GOV.UK
Sir Edward Grey and the First World War: the unmaking of a Foreign Secretary
On the day Sir Edward Grey received the seals of office from Edward VII – 11 December 1905 - a dense fog hung over London. It was so thick that …
Dr Richard Smith
Dr Richard Smith, Senior Historian at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and an editor of Documents on British Policy Overseas.
https://www.facebook.com/FCOHistorians
https://twitter.com/FCOHistorians
Hugh O’Beirne and the sinking of HMS Hampshire: a diplomat remembered
The death of Lord Kitchener, who drowned when HMS Hampshire sank just off the Orkney’s north-west coast on 5 June 1916, came as a profound shock to the nation. The Secretary of State for War was the public face of …
Sir Edward Grey: a fitting tribute
For almost 80 years the distinguished profile of Sir Edward Grey has looked on as the great and the good have made their way in and out of the ‘Ambassador’s Entrance’ of the Foreign Office. But how did this memorial …
Wartime in Paris: an Ambassador tweets
Dr Richard Smith reveals an exciting new Twitter project by the FCO Historians In 1914 Sir Francis Bertie held the plum posting in the British Diplomatic Service—the ambassadorship to Paris. Not only did it carry a yearly salary of £11,500 …
If Twitter had existed in 1914: tweeting a crisis
Diplomacy, and the Foreign Office, played a key role as events unfolded in the run-up to the First World War. For this reason FCO Historians wanted to mark the event but in an innovative way, and joined up with the Digital …
‘The lamps are going out…’: tweeting the July Crisis
Sunday 28 June 1914 was warm and sunny, and most Londoners were enjoying a day of rest. One exception was the resident clerk at the Foreign Office who was on duty to deal with any unexpected crisis that might occur. …
Framed for Posterity: The Private Office Gallery
A quick question: how many Foreign Secretaries have there been since the Foreign Office was founded in 1782? Fifty, 100? The answer is 61 - and a portrait of every former foreign secretary hangs on the walls of the Secretary …