Профиль

A building with a unique history in central London - 9 Carlton House Terrace. A fascinating site of interwar diplomacy on the eve of war. @uk.diplo.de @germanhistsoc.bsky.social @ghilondon.bsky.social

Hoesch was critical of Hitler’s foreign policy and sparked a feud over Germany’s re-militarisation of the Rhineland in March 1936. His untimely death the following month enabled Hitler to appoint a more sympathetic agent - Joachim von Ribbentrop - to London. @uk.diplo.de @germanhistsoc.bsky.social

Hoesch’s funeral cortège received an escort from the Grenadier Guards & was followed by Britain’s leading diplomats including the foreign minister and a young Prince Philip as it made its ways past Buckingham Palace to Victoria Station. @uk.diplo.de @germanhistsoc.bsky.social @ghilondon.bsky.social

It might surprise you to see the swastika flag of the Nazi Party draped over von Hoesch’s casket in 1936 coming on to Pall Mall in central London, but remember that Britain would not go to war with Nazi Germany for over three years. @uk.diplo.de @germanhistsoc.bsky.social @ghilondon.bsky.social

It pays to pause and recognise the history around you. ‘Giro’ was the pet dog of Leopold von Hoesch, the German ambassador to London 1932 (that’s pre-Nazis) to 1936. @uk.diplo.de @ghilondon.bsky.social @germanhistsoc.bsky.social

And, of course, Violet Bonham Carter was the grandmother of #HelenaBonhamCarter, the talented actress behind Bellatrix Lestrange. 🪄😉 So that's your Anglo-Austrian diplomatic history fun fact of the day! 🇬🇧🤝🇦🇹(🧙‍♀️) #IfAustriaPerishes

Bonham Carter was a crucial intermediary between Selby & those in London with similar sympathies for beleaguered Austria. She promised Selby that she 'would leave no stone unturned' to help enable him in his mission to protect Austria & used her network to try to rally support. #IfAustriaPerishes

The daughter of Lord Asquith, a former Prime Minister, Violet Bonham Carter was fiercely anti-appeasement and a politician in her own right, serving as two-time president of the Women's Liberal Federation and the first woman president of the Liberal Party. She was a staunch defender of Austria.

On the top of the backside of one of the letters there was some writing that was written sideways in the upper margin. I tilted my computer screen to read what was scribbled, and there it was at last...Violet Bonham Carter! 🤩 'VBC' wasn't a 'he' - 'VBC' was a *she*! 🤯🙌 #IfAustriaPerishes

2.5 years into the project, I revisited the hundreds of photographs of the handwritten letters I had taken at @bodleian.ox.ac.uk to see once again if I had overlooked the key clue (MS. Eng. c. 6587, in case you're interested!). Nothing. 😩 But then... #IfAustriaPerishes

'VBC' certainly moved in important circles. In 1 letter alone, 'VBC' mentions having dinner/drinks/parties with 2 Prime Ministers, PUS of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden (who later became PM) & @austriainuk.bsky.social's Baron Franckenstein (the Austrian Ambassador) - who *was* he?!

Reverse-checking the several addresses that appeared in VBC's letterhead over the years (they were some pretty ritzy residences near Hyde Park!), cross-referencing indexes, and scouring my other sources all left me empty handed. 'VBC' remained an enigma. Gah! 😱😱😱

Early in his tenure in Vienna, Selby struck up a series of correspondence with a mysterious friend, 'VBC', with whom he confided his fears and hopes about Austria's future. Now, 'VBC' is the vital link to 'the boy who lived'. Dozens and dozens of letters were exchanged...but I needed a *name*! 🙃

Selby was the British Ambassador to #Austria 🇦🇹 for much of the 1930s. Frustrated with the Foreign Office's 'empty promises of support' for Austria in the face of Nazi Germany, Selby sought the help of friends in high places in order to sidestep official diplomatic channels. 🆘 #IfAustriaPerishes

What's the connection between Sir Walford Selby and Bellatrix Lestrange? 🤔 For 2.5 years during my PhD I worked on a riddle that concerns @austriainuk.bsky.social and the British Embassy in Vienna, and resulted in an unexpected link to #HarryPotter! Read on to follow my discovery! 👇

Great to attend the fourth Hella Pick lecture on 'Charting a Landscape of Antisemitism and Radicalisation Online and Offline' with talks from @isdglobal.bsky.social's Julia Ebner and @oeaw.bsky.social's Gerald Lambrecht at the Austrian Cultural Forum in London last night. @austriainuk.bsky.social

And while I'm flattered by the erroneous title Histoflick gave me, although I earned my PhD from @camhistory.bsky.social and was a temporary lecturer in Modern European History, of course presently I'm Head of History at Radley College.

Fun to contribute thoughts on the history of the Austrian First Republic and its problematic depiction in 'The Sound of Music' to Histoflick, a new @sheffielduni.bsky.social initiative! @botstiberinstitute.bsky.social @cas-umn.bsky.social @ahy-history.bsky.social histoflick.com/2026/06/02/e...

Great programme! If ever this project expands to include the 1930s, I'd love to get involved by sharing what I've discovered about Austria's consular network in the UK, 1933-38.

That's what it might take these days, too!