British Secret Service During the Great WarEveritt, Nicholas
History
British Secret Service During the Great War
Everitt, Nicholas
Secret service -- Great Britain; World War, 1914-1918 -- Secret service -- Great Britain
"It is said that he did not return because the Turkish Ambassador
in London made a request to that effect.... I think it probable
that if such a request was made it was because Mr. Fitzmaurice did
not conceal his dislike of the policy which the Young Turks were
pursuing.
"As his ability and loyalty to his chief are beyond question, and
as he possesses a quite exceptional knowledge of the Turkish
Empire, and has proved himself a most useful public servant ... it
was nothing less than a national misfortune that he did not return
with Sir Louis Mallet."
Baron von Wangenheim, the German Ambassador, possessed a superbly
equipped staff. It is known that he distributed money, favours, and
distinctions broadcast with a free and bountiful hand. He played upon
the weaknesses and characteristics of the Orientals with such diplomatic
skill and cunning that he entirely won over the Young Turkish party to
his way of thinking. And the Young Turkish party ruled and dictated to
the whole country.
The blame and responsibility for this extraordinary state of affairs
has been put by our indignant Press upon our Foreign Office at home,
which sent out, organised, and controlled such a representation. The
terrible defeat we suffered at the Dardanelles has also been referred to
as the natural aftermath to such a sowing; for proof of culpability as
to this see further on.
Our position in Turkey, says Sir Edwin Pears,
"was made worse than it might have been from the mischievous
general rule of our Foreign Office, which erects an almost
impassable barrier between the Consular and Diplomatic Services, a
barrier which I have long desired to see broken down. When, some
months afterwards, I returned to England, I received a copy of the
'Appendix to the Fifth Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil
Service,' published on July 16th, 1914, in which (on p. 321) there
is a letter written by me two years earlier in which I made two
recommendations. The first was adopted, the second unfortunately
was not. I claimed that the Consular and Diplomatic Services should
be so co-ordinated that a good man in the Consular Service in
Turkey might be promoted into the Diplomatic Service, and I
instanced the case of Sir William White, one of the ablest
Ambassadors we ever had in Constantinople, who had risen from being
a consular clerk to the Embassy. The facts under my notice from
July to the end of October, 1914, afforded strong proof of the
common sense of my recommendation. The inexperience of the
Ambassador and his staff heavily handicapped British diplomacy in
Turkey: yet there were three men who had been or were in the
Consular Service whose help would have been invaluable. They had
each proved themselves able Dragomans and each had many years'
experience in Turkey. The only explanation that I can give of why
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account