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dealt a mortal blow to Wigram. He went home and told his wife: "War is now inevitable, and it will be the most terrible war there has ever been. I don’t think I shall see it, but you will. Wait now for bombs on this little house.....All my work these many years has been no use. I am a failure. I have
200:
Wigram joined the
Foreign Office after graduation. He served as temporary secretary at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, from 1916 to 1919, as third secretary at the Foreign Office from 1919 to 1920, as second secretary at the Foreign Office from 1920 to 1921, as first secretary at the British
158:
From 1933 onwards, Wigram became keenly distressed at the policy of the government and the course of events. While his official chiefs formed every day a higher opinion of his capacity, and while his influence in the
Foreign Office grew, his thoughts turned repeatedly to resignation. He had so much
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I had also formed a friendship with Ralph Wigram, then the rising star of the
Foreign Office and in the centre of all its affairs. He had reached a level in that department which entitled him to express responsible opinions upon policy, and to use a wide discretion in his contacts, official and
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He saw as clearly as I did, but with more certain information, the awful peril which was closing in upon us. This drew us together. Often we met at his little house on North Street, and he and Mrs. Wigram came to stay with us at
Chartwell. Like other officials of high rank, he spoke to me with
260:, however, focuses on Wigram; the film's director, Richard Loncraine, said, "in reality there were four 'Wigrams' – two Army officers and two civil servants. It would be cinematographically inept to have four people doing the same thing. What we did was leave out the other three characters".
221:
described one of Wigram's memoranda from this period as having "a sagacity and vision seldom matched in
Britain's archives". In the beginning, they tried to raise the alarm with their political masters in the government, to no avail; in desperation, they then turned to other means.
155:
complete confidence. All this helped me to form and fortify my opinion about the Hitler movement. For my part, with the many connections I now had in France, in
Germany, and other countries, I had been able to send him a certain amount of information which we examined together.
353:, but a letter from Henry Pelling indicates he committed suicide while deeply depressed. The fact that his own parents did not attend his funeral in Sussex is cited as support for this theory, although Churchill and his family did attend, along with Robert Vansittart and
357:, and his parents were attending a memorial service for him that morning in Devon, where Wigram was brought up and which was closer to many of his family's friends. Churchill's letters indicate (but only indirectly) that depression and suicide were the cause.
345:
Wigram's sudden death at the age of 46 is somewhat mysterious. Again, sources disagree on several points. For one, some say he was found dead at home, but a letter from
Churchill says he died in Ava's arms. His death certificate recorded the cause of death as
236:
His efforts in another direction were far more successful. Wigram had begun passing information to
Churchill in late 1934, apparently with the knowledge and support of Vansittart. The original path was via Major
306:. Wigram supported it as a means to escape the strictures of disarmament, whereas Churchill felt it condoned German treaty-breaking. Nevertheless, Wigram remained a firm opponent of the policy of appeasement.
241:, but from early 1935, Wigram began to interact directly with Churchill. From then on, Wigram and Churchill were in close contact. Starting on 7 April 1935, the Wigrams often spent weekends with Churchill at
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322:, on 28 February 1925; they had one child, Charles Edward Thomas Bodley Wigram (1929–1951) (who apparently suffered from some sort of birth defect, but sources disagree whether it was
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had been quite alarmed about the German situation for several years, and when Wigram came on board, they soon came to share deep concern about the situation. Churchill's biographer
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365:, Sussex. After Wigram's death, Ava stayed in close contact with Churchill, writing to him about her travels to Germany before the outbreak of war. She later married
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Embassy in Paris from 1924 to 1933, and as counsellor at the
Foreign Office and head of the Central Department from 1934 to 1936. He was appointed a Companion of the
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and could, therefore, be assumed not to misuse the information passed to him. Baldwin's government certainly did not like the passing of information to
Churchill;
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without fear of comeback. The position of those who supplied him with data on Britain's defences, or the lack of them, can be explained by the fact that, as a
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Wigram was the son of Eustace Rochester Wigram and Mary Grace Bradford-Atkinson, and had a younger sister, Isabel. He was the grandson of the Right Reverend
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force and grace in his conversation that all who had grave business with him, and many others, gave ever-increasing importance to his views.
113:, who worked under Wigram in the Central Department, describes him variously as "the authentic local deity" and "the departmental volcano".
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unofficial. He was a charming and fearless man, and his convictions, based upon profound knowledge and study, dominated his being.
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According to Churchill, the British government's failure in March 1936 to pledge any support to France in countering Germany's
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245:, his country house, and Churchill also visited Wigram's London home. The information seems to have been primarily about the
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249:, although more general material about German rearmament, and Hitler's character and likely aims, was included, as well.
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256:, estimated that more than 20 (although he credited Wigram as one of the three main players) were involved. The film
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when Wigram was not at home to try to convince her to stop her husband from passing information to Churchill.
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Wigram did make at least one attempt at direct publicity – at the time of the occupation of the
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has also been put forward as a cause by some sources. He was buried in the churchyard at
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Wigram was one of many people passing information to Churchill; Churchill's biographer,
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in early 1936, he arranged a press conference for French Minister of Foreign Affairs
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Parliamentary privilege and qualified privilege: Standard Note SN/PC/02024
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Wigram's superior in the Foreign Office, Permanent Under-Secretary
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109:, described Wigram as a "great unsung hero". The autobiography of
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Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills
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failed to make the people here realise what is at stake".
82:. He helped raise the alarm about German rearmament under
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Wigram's role was brought to public attention by the
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Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
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642:"Great Contemporaries: Ralph Wigram and His Death"
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396:. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 80–81.
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123:Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
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774:Alumni of University College, Oxford
394:The Second World War (book series)
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339:remilitarization of the Rhineland
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573:Thorpe, Vanessa (22 June 2002).
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556:Manchester (op. cit.), pg. 193
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136:(in which he was portrayed by
126:(in which he was portrayed by
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454:Manchester, William (1988).
318:, daughter of the historian
304:Anglo-German Naval Agreement
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86:during the period prior to
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190:University College, Oxford
625:Gilbert, Martin (1990).
458:. Boston: Little, Brown.
164:Early life and education
745:at The Churchill Centre
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265:parliamentary privilege
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713:The Churchill Project
512:"The Gathering Storm"
408:"Public Member Trees"
386:Churchill, Winston S.
215:Sir Robert Vansittart
184:. He was educated at
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680:William Manchester,
670:Mariner Books, 2001.
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516:The Churchill Centre
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170:Joseph Cotton Wigram
107:The Second World War
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742:The Gathering Storm
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644:. 2 November 2015.
629:. London: Minerva.
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279:and former
182:Lord Wigram
753:Categories
740:Review of
373:References
316:Ava Bodley
269:Parliament
631:, pg. 833
460:, pg. 116
369:in 1941.
363:Cuckfield
348:pulmonary
243:Chartwell
227:Rhineland
491:22 March
388:(1948).
439:15 June
417:15 June
231:Flandin
146:wrote:
332:autism
291:, the
196:Career
84:Hitler
731:from
586:2 May
526:2 May
359:Polio
330:, or
71:rayf
588:2014
528:2014
493:2018
441:2017
419:2017
188:and
186:Eton
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297:Ava
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26:CMG
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