Scope and Contents Diary covering Charles Peake’s time as Lord Halifax’s Personal Assistant from 14 January to 26 December 1941. Subjects covered for January include: travelling across America; attending church; Halifax’s love of corduroy trousers; drafting Halifax’s speeches; meeting US President [Franklin Roosevelt] on the destroyer; reflections on the use of oil and electricity in the ship’s kitchen; reviewing a delegation of American admirals; travelling to the US Embassy; Peake’s concern about...

Scope and Contents Diary. Subjects covered include: relationships within the Foreign Office and diplomatic service, including with Samuel Hore-Belisha and The Viscount Halifax; the work load at the Foreign Office and Cadogan's increasing strain; the crisis with the ice-free harbour at Narvik in Norway in April 1940; the intrigue surrounding a new prime minister and the invasion of Holland and Belgium in May 1940 as well as the general progress of war and the consequences of the fall of France in the summer of...