WW2 1943 – Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick – Signed BBC Letter to Lieutenant-General Mason-MacFarlane
Original Second World War typed letter, personally signed by Ivone Kirkpatrick, the BBC's wartime Controller of European Services and a distinguished British diplomat who had personally interviewed Rudolf Hess following his flight to Scotland
Dated 27 August 1943, the letter was written on official British Broadcasting Corporation, Broadcasting House, London stationery and addressed to Lieutenant-General Frank Noel Mason-MacFarlane at Brown's Hotel, Dover Street, London. The letter was found in a family archive of Mason-MacFarlane papers.
Kirkpatrick writes:
“When I was on holiday I did not read the newspapers; consequently I have only heard on my return of your Knighthood. May I send you at once this short line to congratulate you and to say how genuinely pleased we are.”
The letter carries Kirkpatrick's original handwritten signature.
Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick (1897–1964)
An influential British diplomat who served at the British Embassy in Berlin during the rise of Nazi Germany.
Following Rudolf Hess's unexpected flight to Scotland in May 1941, Kirkpatrick was selected to identify and question him, having known leading Nazi figures during his diplomatic service in Germany.
In October 1941, Kirkpatrick became Controller of the BBC's European Services, playing an important role in Britain's wartime overseas broadcasting and information operations.
After the war, he rose to become British High Commissioner in Germany and subsequently Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office.
The Recipient – Lieutenant-General Sir Frank Noel Mason-MacFarlane
Mason-MacFarlane (1889–1953) was a distinguished British Army officer, military intelligence figure and wartime Governor and Commander in Chief of Gibraltar. This letter congratulates him on his appointment as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in August 1943.
Document Details
Original typed letter dated 27 August 1943.
Personally signed by Ivone Kirkpatrick.
Official BBC Broadcasting House letterhead.
Addressed to Lieutenant-General F. N. Mason-MacFarlane.
Contemporary congratulations on his wartime knighthood.
Single sheet, with original filing annotations.
Condition
Good original wartime condition. Text and signature clearly legible.
An interesting original letter connecting two senior British wartime figures, with collecting interest in BBC history, wartime broadcasting, British diplomacy, Rudolf Hess and military intelligence.
