| Description | The diary begins on 1 January 1953 and ends on 31 December 1953. Letters and other contemporary documents have been bound with the diaries. The page numbers begin at 145 and end at 265.
In 'Descent to Suez', Shuckburgh summarises 1953 as follows: 'Anthony Eden had long been recognised as Churchill's successor, and he held the title of Deputy Prime Minister. But as time wore on and Churchill showed no signs of retiring he became impatient to get his hands on the reins of government. His hope received a set-back in 1953, when the death of Stalin gave Churchill an additional motive for staying on; as the only survivor of the three great war leaders he felt that he had a mission and a duty to 'unfreeze' the Cold War.
The diary illustrates the growing strain which these delays placed upon Eden's nerves.' (p. 62)
'In March/April 1953, Eden had several operations, and was away from work until October. Lord Salisbury acted as Foreign Secretary in his absence. In July, Churchill had a stroke, but recovered very quickly. 'Churchill's desire to conciliate the Russians after the death of Stalin caused Eden and the Foreign Office some alarm. A speech he made on the subject on 11 May aroused particular controversy.' (p. 87)
Shuckburgh summarises the main diplomatic issues of 1953 as: the Italian/Yugoslav dispute over Trieste, and the unsuccessful British and American attempt to break the deadlock by withdrawing their troops from Zone A and transferring its administration to Italy; talks with Egypt about the replacement of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 and the future status of the Canal Zone base; the lack of diplomatic representation in Iran, and the 'growing rivalry between British and American oil companies as to how the Iranian oil fields might be reactivated'; and the occupation of the Buraimi oasis by a Saudi force. (p. 104)
Documents bound with the diary include:
/17 Letter to Shuckburgh from Knox Helm [British Ambassador to Turkey] advising him that he should come to Turkey despite 'the trouble two years ago', annotated by Anthony Eden, 13 February 1953
/24 Joke letter from Shuckburgh to Thomas Stone, 20 January 1953
/25 Joke letter to Shuckburgh from Thomas Stone, 12 January 1953
/26 Joke letter to Norman and Yettie R from Tommy Davis [British Embassy, Bonn], 7 January 1952
/28 Joke letter to Thomas Stone from Shuckburgh, 30 January 1953
/29 Joke letter to Thomas Stone from Saul Rae, forwarded to Shuckburgh, 17 February 1953
/58 Shuckburgh's invitation to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953
/59 Letter to A Lascelles [Buckingham Palace] to William Strang, congratulating Foreign Office staff on a successful dinner at Lancaster House, 8 June 1953
/60 Letter to Shuckburgh from the Queen, forwarding him his medal to be worn at the Coronation, nd
/78 Letter to Shuckburgh from Marcus Hampton, reporting on his son Julian's progress at school, 24 May 1953
/82 Cutting entitled 'Weekend Talks on Anzus Pact', nd
/103 Letter to Shuckburgh from Freddie, telling him about the arrangements for Anthony Eden's wedding to Clarissa Churchill, 12 August 1952
/104 Letter to Shuckburgh from Freddie, saying how much he has appreciated working for him, August 1953
/110 Letter to Jock Colville from Shuckburgh, 17 August 1953
/111-/112 Letters to Shuckburgh from Anthony Eden, written during a holiday, 21 August 1953 and 27 August 1953
/115 Copy of letter from Shuckburgh to Anthony Eden, written while Eden is on holiday, giving him an update on events in the Foreign Office, 25 August 1953
/117 Letter from Anthony Eden to Shuckburgh, written during a holiday in Greece, telling him their travel plans and asking Shuckburgh to 'keep me posted as much as you can', 31 August 1953
/118 Letter from Anthony Eden to Shuckburgh, 3 September 1953
/119 Letter to Shuckburgh from Anthony Eden, including a discussion about an article in the Herald Tribune which suggests that 'Lord Salisbury, the Chancellor, and the PM will force me upon an unwilling party and country as successor', 13 August 1953
/120 Memo from Shuckburgh to William Ridsdale [Head of News Department, Foreign Office], asking him to find the Tribune article and then discuss how they might respond, annotated by William Ridsdale, 18 August 1953
/121 Letter to Shuckburgh from William Ridsdale, 19 August 1953
/122 Cutting of article from Herald Tribune entitled 'Matter of Fact' by Stewart Alsop, discussing whether Churchill will resign as Prime Minister in favour of Anthony Eden, following Churchill's stroke in June, 11 August 1953
/123 Letter to Shuckburgh from Lord Salisbury, 5 September 1953
/125 Letter from Shuckburgh to Lord Salisbury, 7 September 1953
/126 Letter to Lord Salisbury from Lord Mountbatten, forwarded to Shuckburgh, 5 September 1953
/126a Letter to Shuckburgh from an unidentified author, concerning arrangements for the King's College Old Boys' Dinner, 14 September 1953
/127 Menu for King's College Dinner, 26 September 1953
/127a Note, author unidentified, about the history of the Munnings of Norwich, nd
/128 Speech given by Shuckburgh at King's College Old Boys' Dinner, 26 September 1953
/160 Letter to Shuckburgh from J Sheppard, asking him for help with an article he is writing about Shuckburgh's father, 26 October 1953, with /161 Shuckburgh's answer, 29 October 1953
/164 Julian Shuckburgh's school report, October 1953
/165 Letter to Shuckburgh from David Pitblado, informing him that he has been appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, 25 November 1953
/168 Letter to Shuckburgh from Bob, possibly Bob Dixon [Foreign Office], discussing strategy for the Bermuda Conference and which Foreign Office staff should attend, 16 November 1953. |