The Papers of Sir Malcolm Robertson

Robertson was born in 1877 and educated at Marlborough. He entered the Foreign Office as a Clerk in 1898, serving as the 3rd Secretary Diplomatic Service, Berlin, 1903-4; 2nd Secretary Peking, 1905; Madrid, 1907; Chargé d'Affaires, Bucharest, 1910-11; 1st Secretary, 1912; Chargé d'Affaires, Montevideo, 1912-13; Rio de Janeiro, 1913-15; 1st Secretary, Washington, 1915-18; Hague, 1918-19; Counsellor of Embassy and Deputy British High Commissioner on Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission, 1919; British High Commissioner on same High Commission, 1920-21; Minister Plenipotentiary, 1921; HM Agent and Consul-General at Tangier, 1921-25; Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Buenos Aires, 1925-27; and Ambassador, 1927-29. He retired in 1930.

He subsequently served as the Conservative MP for the Mitcham Division of Surrey, 1940-45; and as Chairman of the British Council, 1941-45.

He died in April 1951.

Collection includes a copy of Robertson's autobiography, ca. 1945; letters to his mother, 1903-1935; papers relating to the Rhineland Commission, 1919-21; correspondence with Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, Chief of Imperial General Staff, 1921; papers relating to Robertson's resignation from the Diplomatic Service in 1930; and papers relating to other aspects of his career

The papers were presented to Churchill Archives Centre by Robertson's grandchildren in October 1993.

The collection is owned by Churchill College, Cambridge.

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge. Churchill Archives Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. A prior appointment and two forms of identification are required.

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the papers must obtain prior permission from the copyright holder(s) and should seek advice from Archives Centre staff.

Please cite as Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Sir Malcolm Robertson, RBTN

Churchill Archives Centre also holds Robertson's day files as wartime Chairman of the British Council (reference Churchill Archives Centre, GBR 0014/BRCO)

A copy of this finding aid is available for consultation at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, the National Register of Archives, London and on the Janus website, http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/. A typescript box list of the papers is available at Churchill Archives Centre.

This collection (fonds) level description was prepared by Andrew Riley of Churchill Archives Centre in July 2003.