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Diary 6: September 1938 - March 1939 Item 52
TRANSCRIPTION
Dear Monsieur Avenol, London, 9 Febry 39
You have probably observed the
sharp change of tone which has taken place in England
with regard to foreign affairs. Such indication of it
as appears in the public press is a true reflection of
a firmer attitude and greater confidence which run through
the whole country. This is no doubt due in the first
place to the big progress made in national armaments,
which enables leaders of the country to speak with greater
assurance, both at home and abroad, and removes from
the ordinary individual the feeling of frustration which
had depressed him for some time. Another thing has been
the recovery in France, and a third is the attituds of
America. There is a further matter also to be taken
count of. Despite the continued attacks on the Government's
Spanish policy, there has been a turn in the tide.
The controversy about intervention or non-intervention,
in its familiar form, is now rather out of date and attention
is directed to immediate problems on which the
Government is pursuing a stronger and more active policy.
The Prime Minister, in his quiet way, has made one or
two laconic references to his expectation that Italy will
carry out promises made, and has several times referred
to Germany's failure to make any contribution to appeasement.
But the outstanding event has been his emphatic
assurance to France. This has won universal approval
and brought considerable relief. Many feared that his
previous assurances, which were well understood at home,
had not made a sufficient impression in other countries,
and that he might fatally delay making the unequivocal
announcement to which he has now given utterance. The
danger was that he might make it too late to give others
a chance of reconsidering their policy and so let the
country in for war, which by an undelayed engagement to
France might otherwise have been avoided. He was reluctant
to do so at first because he felt he had been
sufficiently explicit on the subject in Rome, and because
he thought it might complicate and harden the situation.
But the Italian press campaign on the lines that England
would not stand by France if she were menaced or attacked,
convinced him that it was no longer possible to refrain
from publicly and definitely putting all doubts on the
matter to rest. The statement was everywhere welcomed,
not only because it is felt to be inevitable that England
and France must stand together, but also because a sure
Language(s) of Transcription
LOCATION
Gdańsk (Poland) (54.3612, 18.5499)
Story Location
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
Document Date
Document Type
Document Description
Language of Description
Keywords
External Web Resources
STORY INFORMATION
Title
Diary 6: September 1938 - March 1939
Creator
Lester | Seán | 1888-1959
Contributor
Lester, Seán, 1888-1959
Seán Lester
Date
September 1938-30 March 1939
Type
Text
Rights
This collection has been digitised and made available by Dublin City University Library. Please credit Dublin City University Library when using these images, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Language
eng
Identifier
#ws85q5671
LandingPage
https://www.europeana.eu/item/707/_ws85q5671Country
Ireland
DatasetName
707__Dublin_City_University
Begin
1936-05-01
End
1937-02-28
Language
en
Created
2022-03-23T16:13:34.244Z
2022-03-23T16:13:36.837419Z
2022-03-23T16:13:36.838261Z
Story Description
Handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester' time as Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations in Geneva. Includes copy letters from Lester to: Joseph Avenol, Secretary General of the League of Nations, and RM Smyllie, editor of the Irish Times. Includes letters to Lester from: Daniel Anthony Binchy, University College Dublin lecturer and former Irish diplomat; John Marcus O' Sullivan, TD, academic and former member of the Irish delegation to the League of Nations; Alfred O’Rahilly, professor of mathematical physics at University College Cork, mainly concerning the potential promotion of O’Rahilly's new book Electromagnetics: A Discussion of Fundamentals in Switzerland; James Cousins, Irish writer and lecturer at the University of Travancore, India. Includes copy letters from: Arthur Sweetser to [?Lewis Lerwin] in the USA;, and HR Cummings, London representative of the League of Nations Secretary General, to Joseph Avenol. Also includes a list of names and occupations of individuals in the museum sector who attended at luncheon on 8 March [?1939].
TRANSCRIPTION
LOCATION
DESCRIPTION
PEOPLE
STORY INFO
TUTORIAL
Dear Monsieur Avenol, London, 9 Febry 39
You have probably observed the
sharp change of tone which has taken place in England
with regard to foreign affairs. Such indication of it
as appears in the public press is a true reflection of
a firmer attitude and greater confidence which run through
the whole country. This is no doubt due in the first
place to the big progress made in national armaments,
which enables leaders of the country to speak with greater
assurance, both at home and abroad, and removes from
the ordinary individual the feeling of frustration which
had depressed him for some time. Another thing has been
the recovery in France, and a third is the attituds of
America. There is a further matter also to be taken
count of. Despite the continued attacks on the Government's
Spanish policy, there has been a turn in the tide.
The controversy about intervention or non-intervention,
in its familiar form, is now rather out of date and attention
is directed to immediate problems on which the
Government is pursuing a stronger and more active policy.
The Prime Minister, in his quiet way, has made one or
two laconic references to his expectation that Italy will
carry out promises made, and has several times referred
to Germany's failure to make any contribution to appeasement.
But the outstanding event has been his emphatic
assurance to France. This has won universal approval
and brought considerable relief. Many feared that his
previous assurances, which were well understood at home,
had not made a sufficient impression in other countries,
and that he might fatally delay making the unequivocal
announcement to which he has now given utterance. The
danger was that he might make it too late to give others
a chance of reconsidering their policy and so let the
country in for war, which by an undelayed engagement to
France might otherwise have been avoided. He was reluctant
to do so at first because he felt he had been
sufficiently explicit on the subject in Rome, and because
he thought it might complicate and harden the situation.
But the Italian press campaign on the lines that England
would not stand by France if she were menaced or attacked,
convinced him that it was no longer possible to refrain
from publicly and definitely putting all doubts on the
matter to rest. The statement was everywhere welcomed,
not only because it is felt to be inevitable that England
and France must stand together, but also because a sure
- English (English)
Dear Monsieur Avenol, London, 9 Febry 39
You have probably observed the
sharp change of tone which has taken place in England
with regard to foreign affairs. Such indication of it
as appears in the public press is a true reflection of
a firmer attitude and greater confidence which run through
the whole country. This is no doubt due in the first
place to the big progress made in national armaments,
which enables leaders of the country to speak with greater
assurance, both at home and abroad, and removes from
the ordinary individual the feeling of frustration which
had depressed him for some time. Another thing has been
the recovery in France, and a third is the attituds of
America. There is a further matter also to be taken
count of. Despite the continued attacks on the Government's
Spanish policy, there has been a turn in the tide.
The controversy about intervention or non-intervention,
in its familiar form, is now rather out of date and attention
is directed to immediate problems on which the
Government is pursuing a stronger and more active policy.
The Prime Minister, in his quiet way, has made one or
two laconic references to his expectation that Italy will
carry out promises made, and has several times referred
to Germany's failure to make any contribution to appeasement.
But the outstanding event has been his emphatic
assurance to France. This has won universal approval
and brought considerable relief. Many feared that his
previous assurances, which were well understood at home,
had not made a sufficient impression in other countries,
and that he might fatally delay making the unequivocal
announcement to which he has now given utterance. The
danger was that he might make it too late to give others
a chance of reconsidering their policy and so let the
country in for war, which by an undelayed engagement to
France might otherwise have been avoided. He was reluctant
to do so at first because he felt he had been
sufficiently explicit on the subject in Rome, and because
he thought it might complicate and harden the situation.
But the Italian press campaign on the lines that England
would not stand by France if she were menaced or attacked,
convinced him that it was no longer possible to refrain
from publicly and definitely putting all doubts on the
matter to rest. The statement was everywhere welcomed,
not only because it is felt to be inevitable that England
and France must stand together, but also because a sure
Language(s) of Transcription
English Translation
Transcription History
Dear Monsieur Avenol, London, 9 Febry 39 You have probably observed the sharp change of tone which has taken place in England with regard to foreign affairs. Such indication of it as appears in the public press is a true reflection of a firmer attitude and greater confidence which run through the whole country. This is no doubt due in the first place to the big progress made in national armaments, which enables leaders of the country to speak with greater assurance, both at home and abroad, and removes from the ordinary individual the feeling of frustration which had depressed him for some time. Another thing has been the recovery in France, and a third is the attituds of America. There is a further matter also to be taken count of. Despite the continued attacks on the Government's Spanish policy, there has been a turn in the tide. The controversy about intervention or non-intervention, in its familiar form, is now rather out of date and attention is directed to immediate problems on which the Government is pursuing a stronger and more active policy. The Prime Minister, in his quiet way, has made one or two laconic references to his expectation that Italy will carry out promises made, and has several times referred to Germany's failure to make any contribution to appeasement. But the outstanding event has been his emphatic assurance to France. This has won universal approval and brought considerable relief. Many feared that his previous assurances, which were well understood at home, had not made a sufficient impression in other countries, and that he might fatally delay making the unequivocal announcement to which he has now given utterance. The danger was that he might make it too late to give others a chance of reconsidering their policy and so let the country in for war, which by an undelayed engagement to France might otherwise have been avoided. He was reluctant to do so at first because he felt he had been sufficiently explicit on the subject in Rome, and because he thought it might complicate and harden the situation. But the Italian press campaign on the lines that England would not stand by France if she were menaced or attacked, convinced him that it was no longer possible to refrain from publicly and definitely putting all doubts on the matter to rest. The statement was everywhere welcomed, not only because it is felt to be inevitable that England and France must stand together, but also because a sure
English Translation
Handwritten and typed diary entries relating to Lester' time as Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations in Geneva.
Includes copy letters from Lester to: Joseph Avenol, Secretary General of the League of Nations, and RM Smyllie, editor of the Irish Times.
Includes letters to Lester from: Daniel Anthony Binchy, University College Dublin lecturer and former Irish diplomat; John Marcus O' Sullivan, TD, academic and former member of the Irish delegation to the League of Nations; Alfred O’Rahilly, professor of mathematical physics at University College Cork, mainly concerning the potential promotion of O’Rahilly's new book Electromagnetics: A Discussion of Fundamentals in Switzerland; James Cousins, Irish writer and lecturer at the University of Travancore, India.
Includes copy letters from: Arthur Sweetser to [?Lewis Lerwin] in the USA;, and HR Cummings, London representative of the League of Nations Secretary General, to Joseph Avenol.
Also includes a list of names and occupations of individuals in the museum sector who attended at luncheon on 8 March [?1939].
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