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A forgotten figure of history branded a traitor for seeking peace.
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquis of Lansdowne, was a man of tremendous conviction.
One hundred years ago today The Daily Telegraph printed a letter, which The Times had refused to print, suggesting that peace with Germany was better than continuing to kill millions of men in the First World War.
Unlike many of our current politicians he had the courage to surrender his reputation by saying what he thought was correct, even though he knew it would bring an end to his political career. He sacrificed both (reputation and career) for his beliefs.
He refused to back down from his beliefs saying "They may call me a coward and a traitor, I don't mind in the least, I should have been a coward and a traitor to my country, if I had held my tongue, feeling that we were...only going on blindly slaughtering Germans, and having the best of our country either maimed or slaughtered and not really advancing a bit".
With hindsight he had a point, especially regarding what happened later at the Versailles Treaty.
A man of true conviction who deserves a better place in history than he has, and a shining beacon for the lickspittle MPs (and some local councillors) we currently have.