Preparing for Office: Lord Curzon as Acting Foreign Secretary, January–October 1919

Abstract

Curzon succeeded Balfour as Foreign Secretary in October 1919. However, during Balfour's absence from London during the Paris Peace Conference, Curzon was responsible for a substantial amount of the decision-making on British foreign policy. Curzon's period as Acting Foreign Secretary is crucial to understanding his general approach to the job as whole, especially his relationship with the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, and with the Cabinet. It also provides a mind map of Curzon's approach to British diplomacy towards Europe and the Empire. The essay is an extension of the author's earlier work on the relationship between Curzon and Lloyd George, and suggests once again that their relationship was more harmonious than has often been portrayed in the past.

Acknowledgments

All references to Foreign Office (FO) documents relate to materials held at the National Archives, London (formerly the Public Record Office) unless otherwise stated.

Notes

 1. G.H. Bennett, British Foreign Policy during the Curzon Period (London: Macmillan, 1995); A. Sharp, ‘Lord Curzon and British Policy Towards the Franco-Belgian Occupation of the Ruhr in 1923’, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 8/2 (1997), pp.83–96; J. Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism in the Middle East, 1916–1919 (London: Frank Cass, 1999); J. Fisher, ‘“On the Glacis of India”: Lord Curzon and British Policy in the Caucasus, 1919’, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 8/2 (1997), pp.50–82; I. Rose, Conservatism and Foreign Policy during the Lloyd George Coalition, 1918–1922 (London: Frank Cass, 1999).

 2. D. Gilmour, Curzon (London: John Murray, 1994).

 3. H. Nicolson, Curzon: The Last Phase (London: Constable, 1934).

 4. This situation is not discussed at length in E. Goldstein, Winning the Peace: British Diplomatic Strategy, Peace Planning, and the Paris Peace Conference, 1916–1920 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), or Z.S. Steiner and M.L. Dockrill, ‘The Foreign Office and the Paris Peace Conference of 1919’, International History Review, 2/2 (1980), pp.56–70.

 5. G. Johnson, ‘Curzon, Lloyd George and the Control of British Foreign Policy, 1919–1922: A Reassessment’, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 11/3 (2000), pp.49–71.

 6. Bennett, British Foreign Policy, p.76.

 7. R. Warman, ‘The Erosion of Foreign Office Influence in the Making of Foreign Policy, 1916–1918’, The Historical Journal, 15/1 (1972), pp.133–59.

 8. Goldstein, Winning the Peace, pp.9–90.

 9. E. Maisel, The Foreign Office and Foreign Policy, 1919–1926 (Brighton: Sussex University Press, 1994), p.206.

 10. For example see Lord D'Abernon papers, British Library, Additional Manuscripts (BL Add Mss), 48954, D'Abernon's diary entry, 18 Dec. 1921.

 11. A. Sharp, ‘The Foreign Office in Eclipse, 1919–1922’, History, 61/2 (1976), pp.198–218.

 12. Lloyd George Papers, House of Lords Record Office, F/12/1/7, Harmsworth to Lloyd George, 4 Feb. 1919.

 13. Derby Papers, Liverpool Record Office, 920 DER (17)/28/1/3, diary, 7 Jan. 1919.

 14. Curzon to Lady Curzon, 20 Aug. 1919, in Earl of Ronaldshay, The Life of Lord Curzon Vol. III (London: Ernest Benn, 1928), p.204. Curzon's emphasis.

 15. Johnson, ‘Curzon, Lloyd George’, p.54.

 16. It is given a fuller treatment in Gilmour, Curzon, pp.528–48.

 17. Nicolson, Last Phase, p.193.

 18. See in general Johnson, ‘Curzon, Lloyd George’.

 19. Lloyd George Papers, F/12/1/5, Balfour to Curzon, 22 Jan. 1919.

 20. Lord Riddell, Lord Riddell's War Diary, 1914–1918 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1933), p.229.

 21. In L. Mosley, Curzon: The End of an Epoch (London: Longman, 1961), p.205.

 22. In L. Mosley, Curzon: The End of an Epoch (London: Longman, 1961), p.165. The date is not given, although the context makes it clear that the observations were made in 1919.

 23. Curzon Papers, Oriental and India Office Library, Mss Eur F 112/319, Curzon ‘Notes for my biographer’, Nov. 1922.

 24. In Mosley, Curzon, p.204.

 25. In Mosley, Curzon, p.203.

 26. R. Vansittart, The Mist Procession (London: Hutchinson, 1958), p.232.

 27. Quoted in J. Barnes and D. Nicholson, (eds.), The Leo Amery Diaries: Volume I, 1896–1929 (London: Hutchinson, 1980), p.249 (2 Jan. 1919).

 28. Lloyd George Papers, F3/3/35a, Hardinge to Balfour, 10 Oct. 1918.

 29. Clement Jones to Curzon, ? Oct. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, p.207.

 30. J. Vincent (ed.), The Crawford Papers (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984), p.400.

 31. Major Baird to Curzon, 26 Oct. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, p.205.

 32. Warren Fisher to Curzon, 30 Oct. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, p.205. See also Maisel, The Foreign Office, p.206.

 33. Derby Papers, 920 DER(17)/28/1/3, diary, 2 Apr. 1919.

 34. Lord Riddell, Lord Riddell's Intimate Diary of the Peace Conference and After, 1918–1923 (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1933), p.24.

 35. Derby Papers, 920 DER (17)/28/1/, diary, 25 Mar. 1919.

 36. Curzon to Lady Curzon, 9 Sep. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, p.204.

 37. Curzon to Lady Curzon, 19 Aug. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, p.203.

 38. Nicolson, Last Phase, p.71.

 39. Derby Papers, 920 DER(17)/28/1/3, diary, 9 Mar. 1919.

 40. Lloyd George Papers, F/12/1/13, Curzon to Davies, 28 Feb. 1919.

 41. FO 608/375/3/5/14985, Balfour to Curzon, 1 May 1919.

 42. Derby Papers, 920 DER (17)/28/1/3, diary, 19 Apr. 1919. The Majestic was the name of the hotel at which the British delegation was based.

 43. Balfour Papers, British Library, BL Add Mss 49734, Balfour to Curzon, 1 Jul. 1919.

 44. Cecil Papers, British Library, BL Add Mss 51131, diary of the Paris Peace Conference, 25 Feb. 1919.

 45. See Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, pp.302–4; M. Hughes, Allenby and British Strategy in the Middle East, 1917–1919 (London: Frank Cass, 1999), pp.113–29.

 46. Curzon to Hardinge, ? Feb. 1919 (FO 800/153) quoted in H. Elcock, Portrait of a Decision: The Council of Four and the Treaty of Versailles (London, 1972), p.114.

 47. Churchill to Lloyd George, 2 Mar. 1919, in M. Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, Volume IV (Companion, Part I: Documents, January 1917–June 1919 (London: Heinemann, 1977), p.561.

 48. P.J. Mantoux, The Deliberations of the Council of Four(trans.) (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992), Vol. I, pp.138–9.

 49. A. Lentin, ‘“Une aberration inexplicable”: Clemenceau and the Abortive Anglo-French Guarantee of 1919’, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 8/2 (1997), pp.31–49.

 50. In general see Johnson, ‘Curzon, Lloyd George’.

 51. The first of these is in Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 9 Aug. 1919.

 52. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Balfour to Curzon, 9 Jun. 1919.

 53. Lloyd George Papers, F/12/1/21, Curzon to Lloyd George, 7 Jul. 1919,.

 54. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 6 Jul. 1919; Curzon Papers, Mss Eur F 112/208A, Balfour to Curzon, 15 Jun. 1919

 55. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 2 Jul. 1919.

 56. In general see Johnson, ‘Curzon, Lloyd George’.

 57. Vansittart, Mist Procession, p.44.

 58. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Balfour to Curzon, 7 Jul. 1919.

 59. J. Tomes, Balfour and Foreign Policy: The International Thought of a Conservative Statesman (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), p.277.

 60. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 20 Jul. 1919.

 61. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 18 Jan. 1919.

 62. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Balfour to Curzon, 21 Jan. 1919.

 63. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 22 Jan. 1919.

 64. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Balfour to Curzon, 25 Jun. 1919.

 65. Balfour made his views known in Curzon Papers, Mss Eur F 112/208A, Balfour to Curzon, 23 Mar. 1919.

 66. Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, pp.218–9.

 67. Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol. III, p.216; H. Sabahi, British Policy in Persia, 1918–1925 (London: Frank Cass, 1990), pp.17–22.

 68. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 23 May 1919.

 69. Curzon to Lady Curzon, 17 Aug. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, pp.214–6.

 70. Mosley, Curzon, p.203.

 71. Sabahi, British Policy in Persia, pp.2–8.

 72. FO 608/98//375/1/7/4468, Curzon to Cox, 12 Mar. 1919.

 73. FO 608/98/375/1/7/10359, Curzon's views reported by Hankey, 3 May 1919.

 74. FO 608/98/375/1/7/8172, minute by Hardinge, 24 Apr. 1919.

 75. FO 608/98/375/1/7/2335, minute by Hardinge, 20 Feb. 1919 on memorandum by Mushaver ul Mamalek, 15 Feb. 1919.

 76. FO 608/101/375/3/5/15571, Moore to Oliphant, 12 May 1919; FO 608/101/375/3/5/15201, Curzon to Balfour, 11 Jul. 1919.

 77. Sabahi, British Policy in Persia, p.2.

 78. Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, pp.2–4.

 79. Churchill to Lloyd George, 2 Mar. 1919, in Gilbert, Churchill, Vol. IV: Companion/Documents, p.560.

 80. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, War Cabinet, Eastern Committee, memorandum by Curzon, G.T. 3905, 13 Mar. 1918.

 81. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, War Cabinet, Eastern Committee, memorandum by Curzon, G.T. 3905, 13 Mar. 1918.

 82. The text of the letter has not survived, although Curzon's response makes its substance clear. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 20 Aug. 1919.

 83. The text of the letter has not survived, although Curzon's response makes its substance clear. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 20 Aug. 1919.

 84. FO 800/199, Balfour to Curzon, 16 Dec. 1918.

 85. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Balfour to Curzon, 22 Jul. 1919.

 86. FO 608/110/385/1/7/1949, Curzon to Balfour, 11 Feb. 1919.

 87. FO 608/110/385/1/8/5380, Crowe to Balfour, 26 Mar. 1919.

 88. Note, 15 Mar. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol.III, p.264.

 89. Curzon to Balfour, 20 Jun. 1919, Note, 15 Mar. 1919, in Ronaldshay, Curzon, Vol.III, pp.267–8.

 90. Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, p.213.

 91. FO 800/215, Balfour to Curzon, 20 Jan. 1919.

 92. Minute by Kidston, 27 Feb. 1919, in Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, p.215.

 93. Minute by Kidston, 27 Feb. 1919, in Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, p.215.

 94. Minute by Curzon, 28 Feb. 1919, in Gilmour, Curzon, p 258

 95. Minute by Curzon, 28 Feb. 1919, in Gilmour, Curzon, p 258.

 96. FO 800/215, Montagu to Balfour, 2 Feb. 1919.

 97. Samuel to the Foreign Office, 5 Jun. 1919, in Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, p.220.

 98. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 20 Aug. 1919.

 99. Fisher, Curzon and British Imperialism, p.221.

100. Balfour Papers, BL Add Mss 49734, Curzon to Balfour, 9 Aug. 1919.

101. Scottish Record Office (SRO), Whittingehame, Balfour Papers (private), 5, Weizmann to Balfour, 25 Sep. 1919.

102. SRO Balfour Papers, 5, Balfour to Rothschild, 29 Sep. 1919.

103. SRO Balfour Papers, 5, Balfour to Rothschild, 29 Sep. 1919.

104. Elcock, Portrait of a Decision, p.64.

105. Elcock, Portrait of a Decision, p.92. See also War Cabinet Minutes, 13 Feb. 1919, in Gilbert, Churchill, Vol.IV: Companion/Documents, pp.525–7.

106. Elcock, Portrait of a Decision, p.681, Curzon to Churchill, 10 Jun. 1919.

107. Maisel, The Foreign Office, pp.66–7.

108. In general see Johnson, ‘Curzon, Lloyd George’.

109. Vincent, Crawford Papers, p.400.