The Northern Department of the British Foreign Office and the Soviet Union, 1939-1942

This thesis examines the opinions of, and advice tendered by, members of the Northern Department of the British Foreign Office during the years 1939-1942. Previous works on this era have focussed predominantly on the role of Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden. However, an in depth and exhaustive analysis of the views of the various members of the Northern Department provides a new and original perspective on the relations between London and Moscow in the critical period from the outbreak of war in September 1939 to the signature of the Anglo-Soviet Treaty in May 1942.