Anthony Eden on Nevile Henderson

“It was an international misfortune that we should have been represented in Berlin at this time by a man who, so far from warning the Nazis, was constantly making excuses for them, often in their company. Henderson kept his hostility for the Czechs. He grew to see himself as the man predestined to make peace with the Nazis. Sincerely believing this to be possible, he came to regard me, and others at the Foreign Office who shared my opinions, as obstacles to his purpose.”

“I attached much importance to the selection of a new British Ambassador to Germany... I selected Sir Nevile Henderson. The responsibility for this decision was, of course, entirely mine, but the recommendation in his favour was strong and no one foresaw the opinions he was to hold... The most fancied alternatives were Sir Miles Lampson and Sir Percy Loraine, and I deeply regret that I did not choose either of them in preference to the diplomat who was recommended to me.”