Did the League Against Cruel Sports hold its Inaugural Meeting in November 1924?

Claim: The League Against Cruel Sports, then named the League for Prohibition of Cruel Sports, held its inaugural meeting in November 1924, during which a resolution opposing hunting for sport was adopted, and the founding philosophy of the League was established.

Verdict: False.

Context

As part of its centenary celebrations, the League Against Cruel Sports has repeatedly claimed that its inaugural meeting took place in November 1924. However, inconsistencies in their own materials cast doubt on this assertion.

In March 2024 the League Against Cruel Sports published a commemorative booklet 100 Years of the League that states that the inaugural meeting occurred on 25 November 1924, while the Spring 2024 edition of the League Against Cruel Sports Protect magazine claims it happened on 19 November 1924.

Despite these assertions, no verifiable evidence supports the existence of a meeting on either date. A detailed search of UK newspapers reveals no record of such a meeting in 1924. Instead, multiple sources document an inaugural public meeting held a year later, on 25 November 1925.

Analysis

The Claim

The 100 Years of the League booklet attributes the following statement to Sir George Greenwood, allegedly made at the 1924 meeting:

“This inaugural public meeting registers its empathetic protest against all sports of hunting an animal to death for human pleasure and calls upon the Government to introduce legislation to prohibit such sports.”

The booklet also describes stag hunters interrupting the meeting but provides no references or documentation for these events.

Lack of Evidence for a 1924 Meeting

1. No Contemporary Newspaper Reports:
   A comprehensive search of UK newspapers from November 1924, including national and regional publications, reveals no record of a public meeting for the League for Prohibition of Cruel Sports¹ on 25 November 1924—or any other date that year. This absence is significant, as meetings of this nature, particularly those involving prominent figures like Sir George Greenwood, would have been widely reported in the press.
2. Contradictory Timeline:
   The League for Prohibition of Cruel Sports was first referenced publicly in 1925. The earliest mention of the organisation by name appears in a letter from co-founder Henry B. Amos, published in the The Evening Telegraph (Dundee) on 18 March 1925².

Evidence of the 1925 Meeting

1. Extensive Media Coverage of the 1925 Meeting:
   Multiple newspapers reported on a public meeting held by the League on 25 November 1925 at Church House, Westminster. Many of these referred to it as the inaugural meeting:
   • Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian (25 November 1925, p. 6): “A campaign for the ‘prohibition of all cruel sports’… is to be inaugurated at a public meeting to-night, at the Church House, Westminster.”³
   • Daily Herald (26 November 1925, p. 1): “… at the inaugural meeting, in the Church House, Westminster, last night, of the League for Prohibition of Cruel Sports.”⁴
   • The Daily Chronicle (26 November 1925, p. 7): “To protest against all sports which involved hunting animals to death, such as rabbit-coursing, otter hunting and deer hunting, the inaugural meeting of the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports was held at Church House, Westminster, yesterday.”⁵
   • South Gloucestershire Gazette (28 November 1925, p. 6): “A campaign for the prohibition of all cruel sports… was inaugurated at a public meeting at Church House, Westminster.”⁶
2. Exact Wording of the Resolution:
   The Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian provided the text of the resolution passed at the meeting, which closely matches the statement attributed to George Greenwood in the 1924 claim: “That inaugural public meeting of the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports registers an emphatic protest against all sports of hunting an animal to death for human pleasure, and calls upon the Government to introduce… legislation to prohibit such sports…”⁷
3. Timing of the League’s Activities:
   Prior to November 1925, the League had engaged in groundwork, including forming its committee and preparing its campaign materials. However, no public meetings or official resolutions are documented before this date.

Conclusion

The claim that the League Against Cruel Sports held its inaugural meeting on 25 November 1924 is demonstrably false. There is no evidence to support the occurrence of such a meeting in 1924. Instead, extensive primary evidence confirms that the inaugural public meeting took place on 25 November 1925 at Church House, Westminster. The resolution attributed to the supposed 1924 meeting was, in fact, passed at the 1925 meeting.

Verdict

False. The League Against Cruel Sports did not hold an inaugural meeting in November 1924. The first public meeting occurred a year later, in November 1925.

1. In its early days, the organisation was referred to in press releases and publications as the “League for Prohibition of Cruel Sports,” omitting the definite article “the.” It later standardised its name as the “League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports,” which became its formal title. ↩︎
2. The Evening Telegraph (Dundee), 18 March 1925, p. 2 ↩︎
3. Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian, 25 November 1925, p. 6 ↩︎
4. Daily Herald, 26 November 1925, p. 1 ↩︎
5. The Daily Chronicle, 26 November 1925, p. 7 ↩︎
6. South Gloucestershire Gazette, 28 November 1925, p. 6 ↩︎
7. Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian, 25 November 1925, p. 6 ↩︎