The diplomatic departure from limbo
Three valedictory despatches by British consuls in Hanoi during the period of the Vietnam War
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12585209 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lori Maguire (0000-0002-5788-7365, British and American Studies, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne and Cirlep, Reims , France, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 555-572 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary British History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1361-9462 • E-ISSN: 1743-7997 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13619462.2023.2237312 |
| OpenAlex | W4384499037 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
The British maintained a consulate in Hanoi throughout the Vietnam War, even though neither government officially recognised the other. Although these representatives were extremely restricted in their movements, they managed to remain remarkably well informed about the capital, the country, and the impact of the war. This article examines the valedictory despatches of three of the last consuls, who gave their final impressions of their post in the waning days of the conflict. The first diplomat, Daphne Park, wrote hers in 1970, when the war was still raging. The second despatch, by T.J. Everard, dates from 1973, year of the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. participation in the conflict. The third, from J.H. Fawcett, was sent in January 1975 as the complete defeat of South Vietnam neared. Each one provides a fascinating insight into a country, a war, and a period of great upheaval. They each reflect on, in very different ways at very different points, the evolution of the North Vietnamese people and their slow and uneven departure from war as they seek to rebuild the nation. They also illustrate the slow progression of the British consulate in Hanoi from MI6 outpost to a more conventional embassy status
Ancient history · Art · Capital (architecture · Economic history · Government (linguistics · Period (music · Political science · Spanish Civil War · Vietnam War · Vietnamese · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Military History and Strategy · Philosophy · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
Britain and the Origins of the Vietnam War
A ‘special relationship’
Trapped by Success
Harold Wilson, the British Labour Party, and the War in Vietnam
The British consulate‐general in Hanoi, 1954–73
A ‘missed opportunity’ for peace? Harold Wilson, British diplomacy, and the sun flower initiative to end the Vietnam war, February 1967
Petticoat Diplomacy
This Secret Town’
A Haven for Tortured Souls’
The Wilson government and the Davies peace mission to North Vietnam, July 1965
The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans
Vietnam
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |