornPaul Addison Wilson Walker) (3 May 1943 – 21 January 2020) was a British historian known for his research on thepolitical historyof Britain during theSecond World Warand the post-war period. Addison was part of the first generation of academic historians to study the conflict and is most notable forThe Road to 1945(1975) which traced the origins of thepost-war consensusinto the wartime period.

Early life

Paul Addison was born inWhittington,nearLichfield,inStaffordshireon 3 May 1943.His father was a Native American soldier in theUnited States Armywho was posted in the country as part of the preparations for the "Second Front"during theSecond World War.He had no contact with Addison after his birth. He was instead brought up by his mother, Pauline Wilson Walker, who served as aLand Girlduring the conflict.

Addison attended theKing Edward VI Grammar Schoolin Litchfield and subsequently studied at theUniversity of Oxford.He completed his undergraduate degree atPembroke Collegebefore moving toNuffield Collegeas a postgraduate. Alongside his studies, he assistedRandolph Churchillin preparing the papers of the late premierWinston Churchillfor publication alongside other research studentsMartin Gilbert(1936-2015) andCameron Hazlehurst.

Along with his contemporaryAngus Calder(1942–2008), Addison was among the first of a new generation of academic historians to examine the history of the Second World War critically without having personally experienced it. His doctoral studies addressed political opposition to theChurchill war ministryand was supervised byA.J.P. Taylor.Addison gained aD.Philin 1971.

The Road to 1945

Addison's first book wasThe Road to 1945which was published withJonathan Capein 1975. It has been described as "a landmark in the writing of contemporary history" in Britain.It followed the publication of Calder's influentialThe People's War(1969) but focused more narrowly on the causes of the landslide victory of theLabour Partyin the1945 general election.He wrote:

All three parties went to the polls in 1945 committed to principles of social and economic reconstruction which their leaders had endorsed as members of theCoalition.A massive new middle ground had emerged in politics. [...] When Labour swept to victory in 1945 the new consensus fell, like a branch of ripe plums, into the lap ofMr Attlee.

Addison's argument was that the "post-war consensus"reflected an ideological convergence which had occurred during the Second World War itself. He consisted that bothConservativeand Labour parties had broadly converged on the need for amanaged economy,limitednationalisation,and awelfare statein this period.The Road to 1945was influential in framing the arguments in thepolitical historyof the Second World War in the United Kingdom.

Later work

Addison lectured at Pembroke College, Oxford before moving to theUniversity of Edinburghin 1967.He remained at Edinburgh for most of his career. He published several further works on British politics during the wartime and post-war periods. These included two noted biographies ofWinston Churchill,namelyChurchill on the Home Front(1992) andChurchill: The Unexpected Hero(2005).

From 1996, he was director of the Centre for Second World War Studies in Edinburgh. He worked alongsideJeremy Crangon a series of works exploring "the key role of propaganda, information and the state’s monitoring of civilian morale during the war" as well as theBlitz.He retired in 2005 and became a fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburghin 2006.

Addison's students at Edinburgh included the future prime ministerGordon Brownwho provided a tribute at Addison's funeral.It has been argued that Addison's influence led to Brown's decision to raise the top rate ofincome taxabout 40% during his premiership.

Personal life and death

Addison married Rosy Sheehan in 1979, and they had two children. He died from lung cancer at theRoyal Infirmary of Edinburghon 21 January 2020, aged 76.

Selected publications

• The Road to 1945,Jonathan Cape, 1975,ISBN978-0-7126-5932-1
• Now the War is Over: A Social History of Britain, 1945-1951,Jonathan Cape, 1985,ISBN978-0-224-02325-2
• Churchill on the Home Front,Jonathan Cape, 1992,ISBN978-0-224-01428-1
• Time to Kill: The Soldier's Experience of War in the West 1939-1945,Paul Addison,Angus Caldered., Pimlico, 1997,ISBN0-7126-7376-8
• The Burning Blue: A New History of the Battle of Britain,Paul Addison, Jeremy Crang ed., Pimlico, 2000,ISBN978-0-7126-6475-2
• Churchill: The Unexpected Hero,Oxford University Press, 2005,ISBN978-0-19-927934-0
• Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945,Pimlico, Paul Addison, Jeremy Crang ed., Pimlico, 2006,ISBN978-1-84413-928-6
• A Companion to Contemporary Britain, 1939-2000,Paul Addison, Harriet Jones ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2007,ISBN978-1-4051-6730-7
• Winston Churchill,Oxford University Press, 2007,ISBN978-0-19-921757-1
• No Turning Back: The Peacetime Revolutions of Post-War Britain,Oxford University Press, 2010,ISBN978-0-19-219267-7

Sources

• Morgan, Kenneth O.(2024). "Addison, Paul (1943–2020), historian".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000381737.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
• Crang, Jeremy (4 March 2020)."Paul Addison obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved6 March2020.
• Wood, Ian S. (12 February 2020)."Paul Addison, internationally-noted historian and biographer of Winston Churchill".The Scotsman.Retrieved7 March2020.
• "Paul Addison obituary".The Times.23 March 2020.Retrieved4 June2021.