Asia, Great Britain, Egypt, Asian, Middle Eastern, Middle East, International Relations 

Suez 1956 was the greater political crisis of the 1950s, which tested the impartiality of the British civil services almost to breaking point. Yet there has been no proper or systematic study the role of Whitehall and the Suez Crisis. This volume seeks to remedy this deficiency by focusing on the parts played by key individuals in vital posts at crucial times in order to show how the policy process worked during the crisis. Whitehall and the Suez Crisis
Each contribution deals with a key “Whitehall warrior” and seeks to define their private and public attitudes to events in order to determine what influence they had on policy making and to highlight any dilemmas they may have faced. There are chapter on figures such as Admiral Earl Mountbatten of Burma, first sea lord; Sir Norman Brook, secretary to the cabinet; Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick, permanent undersecretary at the foreign office, and the British ambassador in Cairo, Paris, New York and Washington.
The collection show officials attempting to fulfill a large number of roles, from defending Britain’s case at the UN and negotiating with alien, to planning military operations and providing legal advice to the manipulation of the media, psychological operation and the use of covert action to undermine foreign government.
These essay are based on the new research in British archives by the foremost historians in the field who, in some cases, have been able to interview the officials concerned. This book is a major contribution not only to the long- running debate about the influence of official on the conduct of British foreign policy, but to our understanding of the significance of the suez crisis in post war British history.


 

This review of the Suez Crisis gives a chapter each to such key players as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff and the Secretary to the Cabinet. It incorporates 1956 releases from the Public Record Office to reassess the role of officials and the process of policymaking. - from Amzon 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Alternatives to Nasser: Humphrey Trevelyan,
Ambassador to Egypt BY Michael T. Thornhill.................................P 11
A Modern Major General': General Sir Gerald Templer,
Chief of the Imperial General Staff BY Anthony Gorst............................P 29
Playing the Role of a Cassandra:
Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice, Senior Legal Advisor
to the Foreign Office BY Lewis Johnman.....................................P 46
The Mandarins' Mandarin: Sir Norman Brook,
Secretary of the Cabinet BY Keith Kyle.....................................P 64
In the Know? Sir Gladwyn Jebb,
Ambassador to France BY Christopher Goldsmith...........................P 79
The Limits of Opposition:
Admiral Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Eric Grove and
First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff BY Sally Rohan...........................P 98
The Missing Link? Patrick Dean, Chairman of
the Joint Intelligence Committee BY W Scott Lucas.............................P 117
Cadogan's Last Fling: Sir Alexander Cadogan,
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC. BY Tony Shaw............P 126
In the Company of Policy Makers: Sir Donald Logan,
Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs. BY Chris Brady......................................P 146
Transatlantic Diplomat: Sir Roger Makins,
Ambassador to Washington and Joint Permanent
Secretary to the Treasury BY Saul Kelly....................................P 157
The Diplomats' Diplomat: Sir Pierson Dixon,
Ambassador to the United Nations. BY Edward Johnson........................P 178
The Past as Matrix: Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick, Permanent
Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. BY Ann Lane...............................P 199