Winston Field

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:infobox|infoboxTemplate | bodyclass = vcard | bodystyle = {{#if:|width: {{{mainwidth}}}}} | child = {{{embed}}}

| abovestyle = font-size: 100%;

| above = {{#if:The Honourable|

The Honourable

}}

{{#if:Winston Field|Winston Field|Template:PAGENAMEBASE}}

{{#if:Template:Post-nominals|

Template:Post-nominals

}}

| subheaderstyle = font-size:125%; font-weight:bold;

| subheader = {{#ifeq:{{{embed}}}|yes||{{#if:|{{#if:|

}}{{{native_name}}}{{#if:|

}}}}}}

| image = {{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image=Winston Field 1960.jpg|size=|sizedefault=frameless|upright=1|alt=|suppressplaceholder=yes}} | image2 = {{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image=|size=|sizedefault=frameless|upright=1|alt=|suppressplaceholder=yes}} | image3 = {{#invoke:InfoboxImage|InfoboxImage|image=|sizedefault=frameless|upright=1|alt=|suppressplaceholder=yes}} | captionstyle = line-height:normal;padding-top:0.2em; | caption{{#if:|3|{{#if:|2}}}} =

| headerstyle = color: #202122; {{#ifeq:{{{embed}}}|yes|background:#eee|background:lavender}}

| data1 = {{#if:| {{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}}}Template:Infobox officeholder/office{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| {{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}{{#if:|| Template:Infobox officeholder/office}}

| data2 = | header3 = {{#if:6 June 1904Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, United KingdomTemplate:Death date and ageSalisbury, RhodesiaRhodesian Front|Personal details}} | label4 = Pronunciation | data4 =

| label5 = Born | data5 = {{#invoke:Separated entries|br

|1 = {{#if:|

{{{birthname}}}

}}

|2 = 6 June 1904
|3 = Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, United Kingdom
}}

| label6 = Died | data6 = {{#invoke:Separated entries|br|Template:Death date and age|Salisbury, Rhodesia}}

| label7 = {{#ifexpr: Template:Strfind short

   | Manner |{{#if:|Manner|Cause}} }} of death

| data7 = {{#if:||}}

| label8 = Resting place | class8 = label | data8 = {{#invoke:Separated entries|br||}}

| label9 = Citizenship | data9 =

| label10 = Nationality | data10 = {{#switch:{{#invoke:delink|delink|}} | {{#ifeq:Template:Country2nationality|{{#invoke:delink|delink|}}|{{#invoke:delink|delink|}}}} = | {{#ifeq:Template:Find country|England|British}} = | #default = }}

| label11 = Political party | data11 = {{#switch:Rhodesian Front | = | Democrat | Democratic | Democrat = Democratic | Republican | United States Republican Party | Republican | Republican Party = Republican | Conservative Party | Conservative = Conservative | Labour Party | Labour = Labour | Conservative Party | Conservative = Conservative | Liberal Party | Liberal = Liberal | KMT | Kuomintang | KMT | KMT | Kuomintang | Kuomintang (KMT) | Kuomintang (KMT) = Kuomintang | DPP | DPP | Democratic Progressive Party = Democratic Progressive Party | #default = Rhodesian Front }}

| label12 = Other political
affiliations | data12 =

| label13 = Height | data13 = {{#if:|Template:Infobox person/height}}

| label14 = Spouse{{#if:|s|{{#invoke:Detect singular|pluralize||likely=(s)|plural=s}}}} | data14 =

| label15 = Domestic partner{{#invoke:Detect singular|pluralize||likely=(s)|plural=s}} | data15 =

| label16 = Relations | data16 =

| label17 = Children | data17 =

| label18 = Parent{{#if:|{{#invoke:Detect singular|pluralize||likely=(s)|plural=s}}|{{#ifexpr:Template:Count > 1|s}}}} | data18 = {{#if:|{{{parents}}}|{{#invoke:list|unbulleted|{{#if:|{{{father}}} (father)}}|{{#if:|{{{mother}}} (mother)}}}}}}

| label19 = Relatives | data19 =

| label20 = Residence{{#invoke:Detect singular|pluralize||likely=(s)|plural=s}} | class20 = {{#if:Template:Death date and ageSalisbury, Rhodesia||label}} | data20 =

| label21 = Education | data21 =

| label22 = Alma mater | data22 =

| label23 = Occupation | data23 =

| label24 = Profession | data24 =

| label25 = Known for | data25 =

| label26 = Salary | data26 =

| label27 = Cabinet | data27 =

| label28 = Committees | data28 =

| label29 = Portfolio | data29 =

| label30 = {{#if:|Civilian awards|Awards}} | data30 =

| label31 = {{{blank1}}} | data31 =

| label32 = {{{blank2}}} | data32 =

| label33 = {{{blank3}}} | data33 =

| label34 = {{{blank4}}} | data34 =

| label35 = {{{blank5}}} | data35 =

| label36 = Signature | data36 = {{#if:|[[File:{{{signature}}}|{{#if:|{{{signature_size}}}|128x80px}}|class=skin-invert|alt=|Winston Field's signature]]}}

| label37 = Website | data37 =

| label38 = Nickname{{#invoke:Detect singular|pluralize||likely=(s)|plural=s}} | data38 =

| header39 = {{#if:Template:Flag
Template:FlagRhodesian Army
British Army1940–1945MajorTemplate:Tree list

• Second World War
  • Normandy landings

Template:Tree list/end|Military service}}

| label40 = Allegiance | data40 = Template:Flag
Template:Flag

| label41 = {{#if:||Branch/service}} | data41 = Rhodesian Army
British Army

| label42 = {{#if:||Years of service}} | data42 = 1940–1945

| label43 = {{#if:||Rank}} | data43 = Major

| label44 = {{#if:||Unit}} | data44 =

| label45 = Commands | data45 =

| label46 = {{#if:||Battles/wars}} | data46 = Template:Tree list

• Second World War
  • Normandy landings

| label47 = {{#if:|Military awards|Awards}} | data47 =

| label48 = {{{military_blank1}}} | data48 =

| label49 = {{{military_blank2}}} | data49 =

| label50 = {{{military_blank3}}} | data50 =

| label51 = {{{military_blank4}}} | data51 =

| label52 = {{{military_blank5}}} | data52 =

| data53 = | data54 = | data55 = | data56 = | data57 = | data58 = | belowstyle = border-top: 1px solid right;

| below =

{{#if:| As of {{{date}}}{{#if:|, {{{year}}}}}}}

{{#if:|Source: [{{{source}}}]}}

}}{{#if:|{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}} }}{{#if:|{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}} }}{{#if:|{{#if:||{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}}}} }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox officeholder with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| regexp1 = 1blankname[%d]* | regexp2 = 1namedata[%d]* | regexp3 = 2blankname[%d]* | regexp4 = 2namedata[%d]* | regexp5 = 3blankname[%d]* | regexp6 = 3namedata[%d]* | regexp7 = 4blankname[%d]* | regexp8 = 4namedata[%d]* | regexp9 = 5blankname[%d]* | regexp10 = 5namedata[%d]* | allegiance | alma_mater | regexp11 = alongside[%d]* | alt | regexp12 = ambassador_from[%d]* | regexp13 = appointed[%d]* | regexp14 = appointer[%d]* | regexp15 = assembly[%d]* | awards | battles | battles_label | birth_date | birth_name | birth_place | birthname | regexp16 = blank[%d]* | bodyclass | branch | branch_label | cabinet | candidate | caption | categories | regexp17 = chancellor[%d]* | children | citizenship | regexp18 = co%-leader[%d]* | commands | committees | regexp19 = constituency[%d]* | regexp20 = constituency_AM[%d]* | regexp21 = constituency_MP[%d]* | regexp22 = convocation[%d]* | regexp23 = country[%d]* | regexp24 = data[%d]* | date | death_cause | death_date | death_manner | death_place | demo | regexp25 = deputy[%d]* | regexp26 = district[%d]* | education | election_date | embed | father | regexp28 = firstminister[%d]* | footnotes | regexp29 = governor[%d]* | regexp30 = governor_general[%d]* | regexp31 = governor%-general[%d]* | height | honorific_prefix | honorific-prefix | honorific_suffix | honorific-suffix | image | image name | image_name_alt | image_size | imagesize | image_upright | incumbent | regexp32 = jr/sr[%d]* | regexp33 = jr/sr and state[%d]* | known_for | regexp34 = leader[%d]* | regexp35 = legislature[%d]* | regexp36 = lieutenant[%d]* | regexp37 = lieutenant_governor[%d]* | mainwidth | regexp38 = majority[%d]* | regexp39 = majority_floor_leader[%d]* | regexp40 = majority_leader[%d]* | regexp41 = majorityleader[%d]* | mawards | regexp42 = military_blank[%d]* | regexp43 = military_data[%d]* | regexp44 = minister[%d]* | regexp45 = minister_from[%d]* | regexp46 = minority_floor_leader[%d]* | regexp47 = minority_leader[%d]* | regexp48 = minorityleader[%d]* | regexp49 = module[%d]* | regexp50 = monarch[%d]* | mother | name | nationality | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nocat | regexp51 = nominator[%d]* | nominee | occupation | regexp52 = office[%d]* | opponent | regexp53 = order[%d]* | otherparty | parents | regexp54 = parliament[%d]* | regexp55 = parliamentarygroup[%d]* | partner | party | party_election | portfolio | regexp56 = preceded[%d]* | regexp57 = preceding[%d]* | regexp58 = predecessor[%d]* | regexp59 = premier[%d]* | regexp60 = president[%d]* | regexp61 = primeminister[%d]* | regexp62 = prior_term[%d]* | profession | pronunciation | rank | rank_label | relations | relatives | residence | resting_place | resting_place_coordinates | restingplace | restingplacecoordinates | regexp63 = riding[%d]* | runningmate | salary | serviceyears | serviceyears_label | signature | signature_alt | signature_size | smallimage | smallimage_alt | source | speaker | speaker_office | spouse | spouses | regexp64 = state[%d]* | regexp65 = state_assembly[%d]* | regexp66 = state_delegate[%d]* | regexp67 = state_house[%d]* | regexp68 = state_legislature[%d]* | regexp69 = state_senate[%d]* | regexp70 = status[%d]* | regexp71 = suboffice[%d]* | regexp72 = subterm[%d]* | regexp73 = succeeded[%d]* | regexp74 = succeeding[%d]* | regexp75 = successor[%d]* | regexp76 = taoiseach[%d]* | regexp77 = term[%d]* | regexp78 = term_end[%d]* | regexp79 = term_label[%d]* | regexp80 = term_start[%d]* | regexp81 = termend[%d]* | regexp82 = termlabel[%d]* | regexp83 = termstart[%d]* | regexp84 = title[%d]* | unit | unit_label | regexp85 = vicegovernor[%d]* | regexp86 = vicepremier[%d]* | regexp87 = vicepresident[%d]* | regexp88 = viceprimeminister[%d]* | regexp89 = assuming[%d]* | website | width | year }} Winston Joseph Field Template:Post-nominals (6 June 1904 – 17 March 1969) was a British politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia. Field was a former Dominion Party MP who founded the Rhodesian Front political party with Ian Smith.

Early life

Field was born and raised in Bromsgrove and attended Bromsgrove School as a day student, in Worcestershire, England, and moved to Southern Rhodesia at the age of 17 in 1921. A tobacco farmer near Marandellas (now known as Marondera), in Mashonaland East, Field was President of the powerful Rhodesian Tobacco Association from 1938 to 1940, when he left for military service during the Second World War.<ref name="Bodleian">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Initially enlisting in the Rhodesian Forces as a sergeant, he was court-martialled and demoted to the rank of private for striking a subordinate.<ref name="Bulletin">Template:Cite journal</ref> Field then transferred to the British Forces, joining the Worcestershire Regiment as a Second Lieutenant from 1941, served in the D-Day Normandy landings in 1944, and ended the war with the rank of Major in the 6th Durham Light Infantry.<ref name="Bulletin"/><ref name="Bodleian"/><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Early political career

Field was first elected to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Assembly for Mrewa in a 1957 by-election under the Dominion Party ticket. The Federation Minister of Justice, Julian Greenfield, found him "somewhat impulsive and opinionated but entirely straightforward".Template:Citation needed

When the Rhodesian Front was founded in early-1962 by Ian Smith and Douglas "Boss" Lilford; a very wealthy right-wing tobacco farmer, they needed an establishment figurehead and Field was chosen. He was a solid, trustworthy figure and no racist, even though "nearly everyone else in the new party was to the right of him".<ref>Holderness H. 'Last Chance – Southern Rhodesia 1945–1958' Harare 1985</ref> His wife said "he didn't really want to take it on, he wasn't really a political animal".<ref>Zimbabwe National Archives – oral recording with Barbara Field 1971</ref>

Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia

The "imperious and intolerant"<ref name=Godwin>Rhodesians Never Die, Godwin, P. & Hancock, I., 1995. Baobab Books, Harare, Zimbabwe.</ref> Field was elected, to his and many others' surprise, as Rhodesia's first Rhodesian Front Prime Minister at the 1962 general election and served until he was replaced by Ian Smith in 1964. Field lent an air of respectability to the Rhodesian Front government, though his Cabinet was derided by one newspaper as "by no means an inspiring list".<ref>'Daily News' 18 December 1962</ref> Broader afield, the Australian journal The Bulletin noted of Field that "those who know him best do not for a moment suppose that Winston Field has been slow to attract attention because he is personally diffident or lacking in character. On the contrary, they see him as a man of cold reserve, not softened by his past defeats, not at all intimidated by the terrible power over other men’s lives now put into his hands by the white voters of Southern Rhodesia."<ref name="Bulletin"/>

At the time of Field's election, it was assumed that the UK would delay the process of independence for Rhodesia until "an African majority assumed power in Salisbury".<ref name=Godwin /> Many in the Rhodesian Front felt that Field did not fight hard enough for independence, in particular that the British had hoodwinked him on visits to London in June 1963 and January 1964 over promises of independence. His relatively short tenure in office saw the dissolution of the Central African Federation on 31 December 1963, though he did win the majority of the Federation's military and other assets for Southern Rhodesia.

Field's Cabinet included John Gaunt, a former Federal MP for Lusaka and a former District Commissioner in Northern Rhodesia. Aware of discontent in Cabinet fomented by Gaunt, Field demanded his resignation in the spring of 1964. Gaunt asked him to wait over the weekend whilst he cleared up some matters in his office. In that time, Gaunt and Smith organised a plot against Field, now seen as ineffectual after his failure to win independence. Ken Flower, head of Rhodesia's Central Intelligence Organisation, an organisation Field had ordered be set up, had in fact warned him sometime previously there was a conspiracy against him, involving several of his ministers.<ref>Ken Flower – Serving Secretly 1987</ref>

The caucus of the Rhodesian Front decided to ask for his resignation on 2 April 1964 and the decision was conveyed to Field the next day, though the formal demand was not made until a Cabinet meeting a few days later. Field was replaced as leader of the Rhodesian Front and as Prime Minister of Rhodesia by Ian Smith on 14 April 1964, despite the Governor Sir Humphrey Gibbs urging him to fight against the rebels in his party.<ref>Young K. 'Rhodesia and Independence' London 1967 Page 106</ref>

Later life

Field retired from parliament at the May 1965 election, at which the Rhodesian Front under Ian Smith was returned with a greater majority, and was succeeded in his Marandellas seat by David Smith.<ref name="Bodleian"/>

Field died at the age of 64 in Salisbury, Rhodesia, in 1969.<ref name="Bodleian"/> On his death, Clifford Dupont, serving as Officer Administering the Government since Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, observed: "Some day the story will be told of how much this country owes to Mr. Winston Field, who devoted his whole life to the good of Rhodesia. I, myself, have lost a friend, and I join Rhodesians everywhere in mourning the passing of this great patriot."<ref name="Commentary">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Honours

	Retention of The Honourable for life.	19 May 1964<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg	Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)	QB 1962<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
File:Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.svg	Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE; Military Division)	1944