Eric Phipps
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Sir Eric Clare Edmund Phipps (27 October 1875 – 13 August 1945) was a British diplomat.


Family

Phipps was the son of Sir Constantine Phipps, later British Ambassador to Belgium, and his wife, Maria Jane (née Miller Mundy).
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, (14 February 17557 April 1831), styled The Honourable Henry Phipps until 1792 and known as The Lord Mulgrave from 1792 to 1812, was a British soldier and politician. He notably served as Foreign Secr ...
, was his great-grandfather, and he was also a great-grandson of Lieutenant-General Sir
Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...
, who was present at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, and of Rear-Admiral Sir
John Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Con ...
, who was a Lieutenant on HMS ''Phoebe'' at the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
.


Early life and career

As a child, he accompanied his parents around Europe to his father's various postings. He was educated at
King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
, and the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
, from which he graduated. He passed the
competitive examination An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...
for entry to the
Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...
in January 1899 and was posted as an
attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...
to Paris in October 1899, being promoted Third Secretary in January 1901. In January 1905 he was posted to
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, was promoted Second Secretary in April and returned to London to work at the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
in September. In September 1906, he was posted to Rome and in February 1909, he returned to Paris as private secretary to Sir
Francis Bertie Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame, ( "barty of tame"; 17 August 1844 – 26 September 1919) was a British diplomat. He was Ambassador to Italy between 1903 and 1905 and Ambassador to France between 1905 and 1918. Background ...
,
British Ambassador to France The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the ...
. In April 1912, he was promoted First Secretary and posted to
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, transferred to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
in October 1913. He returned to Paris in May 1916. He was on the staff of the British delegation to the
Versailles Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
until September 1919, when he was promoted to
counsellor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...
and posted back to London. In November 1920, he was posted to
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
as
chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...
, and in November 1922, he was promoted to
minister plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under th ...
and posted back to Paris, often serving as chargé d'affaires in the absence of the ambassador. In June 1928, Phipps received his first independent posting as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.


Ambassador to Germany

In 1933, he was appointed
British Ambassador to Germany The British Ambassador to Germany is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Federal Republic of Germany, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Germany. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassado ...
. To some extent, he followed policies later known as
appeasement Appeasement in an international context is a diplomatic policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict. The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the UK governm ...
, as he believed that the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
was the key to preventing the next war. He tried to enlist the French in efforts to get the Germans to co-operate. However, in some despatches, he warned the British government about the character of the régime. On 31 January 1934, he told his Foreign Secretary:
itler'spolicy is simple and straightforward. If his neighbours allow him, he will become strong by the simplest and most direct methods. The mere fact that he is making himself unpopular abroad will not deter him, for, as he said in a recent speech, it is better to be respected and feared than to be weak and liked. If he finds that he arouses no real opposition, the ''tempo'' of his advance will increase. On the other hand, if he is vigorously opposed, he is unlikely at this stage to risk a break.
Phipps gave a further warning on 1 April 1935 of Germany's growing military strength:
Let us hope our pacifists at home may at length realise that the rapidly-growing monster of German militarism will not be placated by mere cooings, but will only be restrained from recourse to its ''ultima ratio'' by the knowledge that the
Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
s who desire peace are also strong enough to enforce it.
During his first year in Berlin, Phipps managed to see Hitler only four times. Phipps himself regarded Hitler as something of a cipher or enigma; Hitler was variously described in his dispatches back to London as more moderate than his followers or as possibly mad. In May 1936, Phipps presented to Hitler the famous "questionnaire", largely written by his brother-in-law, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Robert Vansittart, that asked point-blank if Germany intended "to respect the existing territorial and political status of Europe" and was willing to sign "genuine treaties". Neither Hitler nor any other German leader ever responded to the "questionnaire".


Ambassador to France

In 1937, Phipps was transferred to Paris as
British Ambassador to France The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the ...
. During his time in Paris, Phipps strongly identified himself with French Foreign Minister
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (22/23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, the son of ...
, and most of his dispatches to London reflected Bonnet's influence. On 24 September 1938, at the height of the great crisis over
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
that was to culminate in the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...
, Phipps reported back to London "all that is best in France is against war, almost at any price", but it was opposed by a "small, but noisy and corrupt, war group". Phipps's negative assessment of the willingness and ability of France to go to war with Germany in 1938 created doubts in London about the value of France as an ally. In October 1938, Bonnet carried out a purge of the
Quai d'Orsay The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a quay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole-France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai Branly west of th ...
, sidelining a number of officials opposed to his policy. In the aftermath of the purge, Bonnet was congratulated by Phipps for removing the "warmongers"
René Massigli René Massigli (; 22 March 1888 – 3 February 1988) was a French diplomat who played a leading role as a senior official at the Quai d'Orsay and was regarded as one of the leading French experts on Germany, which he greatly distrusted. Early ca ...
and
Pierre Comert Pierre Comert (1880–1964) was a French journalist and diplomat. He was the director of the Information section of the League of Nations from 1919 to 1932 and the head of the Information and Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs fro ...
from the Quai d'Orsay, but he went on to complain that Bonnet should have sacked Secretary-General Alexis Saint-Legér Léger as well. In response, Bonnet claimed that he and Saint-Legér Léger saw "eye to eye". Phipps, who knew about the state of relations between the two, drily noted that "in that case the eyes must be astigmatic". In November 1939, suffering from ill-health, Phipps retired to
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. He died of a
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...
following a
prostatectomy Prostatectomy (from the Ancient Greek language, Greek , "prostate" and , "excision") as a medical term refers to the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland. This operation is done for benignity, benign conditions that cause urina ...
at the
London Clinic The London Clinic is a private healthcare organisation and registered charity based on the corner of Devonshire Place and Marylebone Road in central London. According to HealthInvestor, it is one of England's largest private hospitals. Histor ...
in 1945.


Honours

Phipps was appointed
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...
(CMG) in the
1920 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1920 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 1 January 1920 and 30 March 1920 (referred to as the 1920 civil ...
,
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...
(CVO) in May 1922,
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
(KCMG) in the 1927 Birthday Honours,
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
(GCMG) in 1934,
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...
(GCVO) in 1939, and
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
(GCB) in 1941. He was appointed to the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1933, entitling him to the style "
The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
". He also held the Grand Cross of the
Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
and was a Commander of the
Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgi ...
of Belgium. In 1943 he served as
High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...
.


Family

Phipps married Yvonne de Louvencourt in 1907. After her death in 1909 he married Frances Ward, daughter of the sculptor
Herbert Ward Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...
, in 1911. He had six children, all by his second wife: # Lieutenant-Colonel Mervyn Phipps (1912–1983) # Lieutenant Alan Phipps RN (1915–1942; killed in action on
Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight fr ...
), whose son is Major-General
Jeremy Phipps Major-General Jeremy Julian Joseph Phipps (30 June 1942 – 16 March 2021) was a British Army officer who served as Senior British Loan Services Officer in Oman. Early life Phipps was the son of a Royal Navy officer, Lieutenant Alan Phipps ...
# Mary Phipps (born 1923), married to Bonar Sykes, son of Sir
Frederick Sykes Air Vice Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, (23 July 1877 – 30 September 1954) was a British military officer and politician. Sykes was a junior officer in the 15th Hussars before becoming interested in military aviation. He was the first Off ...
and his wife, a daughter of former British Prime Minister
Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law ( ; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a ...
# Margaret Phipps (born 1925), married to George Cary, son of the Irish novelist
Joyce Cary Arthur Joyce Lunel Cary (7 December 1888 – 29 March 1957) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and colonial official. Early life and education Arthur Joyce Lunel Cary was born in his grandparents' home, above the Belfast Bank in Derry, Ireland in 1 ...
# John-Francis Phipps (born 1933) # William Phipps (1936–2009), who married Henrietta Frances Lamb (1931–2016), elder daughter of the painter
Henry Lamb Henry Taylor Lamb (21 June 1883 – 8 October 1960) was an Australian-born British painter. A follower of Augustus John, Lamb was a founder member of the Camden Town Group in 1911 and of the London Group in 1913. Early life Henry Lamb was bo ...
and his wife Lady Pansy Lamb (née Pakenham), sister of the 6th and 7th
Earls of Longford Earl of Longford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was first bestowed upon Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford, in 1677, with remainder to his younger brother Ambrose. He had previ ...
Photographic portrait of Henrietta Phipps, nee Lamb with her mother and sister. Her mother Lady Pansy Lamb (1904–1999) was a sister of the writer and Labour peer
Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...
, and aunt of
Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and pr ...
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Ancestry


References


Sources

*Adamthwaite, Anthony. ''France and the Coming of the Second World War 1936–1939''. London: Frank Cass, 1977. . *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *Herman, John. ''The Paris Embassy of Sir Eric Phipps'', Sussex Academic Press, 1998. *''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. * Watt, D.C. ''How War Came : The Immediate Origins of the Second World War, 1938–1939''. New York: Pantheon Books, 1989. .


External links

*
The Papers of Sir Eric Phipps
held at
Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Eric 1875 births 1945 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge University of Paris alumni High Sheriffs of Wiltshire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of Leopold II Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Deaths from pulmonary embolism Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to France Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Austria
Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...