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Sir Cecil FJ Dormer
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Sir Cecil Francis Joseph Dormer (1883-1979)
Aaron to Insert photo of just Cecil in the newspaper photo of both him and his wife leaving Norway unless a better one can be found
Cecil Francis Joseph Dormer was born on 14 February (or March) in 1883 in Kensington, Greater London, Middlesex and lived a long, industrious, respected and celebrated life, dying at the grand old age of 96 in 1979. He was the tenth child and fifth son of the Honourable Hubert Francis Dormer and Mary Jane Elizabeth Digby; and the grandson of the 11th Baron Dormer.
Cecil held the romantic and gentlemanly title of Knight Diplomat.
In the Catholics Who’s Who and Year Book of 1908, his father, Hubert Francis Dormer, who was a clerk in the Admiralty, is listed as late of the Admiralty – born 1837 son of the 11th and uncle of the (then) present Lord Dormer. Hubert was educated at Oscott and married Mary, daughter of Kenelm Henry Digby, author of the ‘Broadstone of Honour’, in 1865. Mary was the granddaughter of the Dean of Clonfert.
On 25 February 1915 Cecil married Lady Mary Alice Clara Feilding, the first daughter and 3rd child of ten children of Rudolph Robert Basil Aloysius Augustine Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh, and the Honourable Cecilia Mary Clifford. Both Cecil and Mary were members of noted Catholic families.
Entering the Foreign Office in 1905, at 22, and with diplomatic postings around the world – Cecil’s life story reads like a Boy’s Own adventure complete with the tag line ‘always just one step ahead of danger’ - because it could be said that trouble tended to follow Cecil everywhere he went. It was certainly a life filled with dangerous exploits, risk, excitement and intrigue, sprinkled with an occasional dash of humour.
He went to Japan as counsellor to the Embassy at a time when the Pacific had a barely a ripple on it. Then Japan started on its imperial adventures which resulted in upheaval in the Orient.
The same sort of thing happened when he went from Tokyo to then Siam, now Thailand. The country hadn’t had a revolution for about 150 years, but in the course of three years Cecil saw three revolutions and a civil war.
Then he went to Oslo, Norway, a country with little prospect of any disturbances – and five years later all hell broke out in the form of the Second World War.
Cecil became a highly skilled diplomat diplomatic. His postings included: Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary in 1915.
Chargé d'Affaires to Caracas between 1919 and 1921. First Secretary of the Legation to the Holy See between 1921 and 1926.
Counsellor to Tokyo between 1926 and 1930. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Bangkok between 1930 and 1934. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Oslo between 1934 and 1941. Ambassador to the Polish Government in Exile in 1941.
Cecil was also highly decorated with awards including:The award of Grand Cross, Order of St. Olav of Norway.The award of Norwegian War Medal.The award of Order of the White Eagle of Serbia.Invested as a Member, Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.). Invested as a Knight Commander, Order of St. Michael and St. George (K.C.M.G.).
The ‘trusty’ Cecil (as reported by Time magazine) also accepted the 1933 Peace Prize on behalf of Pacifist-Lecturer Sir Norman Angell.
Mary was 27 years old and Cecil was 32 when they married. Considering Cecil and Mary were both one of ten children from devout Catholic families, it would not be unreasonable, or even presumptuous to expect that they would have children, if not a big family.
However, though they had a long and what appears to be a happy marriage, Mary dying when she was 84 and Cecil when he was 96, they had no children.
Cecil’s story is an interesting one and at times quite exciting. He rubbed shoulders and kissed the hands of Kings, senior politicians, and government officials, and travelled extensively. He lived precariously, at times missing death by inches.
I have endeavoured to cover illuminating aspects of history that not only was being played out around Cecil, but of which he was very much a part. I have also imbued his story with reported anecdotes of humour and drama, particularly during his time in Norway during World War II, to show both Cecil’s human frailties and strengths. There is little doubt that he was quite a courageous man carrying out his diplomatic duties, somewhat nonchalantly, in the thick of enemy fire!
Cecil’s early life
As mentioned early biographical details of Cecil are particularly sketchy.
Records can be found that show his birth in Kensington, Greater London, Middlesex, and it appears that he, along with one of his brothers, Robert Stanhope, was educated at St Augustine’s Abbey Ramsgate, one of four Benedictine monasteries in Great Britain, which provide a Catholic education for boys.
Ramsgate, one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century, is on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent, England. Queen Victoria lived there as a young princess. Interestingly, with Cecil’s diplomatic involvement in WW2, it was Ramsgate where evacuated troops from Dunkirk landed in 1940. Caves in the cliffs around the seaside town provided bombproof shelters during the war.
His first job with the Foreign Office
One of Cecil’s first jobs was with the Foreign Office. In the Who’s Who Year Book of 1908, where his father, Hubert Francis Dormer, was listed as late of the Admiralty, Cecil was listed as a clerk in the Foreign Office. He would have been 25 years of age at the time. It must be presumed that he worked his way up to the role of Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary over 7 years.
He certainly appeared to enjoy a full social life. He was reported in The Times as attending The Kings Levee at St James Palace in 1907, a society Ball at the Hyde Park Hotel in 1908, and a number of social parties at Cowes in 1913.
His impending marriage was announced twice in The Times, on Jan 21 1915 and February 17 1915. His marriage service was reported in The Times of Friday 26 February 1915:
The marriage of Mr Cecil Dormer of the Foreign Office, youngest son of the late Honourable Hubert Dormer and the Honourable Mrs Dormer, to Lady Mary Fielding, eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Denbigh, took place quietly yesterday at Newnham Paddox. Father Thurston officiated, assisted by Father Van Dillen. The bride was given away by her father and Mr Robert Dormer, Scots Guards, acted as best man to his brother.
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An aside of interest
Cecil’s father, Hubert, is alluded to in an autobiography called “The Ups and Downs of a Wandering Life” by Walter Seymour which was published in 1910. Walter talks of staying a night in the quiet little village of Shanklin with his friend Hubert Dormer of the Admiralty, when they both did a walk around the Isle of Wight.
Interestingly the same author offers us an insight into public offices, in which both Hubert and his son Cecil were employed, and how society recognised them. Though this was written 5 years before Cecil began his long term role in the Foreign Office it is unlikely that perceptions would have changed in that time.
He explains that among the public offices there was a curious gradation of social prestige among the members perceived by society. The Foreign Office, where Cecil was employed, was considered the smartest; the Treasury was respected and offered many opportunities;
the Admiralty at Whitehall (where Cecil’s father was employed) and the Colonial Office ranked about the same, but there were appointments going in the Colonial Office, while the Admiralty had none. _________________________________________________________________________
Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary 1915 -1919
Cecil was 32 years of age when he held this first diplomatic role - the prestigious and important position of Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary in His Majesty’s government. As Assistant Private Secretary he supported the Foreign Secretary who was responsible for relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the British Commonwealth and the Crown colonies, and the promotion of British interests abroad.
Cecil reported to Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon who was Foreign Secretary from December 1905 to 10 December 1916.
At this time the Foreign Office was undertaking special work at the Home Office in connection with war activities.
His appointment was reported in The Times on Monday October 18 1915, by Sir Edward Grey.
Prior to 1968 the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office, were separate entities, not merged as they are today. The head of Foreign Affairs was the Secretary of State, and presumably then, like today, the position would have been regarded as one of the three most prestigious appointments in the Cabinet, alongside those of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary. Together with the Prime Minister, these comprise the Great offices of State. (See chart at end)
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
At this time George V, the first British monarch of the House of Windsor was on the throne; and David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor was the Liberal Prime Minister.
Cecil’s role in World War 1 diplomatic relations
In the summer of 1914, Grey, to whom Cecil reported, played a key role in a diplomatic crisis among the major powers of Europe that led to the First World War. The crisis was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo Bosnia, by Gavrilo Princip a Yugoslav nationalist. A series of diplomatic manoeuvrings followed, which led to an ultimatum from Austria-Hungary to Serbia; and ultimately war between them leading to the outbreak of World War 1.
Unfortunately, history records Grey’s attempt to mediate the dispute as a failure.
He was criticised for being somewhat obscure in his administration of British foreign policy and not particularly good at communicating. He saw the defence of France against German aggression as a key policy component, consequently entering into an agreement with France and Russia, each guaranteeing to come to the aid of the others in the event of war. Unfortunately much of Grey's diplomacy was conducted behind closed doors, and was not made sufficiently public as to act as a deterrent to German policy.
It is argued that had Grey declared early support for France, Germany would have convinced Austria-Hungary to settle with Serbia rather than declare war. Similarly, if Britain had made clear that she would remain neutral in the event of war, France (and possibly Russia) would have attempted to seek a resolution.
In any event, once Germany declared war against France on 3 August and invaded neutral Belgium the following day, Britain entered the war against Germany, Grey citing an 'obligation of honour' to France and Belgium - the latter through a 19th century treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutrality.
The nature of Grey's diplomacy led to dispute within his own party, and within the opposition Labour Party. His Balkan policy was blamed for antagonising Turkey and Bulgaria, and for complicating relations with Greece and Romania, leading to his exclusion from Prime Minister Asquith's Inner War Cabinet in November 1915.
The view held by Grey, and those who were working with him in the Foreign Office, so presumably this includes Cecil, was that throughout the critical days at the end of July and the beginning of August they had done everything in their power to avert the outbreak of war; they believed that this had also been the desire of their Allies France and Russia.
Grey himself was shocked by the turn of events, issuing his famous warning, "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."
Cecil, as Assistant Private Secretary to Edward Grey, would have been involved in and privy to the tense decision making, the questionable international diplomatic communications, and aware of the criticisms Grey received in his handling of the international diplomatic situation.
It is to be imagined that this early experience in his diplomatic career would have been a massive learning curve for Cecil and he would have learnt much in how to handle, or not handle, international diplomatic communications.
Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Cecil’s appointment was announced by The Right Honourable AJ Balfour MP Secretary of State and published in The Times on Thursday December 21 1915.
Cecil and the Balfour Declaration of 1917
Aaron to INSERT PHOTO this is a PDF document which Tony has.
Cecil was Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, when he drafted the Balfour Declaration of 1917, a sign of “sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations”, which reflected the position of the British Cabinet. This declaration was a formal statement of policy by the British government stating that:
"His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
The declaration promised the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine that would not disturb the non-Jewish groups already residing there. The British anticipated gaining a mandate over Palestine after World War I and hoped to win over Jewish public opinion to the side of the Allies. They also hoped that pro-British settlers would help protect the approaches to the Suez Canal, a vital link to Britain's South Asian possessions.
Growing Arab resentment and violence led to the abrogation of the declaration by Neville Chamberlain's government in 1939.
British Chargé d'Affaires to Caracas, Venezuela between 1919 and 1921.
During the time of Cecil’s posting to Caracas, Venezuela was experiencing a boom in oil development.
The President, Juan Vicente Gómez, had been given total power to make any concessions necessary to encourage oil companies to come to Venezuela, and pre-war he had granted several incredibly low tax rate concessions to British companies to explore, produce and refine oil. This meant that the British companies had virtual control of all the petrol production. One British company in particular, CDC, had received massive concessions.
Following the war, international awareness of the magnitude of Venezuela's oil reserves increased. American oil companies in particular, were interested in getting a foothold in the country, and were pushing for the annulment of CDC’s contract. The Government requested that CDC either increase production or relinquish its massive concession to allow other companies entry.
CDC showed little interest in complying - either by reducing their monopoly or increasing their production – and the Development Minister Gumersindo Torres threatened to take them to court.
It was at this stage that Cecil entered the picture and though he had no diplomatic experience in Latin America before this appointment, his diplomatic skill was really tested.
Newly arrived in Venezuela, Cecil had spent a week in early September 1919 as General Gomez’s guest in Maracay, the provincial city in which Gomez had lived since 1911. Cecil returned to Caracas enthused and he believed enlightened, for now he felt he had a clearer understanding of Gomez and the other men who led the regime. In particular he believed he now comprehended Gomez’s attitude toward foreign investment. He reported to his Embassy:
“I have all along wondered what was really the attitude of the powers that be here towards foreigners, and I think I now understand it. They do not dislike foreigners or foreign concessions in the way that people seem to do in China or in Persia. Here odd as it may sound, they are intensely patriotic..... They frankly acknowledge that they are powerless at present to develop the country unaided and to that end they welcome foreign assistance and foreign capital. But they long for the day when they can do things themselves. One cannot blame them for this, but it shows how careful we must be not to take up big schemes with our eyes blindfolded.... I will only say now that the big stick will never avail us anything. Tact and friendliness can get us anything, but official notes nothing.”
Cecil believed the Venezuelan Government, although showing a willingness to reach a solution with the CDC, was backed by some of the concession hunters, especially Exxon, who were flocking to the country. Nevertheless, Cecil did sympathise with the Government’s view that the ’concession in question is unduly large and is a hindrance to development.’
The situation faced an impasse. The Foreign Office was seriously concerned about the effect of continuing litigation and the threat of increased taxes would have on British companies interested in further investing.
They sent Cecil a telegram on the 18 May indicating that he should take “all possible action to prevent any reductions in areas for which concessions had been obtained.”
Cecil was sure that Gomez did not want to alienate British capital in Venezuela and was convinced that once this was made clear to Gomez the whole debacle would be quickly wound up. He therefore wrote in strong terms to the Development Minister stating that “the British Government does not recognise any reduction in the area of the concessions acquired by legal contract between the Government of Venezuela and British companies, unless such a reduction is freely agreed to by both parties.” Further “ Any measure which weakened British interests would be at complete variance with the assurances received by General Gomez, and the Provincial President, that such interests would be protected, thus encouraging further British capital to these lands.’ He ended up by saying that he had written this note because he was convinced “that the Government is unaware of the potential danger of adopting such an attitude and policy, and feel that by addressing Your Excellency in this friendly manner, you will take into account my reasons for preventing a possible disagreement between our two countries.” His letter was passed on to Gomez within two days.
Prospects for an amicable arrangement improved and on Feb 12 1921 a settlement was finally reached whereby CDC would retain its full concession. On 16 February 1921 the Cabinet ratified this settlement.
With Cecil’s intervention, the British were successful in repelling the American threat to their dominance in the oil fields of Venezuela during this period.
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First Secretary of the Legation to the Holy See between 1921 and 1926
A little background......
The Holy See is the pre-eminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic Church. The state's foreign relations are entrusted to the Holy See's Secretariat of State and diplomatic service.
It is also recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained.
Traditionally the Holy See has always had a highly respected diplomatic corps with sharp eyes and ears in many countries, and far closer to the ground than any ordinary diplomatic corps ever gets, through its network of bishops in each region and clergy in each locality. The Holy See knows what is going on in the world at governmental and grass roots level, has extraordinary access at the highest political level in most Catholic countries, and knows who’s who in the world’s faith communities. It is also a respected global opinion former
and it has the ability to help shape and influence issues of direct relevance to UK interests on every continent.
Cecil’s role
The Times on Saturday April 30 1921 published “Mr Cecil Dormer will leave London on May 6 with Lady Mary Dormer to take up his official duties with the British Mission at the Vatican.”
Following the First World War the UK diplomatic post was maintained in the Holy See both for the perceived value of its prestige, and to keep a watchful eye on the conflicts in Ireland, Malta, Quebec, and Australia, all of which had Catholic dimensions.
During Cecil’s posting the Embassy was watching Ireland very closely. The revolutionary period with unrest, turbulence and even bloodshed had begun with a rebellion in 1916, the unilateral establishment of a separatist regime in 1919, and the Irish War of Independence.
It was while Cecil was First Secretary of the Legation to the Holy See, that Ireland, on 6 December 1922, became a dominion in the British Commonwealth called the Irish Free State.
The Times also reported that Mr Cecil Dormer, First Secretary of the British Legation to the Holy See presented the boys of the Young Australia League to the Pope.
However, if life was reasonably quiet during Cecil’s time in Rome it was anything but in Cecil’s next posting.
Counsellor to Tokyo between 1926 and 1930.
During Cecil’s posting in Japan, the country’s relations with Britain were becomingly increasingly strained and it would probably be fair to say that Japan became more and more difficult to deal with diplomatically.
Japan was becoming more nationalistic and strongly focused on imperial regional expansion, with China as their main target. Britain owned a number of concessions in Japan and China and its presence was perceived negatively as “foreign interference”. When Britain, who had substantial political and economic interests in China, ‘collided’ with Japan, anti- British sentiments were rife.
Mr. Engene Chen, the Foreign Minister in the Kuomintang Government, was anti- British. He wanted the unification of Japan and this could only happen if the British got out of, or were removed from the country.
It wasn’t just a war of words. Fighting was spasmodically being waged between North and South Japan, but in early 1927 it heated up with a serious encounter in China between
Chinese and British forces. A Chinese mob tore through Hankow, a British concession, which was unsuccessfully defended by a totally inadequate British marine force.Chen undertook to call the mob off and protect the British residents, so long as they made no attempt to protect themselves. There was nothing for it but for the British to accept the offer, and the surrender of the concession logically followed, with the Chen-O'Malley Agreement on February 19.
Japan was anxious to see the re-establishment of order and security in China, which they saw as necessary for the future commercial interest of Japan. Britain was forced to defend their concession in Shanghai, China, and a similar incident to Hankow occurred; fighting resulted in a small loss of British life. The British government, tired of the Chinese boycott against British goods and hopeful of wooing the Chinese from Soviet influence, returned the concessions at Hankow and Jiujiang to the Nationalist government.
Further tensions arose when in 1927 the Three Power Geneva Naval Conference was held. After World War I, many nations became concerned about the threat of another war and the possibility of an arms race. The Three Power Geneva Naval Conference was to address these issues in the naval arena. This was a gathering of the United States, Great Britain and Japan, to discuss making joint limitations to their naval capacities. The conference was a failure -- the parties did not reach agreement and the naval arms race continued unabated after the conference.
No records, apart from the interesting anecdote following, can be found on Cecil’s role in Tokyo during this period. However it would not be unreasonable to assume that problems which arose around Japan’s imperialistic objectives in the Pacific region would have been of vital interest to Britain, and that Cecil would have been expected to play an important diplomatic role in the development and strengthening of peaceful relationships between Japan and Britain.
Balancing diplomatic, political and commercial relations in the troubled Pacific region, would have been quite difficult and would have required and inordinate amount of skill and tact from Cecil.
The only piece of research I could unearth on Cecil during this time was rather amusing – though perhaps not at the time! Following a dinner given by the Japan British Society to Prince Chichibu in around 1927, a photograph appeared in the papers that appeared to show Cecil, the then Counsellor of the British Embassy, proposing the Prince's health with what appeared to be one of his hands in his pocket. As a result, a number of threatening letters were received by him from the Black Dragon Society and other reactionary organisations demanding an apology for his "insult" to the Prince!
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Bangkok between 1930 and 1934.
On April 30 1930 Cecil had an audience with the King at Buckingham Palace on his appointment as His Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Bangkok. The Times published an announcement that Mr Cecil Dormer left London on 13 June 1930 for the British Legation, Bangkok, Siam. Lady Dormer’s address was noted as the Ladies Coulton Club, Grosvenor Place, where she would reside until October when she joined her husband.
What was Cecil facing on this post?
Thailand had become the object of rivalry between Great Britain, the chief defender of the status quo, and an expansive Japan in the 1930s.
Siam gave first priority to the maintenance of friendly relations with the British, its most powerful neighbour (in India), an approach that had both economic and political consequences. In the economic realm, British companies gained forestry and mining concessions and came to dominate Siam’s foreign trade. Siam became a vital rice bowl for British Malaya, an area increasingly dependent on food imports, as large numbers of Chinese and Indian labourers migrated there to work in the tin mines and rubber plantations.
Politically, influential British ministers ensured that their countrymen filled most slots in Siam’s corps of well-paid foreign advisors. Most Thai princes went to England for their education, including the last two absolute monarchs, as well as many ministers and other high-ranking officials.
Two coups, the second and successful one in 1932, brought an end to absolute monarchy and the introduction of a constitution. This posed a challenge to the British position in the decade leading up to World War II. Their main objective was to build a relationship and policy that would allay the suspicions of the Promoters, a party trying to bring change to Siam.
On a personal note
Whilst living in Bangkok, Cecil and Mary lived the life of a quiet country couple. In the cool of the afternoon Mary could be seen tending her flower beds, whilst Cecil fished from an old boat in a pond in the diplomatic residence’s garden. In the evenings they would read or Cecil would work out chess problems.
The Dormers made no parade of their piety but they were always seen at 8 o’clock Mass in Assumption Cathedral on Sunday morning, and on many week mornings in the private chapel of a convent near the diplomatic residence.
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Oslo between 1934 and 1941.
On May 17 1934 Cecil was received by the King at Buckingham Palace on his appointment as HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Oslo. In a further ceremony in June he was introduced by the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps and named to his Majesty by the Lord Chamberlain at a Levee at St James Palace. And on June 5 he was received by the Prince of Wales.
However If life was reasonably quiet during Cecil’s time in Bangkok it was anything but in this posting.
This part of history, and Cecil’s involvement in it, is worth telling in much more detail - even if the detail is a little superficial , because it is a story that sometimes pans out as a drama, sometimes a massive tragedy, while other times it becomes quite farcical . And Cecil sat fairly and squarely in the middle of everything that was going on. He had to repeatedly call on his skills of tact and secrecy, not to mention courage and determination, and his strong oratorical and diplomatic skills, to avert disaster after disaster...... and survive!
It begins with understanding the need the United Kingdom had for Norway as an ally. As a nation with an overseas empire, the United Kingdom was highly dependent on imported goods. Britain required more than a million tons of imported material per week in order to be able to survive and fight. Norway had long-standing and strong ties with Great Britain, both politically and economically, but it was clear that the British had vital strategic interests linked to Norway and wanted dominance of the North Sea. Both Britain and Germany had a strategic interest in denying the other access to Norway. This was often referred to by the press as “the shipping problem”.
During the early 1930s Cecil played a pivotal role in diplomatically negotiating favorable Norwegian-British tonnage and trade agreement treaties. He was praised by Mr Anthony Eden, the Lord Privy Seal, for the satisfactory improvement in British Norwegian trade over this period. He was responsible for negotiating towards a future that would offer “new and better conditions in commercial relations than those the world suffered under today and also new and better international policy in the interests of peace.’ This was October 1934, less than five years before World War II broke out.
Yet though Norway had a unique strategic geographical importance, amazingly on many maps, including those of Britain, France and Germany, it remained either nameless or its borders and capital were out of date. In fact, in 1940 Britain’s Foreign Secretary was still mistaking the Norwegian border for a railway line!
Norway was to all intents a peaceful, sleepy little kingdom intent on pursuing a doctrine of neutrality, and therefore not involved in the evolving war that was being played out all over Europe in the late 1930s. Considering its geographical location this could either be considered as a head in the sand attitude or naivety at its grandest.
Living the war experience
However, this was all about to change dramatically. Shortly before 11.30 pm on 8 April 1940 two Norwegian coastguards reported five large ships sailing up the fjord. Two hours later these were recognised as German warships. The Minister of Supply, Trygve Li, proposed that an official call for help be made to the Cecil, the British Minister. The first attempt was fruitless – Sir Cecil was fast asleep and couldn’t be woken - whereupon Prime Minister Nygaardsvold lost his temper. The Foreign Minister finally managed to get in touch with Cecil and advise him that Norway was now at war! When King Haakon was also informed shortly afterwards that Norway was at war, he asked “Against whom?”
An immediate mobilisation was ordered but the administrative machinery immediately faltered: for one thing the ministers of the Norwegian government knew nothing about the mechanism of mobilisation and they left the matter entirely to the Minister of Defence. Unfortunately he had only been in this position for barely 3 months and he was just as incompetent as his government colleagues.
The army Commander in Chief, General Laake obstinately refused to take the alert seriously and it was only with the greatest difficulty that he was finally convinced to leave his country home and return to Oslo.
He then called the Minister of Defence and advised him to mobilise the 4 brigades stationed in southern Norway, something the general staff had been recommending since 5 April. This late in the day however this command was meaningless – this was known as ‘partial and secret mobilisation’ and according to military code could only be implemented by calling on soldiers through the mail to assemble 48 hours later! The General could still not bring himself to believe that anything serious was happening. At general staff headquarters the order for partial and secret mobilisation was greeted with incredulity but the Chief of Staff was adamant – the command had come after all from the Government! The General was even further removed from reality. He told his startled officers that a little exercise should do these units well!
Seven major government meetings and a Government Council were held over less than 30 hours. Cecil played a pivotal role in communication between Britain and Norway, remaining in touch with London by means of a wireless transmitter carried by members of the British legation. The Air Force Chief of Staff advised him to communicate to Great Britain urgently that Norway were totally unprepared for war and they needed immediate and powerful help from Great Britain to save the situation.
Cecil was able to give the Norwegian Foreign Office encouraging news - The Foreign Office in London promised full aid would be extended to Norway and that Britain would fight in full association with them.
Koht, the Norwegian Foreign minister relayed this to the Government but when the Prime Minister displayed doubt that help would arrive anytime soon, Koht admitted that Cecil had told him in confidence that “as soon as possible” did not mean “without delay”, or “on the dot”. Only that they would do their best.
The fact that England was unable to dispatch assistance immediately was not received well, and the Prime Minister was in favour of trying to negotiate with the German minister conditions whereby Norway would be allowed to keep on exercising her sovereignty. In hindsight such negotiations would have been useless at this stage – Norway had already lost control of four of their largest cities to the German invaders.
The situation worsened considerably later that day when German forces were reported quite close, intent on capturing the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament. Facism was on their doorstep.
The Duty Officer at the War Cabinet Office, in the very early hours of 9 April, rang General Ismay, secretary to Chief of Staff Committee and garbled a message incoherently. He seemed distraught and repeated what he was saying but he couldn’t be understood. He was told to draw the blackout curtains, find his false teeth and say it all over again. This did the trick! What he’d been saying was brutal in its simplicity. The Germans had seized Copenhagen and all the main ports of Norway!
A special train for Elverum was arranged to depart hurriedly and the royal party and ministers hurriedly made their way to the railway station. Cecil and his wife had barely time to dress warmly and pack a suitcase before driving away hurriedly in a Humber. They fled Oslo just a few hours ahead of the Germans. The first night they motored all night from 5 pm till 7 am with only hurried stopover for supper at 10 pm. It was snowing hard and roads were deeply covered in snow. Whilst leaving Otta they saw a plane drop four bombs only about a mile off, and they passed through towns being bombed.
They bedded down for a few hours sleep wherever they could find food and a roof over their head. One of their main concerns was that Cecil would be able to keep in touch with the Norwegian government. When they spent 3 days just over the border in Sweden they were filmed by American Movietone newsreel cameras.
Interestingly, in a hastily typed letter to the family sent by Mary on April 20 1940, in which she says Cecil has told her she has a chance to send one letter to family, she calls herself and Cecil “hardened campaigners who have learnt to become perfect refugees, and get off very quickly at any time.” Amazingly, even though they have the Germans continually snapping at their heels, the letter’s tone is chatty, and Mary says though anxious, everyone is in good spirits. She talks about them having to hastily purchase various and odd looking clothes to keep warm against the harsh, cold conditions and supplement their hastily packed suitcase – corduroy knickerbockers for Cecil and skiing trousers for herself.
Their fugitive party increases with the inclusion of a naval attaché’s wife whose husband has gone to Stockholm and hopes to join them later, a first and second Secretary, an attaché and two chauffeurs. “Others blow in and out all the time”, hence the need to hire an extra car.
During their time on the run Mary talks of a new found value for many simple things, like a piece of string picked up when none could be found in shops. How their washing got done in one place, and rolled in a piece of waterproof sheet if a “flit is sudden”, and then dried
and ironed as, and when, they could later. Mary and the naval attaché’s wife were responsible for this, and for keeping the party’s clothes mended.
Mary also talks of keeping a constant vigil for planes overhead as they had heard that the Germans had orders to fire at anything. Whilst driving at all times one of the party was responsible for keeping watch for planes through the front window of the car and Mary was responsible for keeping watch out the back window. Often they had to jump out of the car very quickly, scatter and flatten themselves in the thick snow, under a tree if possible, when bombs were sighted. Bombing was usually from dawn to dusk but one surprised them around 12.30 am on one occasion and it was very close.
Though their party saw bombs being dropped and towns burning they suffered no casualties. But she does say that narrow escapes were plentiful. The French Minister travelling with their party had an incendiary bomb go off beside his car, and their own chauffeur narrowly escaped machine gun fire. Cecil and Mary themselves narrowly missed direct hits a number of times whilst taking refuge in air raid shelters in Molde.
Mary also mentions that they heard the plane and saw the smoking remains of where the King and Government had been hiding (they escaped) and luckily where Cecil had been, only shortly before, in a meeting with the King. “Now we hope the British troops can rout the dastardly Huns and that we can soon see this country free of them,” she wrote.
They bedded down where and when they could. They spent three nights in a doctor’s house about 10 miles outside of Molde, and from there Cecil was able to meet with Norwegian government officials, though during this time he found himself often sheltering in air raid shelters.
Cecil and Mary were able to go to mass in a convent hospital run by Dutch nuns just outside Molde. While they were taking communion, ironically given by a German priest born in Cologne, bombing started. They were forced to flee to the underground cellar for some time and then another hour and a half in an air raid shelter in the town, eventually escaping between raids.
Molde was burning badly on the evening of April 28 when they learnt that a cruiser would pick them up the next day. Their evacuation was quite dramatic, having to take to ditches twice on their way to the quay and passing churches and houses burning. At the quay the cruiser’s hoses were playing on the surrounding fire and Cecil and Mary passed under jets of streaming water, smoke and steam to get to the ship. Mary describes going into Molde to board their ship and seeing British planes being shot down and destroyed over the area “it was too sad...they had not a chance.” Just before they left at midnight a plane came over them dropping a bomb very narrowly missing them and machine gunfire followed.
They called that their “last real narrow shave and narrow enough”!! They travelled on stand by, and their journey home to Britain was not direct, but they “had an excellent journey and several nights sleep” even if they did have to sleep fully dressed with some of their party sleeping on the floor. But by now they “were accustomed to the life of refugees.”
Mary also mentions that “Cecil was of course often tired, as he had not only the drama playing out around him but also responsibilities as the British ambassador.”
She also talks of the great kindness they met everywhere they went and they were actually sad to leave Norway.
On their return to London, Mary stayed but Cecil remained only a few days and then returned to Norway to continue his diplomatic role. She also mentions that “Cecil expects to retire now.”
Cecil also managed to hurriedly write a short letter to his sister at the same time. This letter starts off with the astounding words, “It has all been an exciting adventure (!!) and though our hours of rest have been erratic we feel much better than during past weeks when we were tied to the office stove and unable to get out.” Cecil also describes their motley clothes and tells his sister that she “would laugh if she saw their costumes.” He tells her that Ludlow, their butler, managed to throw a few of Cecil’s medals into his own handgrip, filling up precious space, because he was determined the Germans would not get them. “They are not much use to me so far, “Cecil writes. He also mentions sending some of the party onto Sweden as it was not necessary to keep them with his party – and he believes this gave rise to the inaccurate report that the British legation had gone to Stockholm.
He also says “Mary is flourishing and thrives on the racket.” Comfortingly he advises his sister May that “We have the wife of the naval attaché and four French ministers to keep us company and are a merry party so don’t worry about us.”
Even though in great personal danger, Cecil managed to rejoin the Norwegian government near the Swedish border on April 12 and sent an urgent telegram to the Foreign Office. In this he advised that that the Norwegian government definitely didn’t feel capable of coping with the situation if British support was confined to naval operation only. He urged that military assistance was a necessity.
Yet on Apr 14, 1940 Cecil was reported in the NY Times as saying "The Norwegians are showing wonderful grit and determination," and on Apr 15, 1940 - "The Norwegians are putting up a jolly fine fight.”I have enormous admiration for what they have done and the fullest confidence of seeing Germany turned out in the very near future."
The UK Daily Mirror newspaper of Wednesday April 1940 shows a photo of a well rugged Sir Cecil Dormer, British Minister in Norway, preparing to leave Elverum with his wife after German raids, with the headline ‘Bombed – but Safe’.
Twenty days later
Picture this...
On a snowy night, April 29 1940, at the wooden quayside of Molde on Norway’s west coast, the night sky was red from the flames of a village ablaze from intense German bombardment. The wooden buildings, boathouses and small farms of this picturesque country burned as the terrified residents fled from the Romsdal fjord to the mountains. Fires burned all around silhouetting snow-capped mountains in the glow.
King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav, Cabinet Ministers and a few foreign diplomats including Cecil, were trying with great difficulty to reach the British cruiser HMS Glasgow, which had been sent to their aid by special order of George VI.
Already on board HMS Glasgow was a special cargo of fifty tons of Norway’s gold reserves, bars and coins rescued from the vaults of the Norges Bank in Oslo twenty days earlier. It was a massive task. 818 large crates weighing up to 40kg, 685 smaller wooden boxes and 39 others containers with fifty tons of gold bars, ten tons of gold coins, and one and a half million coins and notes had been hastily transported by wheelbarrows into 26 trucks. Some trucks had to bear loads totalling over 500kg, a real effort on slushy, icy gravel roads. Its transport demanded skilful ad hoc planning, intrigue and secrecy and Cecil had been part of this elaborate planning exercise.
The gold had first arrived in Lillehammer, and with Germans already in the town secret plans were completed to move the treasure north along the single track Rauma railway. Snow drifts had to be cleared by Norwegian runners sent ahead. German paratroopers were everywhere and there were major clashes along the route. As German bombs destroyed the pretty seaside town of Andalsnes, and while the Government Ministers, including Cecil were looking for a safe haven for the Royal party to hide, negotiations were also being organised hurriedly for the evacuation of the gold to Scotland.
On April 25 the Cabinet, King and Crown Prince and later the Prime minister, the foreign minister and Cecil managed to come together to discuss how to bring this exodus to a safe conclusion. Everyone was incredibly tired – there had been very little opportunity for sleep for weeks.
On the evening of April 29 the royal party finally boarded the Glasgow in great danger since the quay was ablaze and headed for Tromso in the far north, travelling along some of the most beautiful but also most dangerous waters in the world. Once the Germans were aware that the Government, royalty and the gold were on the move, bombers pursued them relentlessly.
King Haakon, the Norwegian government and Cecil, escaped first to Scotland and then to London, where the King was to support the fight through inspirational radio speeches to his countrymen for the rest of the war.
The Norwegians were profoundly grateful for Britain’s aid, and in recognition each winter gave a Christmas tree to be erected in Trafalgar Square, just metres from where the Norwegian Government–in-exile had resided for five years in great secrecy.
Cecil’s prowess as a foreign diplomat under intense wartime pressure
Cecil’s role in this saga was enormous and his diplomatic skills were really put to the test. He was physically in the thick of the wartime fighting, not simply sitting at a desk formulating plans and making decisions. He personally orchestrated the plans for the royal evacuation, ensuring that the King, his son and his government officials, did not fall into German hands; and he was involved in determining the strategy for protecting the country’s gold from the invading Germans.
Getting the king and government to evacuate the country was not an easy task, but Cecil later reported that his task at one stage was made considerably easier when he got help from an unexpected quarter – a Heinkel dropped a bomb just missing the party! Even as the group sped through Molde heading for the port, a German plane dropped an incendiary bomb that fell right behind the royal car – “well intended, but the execution seem to be lagging behind,” the king said dryly.
Cecil was able to exercise considerable influence on the Norwegian King and his government and strategic debate and decision-making in London. He employed considerable diplomatic skill in wartime strategic planning and communicating to and fro with the Norwegian King and his government officials, and the British home office and the War Office. All the while he was constantly moving, hiding and conferring under a deluge of bombs and the threat of death.
Cecil also had to work against the background problems of physical isolation, lack of communication (the telephone wasn’t working); personal quarrels and disagreements within the Norwegian government and a marked incompatibility of temper between a number of his main collaborators within the makeshift Norwegian foreign ministry. Added to this Cecil was working with a Prime Minister who was visibly bowing under severe signs of nervous strain, a King who seemed to treat danger with sovereign contempt and a Foreign Minister who would show strange courage, strolling through the smoking bombardments holding the firm conviction that he was invulnerable by virtue of international public law!
Yet he called this an adventure!!!
Cecil not only got out of the country with his life he also did a sterling job as British Minister, in face of great adversity.
And Cecil didn’t always face a war using ammunition....... sometimes it was a war of words!
This is a press clipping that appeared in The Times newspaper of 1936.
An Italian TrophyThe Fugitive Mr DormerFrom our own correspondentRome April 2
An amazing illustration of the errors into which the Italian Press is led nowadays by its blind attacks upon Great Britain has been furnished by the picking up in Abyssinia of a visiting card in an otherwise empty pocket- book bearing the name of Cecil F dormer, described in attendance on Dedjasmatch Kassa of Ethopia.
On the strength of this discovery the Tribuna last night printed a special article about a “certain Dormer flying at full speed before the advance of the Italian troops and in his haste losing his kit with the incriminating ‘very elegant Bristol’.”The writer went on:Even the most modest Englishman will agree with us that the fugitive Mr Dormer does not cut a good figure in the service of a barbarian man of colour. Did his very humble services merit the luxury of the Bristol visiting card? But it is not necessary to be cruel. It is evident that the poor Mr Dormer has been driven to Africa by urgent personal needs. Only his pocket-book has remained empty. So far as we are directly concerned we take note of this other English visiting card left in Abyssinia as a token of the material and moral solidarity of the subjects of His Britannic Majesty with the slave–owning hordes of the Negus.
Editor’s noteIt may perhaps interest the writer in the Tribuna to know that the ‘certain Mr Dormer” has since 1934 been the British Minister in Oslo, and that his visiting card dates back to 1911, when, as an acting second secretary in the Diplomatic Service, he was attached to Dedjasmatch Kassa on the occasion of that chieftain coming to London for the coronation of King George V.
However retirement as mentioned in Mary’s letter to the family was a little way off yet.
Ambassador to the Polish Government in Exile in 1941.
In the spring of 1941 Cecil was appointed Ambassador of the Polish Government in Exile in London.
What diplomatic issues would he have spent his final working year on?
The Polish government in exile was recognised by all the Allied governments. Politically, it was a coalition of the Polish Peasant Party, the Polish Socialist Party, the Labour Party and the National Democratic Party, although these parties maintained only a vestigial existence in the circumstances of exile. During 1941 it was facing a difficult task in attempting to re-establish the Polish state, and a number of initiatives were designed to strengthen its diplomatic standing. Wladyslaw Sikorski was the Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile.
When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, the Polish government in exile established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union despite Stalin's role in the earlier dismemberment of Poland. Hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers who had been taken prisoner by the Soviets in eastern Poland in 1939, and many civilian Polish prisoners and deportees, were released and allowed to form military units ("Anders' Army"); they were evacuated to Iran and the Middle East where they were desperately needed by the British hard pressed by Rommel's Afrika Korps.
The Polish government-in-exile in London played an important role in exposing Nazi atrocities. Through the press and diplomatic channels, it tried constantly to inform the international community and Allied and neutral governments about what was happening in Auschwitz and other camps, the occupation reign of terror in Poland, the killing of Poles, and the extermination of the Jews.
It is supposed that Cecil would have been involved in the above issues as well as a range of issues including matters connected with the process of recognition of the government in exile and matters related to the war effort and budgetary matters; plus it is not unreasonable to believe he would have had intensive discussions with the Czechoslovak government in exile in London.
It is also possible that Cecil would have been in some way involved when the Polish government in exile, on December 15, 1941, inaugurated the "Polish Postal Service" with Polish stamps that propagandised the fact that the Polish Army, Air Force, Navy, and Merchant Marine were still fighting as the fifth world power, albeit that they were fighting beyond Poland's boundaries.
All these issues, no doubt would have placed great demands on Cecil’s well honed diplomatic skills, though after the excitement, danger and thrill of the year before they may have seemed somewhat humdrum.
And sadly it is here that the research trail for Cecil dries up..........
Cecil would have been 59 years old, and considering Mary’s mention in a letter to the family of his proposed retirement a year earlier, it would not be out of order to consider that he finally decided on a much quieter life. Perhaps he went back to fishing, though in hindsight it’s a great shame he didn’t put his adventures down on paper!
Władysław Sikorski, first Prime Minister of the Polish Government in Exile
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The distinction between managers and officers is not necessarily as apparent. Senior officers (such as first and second secretaries) often manage junior diplomats and locally-hired staff.
In modern diplomatic practice there are a number of diplomatic ranks below Ambassador. Since most missions are now headed by an Ambassador, these ranks now rarely indicate a mission's (or its host nation's) relative importance, but rather reflect the diplomat's individual seniority within their own nation's diplomatic career path and in the diplomatic corps in the host nation:
Ambassador (High Commissioner in Commonwealth missions); Ambassador at large Minister
Minister-Counselor
Counselor
First Secretary
Second Secretary
Third Secretary
Attaché
Assistant Attaché
Some significant sources and further reading
Norway 1940 by Francois KersaudySnow Treasures by Janet Voke
THE DORMER FAMILY TREE
FROM Cecil to Tony
