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British Diplomacy with America and Ireland: an Ambassador's Letters, 1909–1962 - Volumes
Volumes
8 volumes in British Diplomacy with America and Ireland: an Ambassador's Letters, 1909–1962 | Page 2 of 2
Correspondence for 1937-1943
These letters cover the period leading up to the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the eventual US entry into the war in December 1941. It opens with Walter Runciman's visit to Washington beginning on 23 January 1937. There was some publicity about the visit but the official story was that he was staying with relatives and might also be seeing the President. Roosevelt and Runciman had a wide-ranging discussion about trade, war debts, the American neutrality laws and the international situation in general. The visit was therefore very important in bilateral relations and owed much to Roosevelt's friendship with Murray and his penchant for informal diplomacy. One of its effects was to convince Runciman of the need for good relations, and he therefore supported the idea of an Anglo-American trade agreement in a major speech in the House of Commons on 25 May 1937.A few days later Stanley Baldwin resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Neville Chamberlain. In the resulting reshuffle Runciman resigned and took a seat in the House of Lords. Murray wrote to Roosevelt immediately after Runciman's resignation, explaining the circumstances surrounding it and saying that Runciman hoped that the President would not feel that the progress they had made towards closer relations would be undone. Roosevelt replied, voicing his disappointment that Runciman had gone but adding "I am confident that the good work that he started will go on" (Roosevelt to Murray, 17 June 1937). In fact, Roosevelt proceeded to invite Chamberlain to visit the USA, but the new PM replied that the time was not yet right.In October 1938, shortly after the Munich agreement, Murray and his wife paid another visit, this time to the Roosevelt family home in Hyde Park. They talked over the European situation, and the President stressed the need for Britain and France to improve their airpower, adding that, in the event of war, he would do his best to provide the basic materials for aircraft that did not come within the scope of the arms embargo. He also asked Murray to deliver a confidential message in person to Chamberlain - an indication, perhaps, of his lack of confidence in his ambassador to London, Joseph Kennedy. Roosevelt said he wanted the British PM to feel that he had "the industrial resources of the American nation behind him in the event of war with the dictatorships" (Note of conversation between Roosevelt and Murray, 23 Oct 1938).When Murray returned to London at the end of November, he saw Lord Halifax, Eden's replacement at the Foreign Office, and reported his talks with the President. Chamberlain was not keen to see Murray but, on Halifax's advice, eventually did so on 14 December in the Prime Minister's room at the House of Commons, where Murray passed on the President's message. Murray then wrote to Roosevelt saying that Chamberlain had "asked me to tell you that he was immensely grateful to you for all that you had done and were doing, not only by your very powerful messages to Hitler at the time of the crisis, but generally by your exceedingly sympathetic and helpful attitude throughout these trying times" (Murray to Roosevelt, 15 Dec 1938).Murray had planned to visit Roosevelt again in 1939 but the outbreak of war prevented it. Although they often wrote of the President vacationing with Murray in Scotland once he had retired, the two men did not meet again. After Chamberlain resigned in May 1940, Murray's role as a go-between was much diminished. Churchill had his own direct line of communication with the President, dating from Roosevelt's message to him on 11 September 1939 that began their famous wartime correspondence. One of Churchill's many critics in the past, Murray sometimes warned Roosevelt against Churchill's judgements during the War. For example, he told Roosevelt that Churchill was thinking of appointing Lord Beaverbrook, the newspaper publisher, as British Ambassador to Washington - an idea that filled Murray with horror (Murray to Roosevelt, 22 Apr 1943). Read more →
Correspondence for 1944-1948
During the War, and the immediate post-war period that saw the onset of the Cold War, Murray continued to correspond with friends and colleagues from earlier years such as William Wiseman. Murray wrote to Franklin Roosevelt in August 1944, following the liberation of Paris from German occupation. He and his wife had met Roosevelt's mother in October 1937 in Paris, at about the time that the President made his "quarantine speech". Murray also referred to their friendship in the First World War and to Roosevelt's efforts to support Britain since 1939. He ended his letter: "With my affectionate good wishes, and much hoping that you are keeping in good health under the strain of your tremendous responsibilities and never-ceasing work and anxieties" (Murray to Roosevelt, 31 Aug 1944). In fact, Roosevelt's health was beginning to give way under the strain of office and this was to be Murray's last letter to him before his death at Warm Springs in April 1945.Soon after Roosevelt's death Murray received a letter from William Phillips, another old American friend from the First World War, who had been based in London in 1944-45 and had spent some time with Murray. In April 1946 Phillips was acting as Special Assistant to the Secretary of State in Washington while many State Department officials were in San Francisco for the conference on the United Nations. "I was here at the time of Franklin's death and attended his funeral services at the White house", he wrote to Murray. "His passing was not a surprise to me, for I have known for a month or more that he was failing rapidly, and if we look at it from his point of view and not from that of the country, we must be glad that his release came when it did. Another Woodrow Wilson period would have been frightful to contemplate" (Phillips to Murray, 23 Apr 1945).Murray later wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt: "You know how warm was my affection for Franklin, and how intense was my admiration for his character, his mighty courage, his outstanding statesmanship, and his momentous achievements in peace and in war for the benefit of humanity" (Murray to Eleanor Roosevelt, 24 May 1945). The President's widow replied: "Seeing you was always a great pleasure to both Franklin and to me and your wife was always included in the friendship" (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 21 June 1945). Murray dined with Eleanor Roosevelt at his London home in January 1946 and continued to correspond with her thereafter. Murray, as ever, was critical of Churchill - now Leader of the Opposition - particularly in relation to his "Iron Curtain" speech in February 1946. Mrs Roosevelt's view was that: "Mr Churchill's speech in Fulton, Missouri, I think was unfortunate. I had heard him try out similar ideas on Franklin but Franklin never responded". She added: "I am ...afraid that our President is not as well equipped to manage both Mr Stalin and Mr Churchill as Franklin was" (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 10 Oct 1946).Another regular correspondent in this period was the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King. After Roosevelt's death he wrote to Murray: "It is consoling to know that you and I have shared so intimately the friendship of two of the greatest men of our day: Lord Grey and President Roosevelt" (Mackenzie King to Murray, 15 May 1945). Murray sent Mackenzie King his congratulations after the Canadian general election of September 1945 when the Liberal party was again successful - in stark contrast to the diminishing fortunes of the British Liberals (Murray to Mackenzie King, 2 Sep 1945). The two men were eventually able to spend some time together in London at the end of 1945 and to renew their friendship, which was undoubtedly heartfelt on both sides - a sure sign of which was Murray's use of Mackenzie King's nickname "Rex". But like Roosevelt, Mackenzie King's health was beginning to give way under the pressure of public affairs, as is clear from a letter he wrote to Murray on 9 April 1947, and he finally retired after more than twenty-one years as his country's leader in November 1948. Read more →
Correspondence for 1949-1953
Murray's correspondence in this period was dominated by friends and memories from the Roosevelt era. In June 1949 he sent Mackenzie King a congratulatory telegram following the recent Liberal victory in the Canadian general election under Mackenzie King's hand-picked successor, Louis St Laurent: "Result of election is a great personal triumph for you as well as for your eminent successor" (Murray to Mackenzie King, 27 June 1949). Murray wrote again in February 1950, reminiscing about his stay at the Roosevelt's Hyde Park home in October 1938 and adding: "Franklin always used to talk to me about you in terms of admiration and affection" (Murray to Mackenzie King, 17 Feb 1950). Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister did not enjoy a long retirement but died in July 1950. "He and FDR were not only friends but their outlooks on life and its problems were practically in every sense similar, Murray wrote to another friend (Murray to Osler, 24 July 1950).The correspondence with Eleanor Roosevelt is perhaps the most interesting at this time. Murray had written to her only rarely while she lived in the White House but after the President's death their letters and meetings exceeded in number those between Murray and Franklin Roosevelt. A constant theme of Murray's letters was FDR's achievement as President. After the conclusion of the NATO alliance in April 1949, he described the treaty as "a wonderful thing indeed; a momentous step in the direction, as we hope, of an abiding world peace; a glorious monument, above all, to Franklin. I rejoice with you at this fulfilment of so much that was so very dear to his heart" (Murray to Eleanor Roosevelt, 16 Apr 1949). The former First Lady was now a US Ambassador to the United Nations, living in New York City during the week but returning to Hyde Park at the weekend. "I seem to thrive on hard work", she wrote (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 24 Apr 1949), and, "I feel very well and enjoy being busy" (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 7 Nov 1949).In December 1949 Murray wrote to her about her second memoir. "For present generations and for posterity you have, in your sympathetic and revealing story, performed a service of outstanding historical importance, and one of which - if you will allow me as an old friend of you both to say - Franklin, I feel, would be infinitely proud" (Murray to Eleanor Roosevelt, 1 Dec 1949). Later he wrote: "THIS I REMEMBER will now take a privileged place in my bookshelves alongside your earlier very interesting volume, THIS IS MY STORY, given to Faith and myself when we were at Hyde Park in October 1938 and in which Franklin wrote his name. What an absorbing and important contribution to the history of our times are those two books from your pen" (Murray to Eleanor Roosevelt, 25 Jan 1950).Mrs Roosevelt met up with Murray in London in June 1950 on her way to Norway to unveil a statue to the late President (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray 10 May 1950). She had various engagements while in London but found time to meet for tea at Murray's home (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 28 May 1950). No doubt they reminisced about Murray's visits to Washington in the 1930s, but both were deeply concerned about contemporary issues also, not least the onset of the Cold War and relations with China. In September 1950, while the Korean War raged, he wrote her a long letter criticising US policy for driving China into the arms of Stalin (Murray to Eleanor Roosevelt, 15 Sep 1950). He returned to this theme when he dined with her at his London home in April 1951. She passed Murray's views on to President Truman and to the State Department - which, needless to say, completely disagreed. Interestingly, the State Department took the time to produce a point-by-point rebuttal, testimony as much to Eleanor Roosevelt's abiding influence as to the force of Murray's arguments (Hickerson to Eleanor Roosevelt, 13 June 1951). Mrs Roosevelt was much more sympathetic to his view (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 18 June 1951). They continued to correspond about the Korean War until its conclusion in 1953. Read more →
Correspondence for 1954-1962
Murray, now the 3rd Viscount Elibank, continued to correspond with Eleanor Roosevelt in his final years. Writing to her in March 1954, he said: "I much wish you were about to take your accustomed seat on the sofa in my sitting-room". He also commented on the divisions in the Republican Party over the excesses of "McCarthyism" and Eisenhower's failure, as Murray put it, "to defend that great soldier-statesman, General George Marshall, against Senator McCarthy's monstrous and unworthy slurs". By contrast, Murray was enthusiastic about Adlai Stevenson, the rising star of the Democrats (Murray to Eleanor Roosevelt, 8 Mar 1954). The former First Lady replied: "I think Adlai Stevenson is coming along and I hope he will be our next Democratic candidate" (Eleanor Roosevelt to Murray, 30 Mar 1954). She was unable to get to London that year but met up with Murray in March 1955 on her way to visit Israel. Prior to dining with Murray she was received by the Queen and Queen Mother, had a meeting with Eden and lunch with Sir Winston and Lady Churchill (Note by Murray, 11 Mar 1955).Murray's other main correspondent in these years was Sir Walford Selby, Minister to Austria 1930-36. They shared similar views on the inter-war years and the events leading to Munich and the outbreak of war in 1939. In particular, they felt that successive foreign secretaries after 1931 were as guilty of appeasing Hitler as Chamberlain himself. An opportunity to debate this issue arose when Sir John (later Lord) Simon died in January 1954. Simon's obituary in The Times was very critical of his role as foreign secretary, 1931-35, but this verdict was challenged by Leo Amery, the former MP, in a letter published on 12 January. Murray then wrote his own letter to The Times, rebutting Amery's defence of Simon and adding: "It cannot be said that I waited until Simon was dead before criticising his Foreign Secretaryship. That has never been my practice as, inter alia, Lloyd George and Winston Churchill have had reason to know" (Murray to The Editor of The Times, 17 Jan 1954).Murray received full support for his attack on Simon from Selby, who had a published a memoir of the 1930s entitled "Diplomatic Twilight" the year before. Selby wrote to Murray to congratulate him on his "terrific" letter to The Times, adding: "It was during Simon's Foreign Secretaryship that was laid the seeds of the Munich disaster and the disaster of 1939" (Selby to Murray, 19 Jan 1954). Lord Vansittart, who had been Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1930 to 1938, also joined the debate with a defence of Simon but Selby was equally dismissive of him, arguing that he was out to save his own reputation (Selby to Murray, 21 Jan 1954). Selby wrote his own letter to The Times arguing that Vansittart's claims to have warned about Germany's strength after 1935 were exaggerated and that, in any case, he and the Foreign Office had failed to devise a realistic plan to contain Germany. The letter was not published but illustrates the way in which the arguments of the 1930s were being refought in the 1950s (Selby to The Times, 22 Jan 1954).Selby also urged Murray to publish the story of his relationship with Franklin Roosevelt, especially as it would shed light on British foreign policy in the 1930s (Selby to Murray, 6 Aug 1954). Murray had been considering this ever since the President's death in 1945 but finally committed himself to the task in September 1954. "It will be of a personal nature, descriptive of my long friendship with him, and of Faith's and my visits to him at the White House and Hyde Park", he told Selby. He added that he did not want this memoir to be primarily political, although it would necessarily allude to Roosevelt's "help to Great Britain before and during the 1939-45 War" (Murray to Selby, 25 Sep 1954). Murray's memoir eventually appeared as an article in The Contemporary Review in June 1955 entitled "Franklin Roosevelt, Friend of Britain". It was his last substantial publication. He died, aged 83, in December 1962, one month after Eleanor Roosevelt. Read more →
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