Peace Makers

'Well-researched and enthralling, Peter Ricketts brings the wartime Foreign Office to life.' - Tim Bouverie

'The gripping story of how the men and women of the Foreign Office secured Britain's victory in the Second World War and created a new international order.' - Professor Helen McCarthy

Discover the untold story of the British diplomats who shaped WWII - and the peace that followed - in this vivid exploration of a transformative moment in modern history. 

While military exploits and Churchill's leadership dominate history books, Peace Makers reveals how the men and women of the Foreign Office forged alliances, supported resistance movements, managed refugee crises and laid the groundwork for the post-war international order. 

From the rooftops of Whitehall during the Blitz to embassies under siege across Europe and Asia, diplomats and their families demonstrated extraordinary resilience and ingenuity. They evacuated civilians, backed resistance networks, gathered intelligence and waged battles of persuasion. Some endured years apart from home; others, like staff in Tokyo, survived internment. Figures such as Archibald Clark Kerr in Moscow and Sir Alexander Cadogan in London steered critical alliances and helped shape the world to come. 

Peace Makers also explores how the war transformed the Foreign Office itself, sweeping away the barriers that had kept women out of top jobs. Through vivid portraits of pioneers like Freya Stark, Nancy Lambton and Elizabeth Wiskemann, you'll learn how women began to rise to senior diplomatic ranks. It also features the first published account from the only surviving member of the wartime Foreign Office, who shares her extraordinary story of travelling with Anthony Eden to the great wartime Summits. 

Peace Makers brings these stories together in a compelling narrative that blends fresh research with vivid storytelling. It offers a new lens on the war - one that highlights diplomacy as a frontline force and reveals how its legacy continues to shape our world. 

This is essential reading for anyone interested in history, international affairs or the human stories behind global change. 

----------------------------------------------'A fascinating account of how the Foreign Office helped turned wartime victory into postwar peace.' - Professor David Reynolds'Places the dedicated men and women in the British Foreign Office in the pantheon of WWIl heroes.' - Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell'Who better than a former Permanent Secretary to take us on a riveting tour of the Foreign Office at war?' - Professor Peter Hennessy'A fascinating account of the ingenuity and courage required of diplomats in wartime.' - Lord Hague

Table of Contents:
Chapters include:1 Witness to disaster: the Paris Embassy and the fall of France 
2 The price of peace for our time: the build-up to war
3 Adapting to survive: the war comes to Whitehall
4 Breaking down the barriers: women in the Foreign Office
5 Persuasion and propaganda: three women of the world
6 Being met together: the Atlantic Charter and the outlines of a new international order
7 Cheerful energy: eight months of lockdown in Tokyo 
8 Keeping Spain neutral: diplomats and spies in wartime Madrid
9 Running risks in Rome: Francis d'Arcy Osborne's four years in the Vatican
10 A walk in the Russian woods: Archibald Clark Kerr and the courting of Stalin
11 Shaping a better world: Gladwyn Jebb and the United Nations plan
12 Picking up the pieces: de Gaulle, Churchill and the making of an ally
13 Risking a false prospectus: Yalta and the limits of diplomacy
14 The last hard yards: from San Francisco to Potsdam
15 Winning the peace: the Foreign Office and the post-war world

About the Author :
Peter Ricketts was a British diplomat for more than forty years and rose to be the Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service. He was also the UK's first National Security Advisor, and Ambassador to France. He is now a member of the House of Lords, the Chairman of the Franco-British Council and Vice Chairman of the Royal United Services Institute. He is much in demand as a commentator on foreign affairs, appearing regularly on the BBC, Sky News, Times Radio and LBC. He has written for the FT, the Times and the New Statesman. His first book, Hard Choices: the making and unmaking of global Britain, was published in 2021.

Review :

'Well-researched and enthralling, Peter Ricketts brings the wartime Foreign Office to life. 
A fascinating account of Britain's too often neglected diplomats at war.' 
Tim Bouverie

'The gripping story of how the men and women of the Foreign Office secured Britain's victory in the Second World War and created a new international order.'
Professor Helen McCarthy

‘Peace Makers is a brilliant inside job. Who better than a former Permanent Secretary to take us on a riveting tour of the Foreign Office at war? He blends policy, personalities, themes, episodes and vignettes with his insider's feel. His cast of smooth operators, brilliant eccentrics, pioneering women and brave staff at all levels is truly inspiring.'
Prof. Peter Hennessy

'A fascinating and highly readable account of how the Foreign Office helped turned wartime victory into postwar peace, full of vivid quotes from the men and women - yes, lots of women - who served their country in little-known ways.'
Prof. David Reynolds, Cambridge University