Diaries, autobiographies and memoirs

Highlights here include the diaries of Alexander Cadogan who attended major inter-allied conferences and Cabinet meetings during the Second World War, and Jackie Broome’s autobiography (Captain in the Royal Navy)
Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/4
Date:
1936-01-01-1936-09-09 (creation)
Description:
Diary of the final few months of Cadogan's time in China and his new role as Joint Deputy Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office in 1936. Subjects covered include: his relationship with important figures within the Foreign Office when in China, such as Frederick Leith-Ross and in London; the relationship between China and Japan and meetings with Chiang Kai-Shek; the death of King George V; a meeting with King Edward VIII; problems within the Foreign Office; his trip to the Montreaux Conference and the spectre of Hitler in Europe as well as social and family events.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/5
Date:
1936-09-09-1936-12-31 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: Cadogan's relationship with and his role within the Foreign Office; the atmosphere within the Foreign Office and his opinions on international relations with Germany, Italy, Japan and China; the status of the Abyssinian delegation to the League of Nations and the abdication of King Edward VIII as well as social and family events.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/6
Date:
1937 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office and diplomatic service; the growing threat of Hitler and Mussolini; the challenges of, and opinions on, British foreign policy; international relations with, in particular, Italy, Spain, Japan, China, France and the United States of America; the Spanish Civil War and the Non-Intervention Committee; paralysis at the League of Nations; the Abyssinian and Sudetenland Crises and the Imperial Conference as well as social and family events.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/7
Date:
1938 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships inside the Foreign Office and diplomatic service; the Abyssinian crisis and relations with Italy as differing to those with Germany; the Anglo-American and Anglo-French relationships; Anthony Eden's resignation in February; the Czechoslovakian crisis and the Munich Agreement; the policies of rearmament and appeasement and the League of Nations as well as social and family events.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/8
Date:
1939 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships inside the Foreign Office and diplomatic service with a sense of the complexities of British governmental policy; a trip to Rome in January 1939 to visit Mussolini regarding Hitler's in Europe; Franco and the Spanish Civil War; the German occupation of Prague in March 1939; Italian occupation of Albania; the challenges of working with the Soviet Union; the build up to war, with the declaration of war against Germany and her allies, and the following 'Phoney War' as well as social and family events.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/9
Date:
1940 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office and diplomatic service, including with Samuel Hore-Belisha and The Viscount Halifax; the work load at the Foreign Office and Cadogan's increasing strain; the crisis with the ice-free harbour at Narvik in Norway in April 1940; the intrigue surrounding a new prime minister and the invasion of Holland and Belgium in May 1940 as well as the general progress of war and the consequences of the fall of France in the summer of 1940.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/10
Date:
1941 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office, in particular with Anthony Eden; Cadogan's insight into the Axis campaigns in the Balkans; diplomatic concerns regarding Britain's activities in North Africa and Persia [now Iran]; reception of intelligence in advance of Hitler’s planned attack on Russia; Cadogan's opinions and influence upon Churchill's communications with Roosevelt, the voyage to the USA aboard the H.M.S. Prince of Wales and the drafting of the Joint Declaration/Atlantic Charter; voyage to Soviet Union with Eden to conduct talks with Stalin and Molotov, including discussion on future Soviet frontiers; description of a journey on the Metropolitan line from Marylebone to Wendover, with comments on urban sprawl; and Cadogan's first-hand accounts of wartime affairs and events, including damage caused by the Blitz in Westminster, news reports on shipping, and exasperated comments on the quality of B.B.C. news reportage.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan


Diary
Reference Code:
ACAD 1/15
Date:
1945 (creation)
Description:
Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships with Churchill, the War Cabinet, and the Foreign Office; Cadogan's involvement in overseas diplomatic visits, including meetings at Alupka, Athens, Cairo, Washington, and San Francisco; Cadogan's role in the Malta Conference, Yalta Conference, and the United Nations Conference on International Organisation; the Allied invasion of Germany; negotiations over the Polish question and Soviet actions in Eastern Europe; reactions to the death of Roosevelt; remarks on the 1945 General Election campaign, including listening to a radio broadcast of a speech by Churchill; thoughts on Attlee's new Cabinet; discussions surrounding the atomic bomb; news of the Japanese surrender; and Cadogan's comments on wartime affairs and events, and the arrival of peace.
Collection:
The Papers of Sir Alexander George Montagu Cadogan