Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

11th November 2016 London, UK

Richard Barley

Richard Barley

Director of Horticulture, Learning and Operations, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew observes Remembrance Day 2016

The wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Remembrance Sunday is to be created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. As is the custom, Kew Gardens is providing a wreath to be laid on behalf of the Foreign Office at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. A […]

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11th November 2016 Stockholm, Sweden

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by Judith Gough

British Ambassador to Sweden

A joint blog by British, Canadian and Australian Ambassadors to Ukraine You may wonder why we, the British, Canadian and Australian Ambassadors, as well as people from other Commonwealth nations, wear a poppy flower at this time of the year. First of all, the poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day which marks the anniversary […]

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11th November 2016 Vienna, Austria

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

How to ban nuclear tests

Just over 55 years ago, on 30 October 1961, the largest nuclear weapon ever constructed was set off over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Sea. The Soviet Tsar Bomba had a yield of 50 megatons, several thousand times as strong as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The mushroom cloud reached around 60 kilometers into […]

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11th November 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia

Georgina Thorne

Georgina Thorne

Finally…

Early October 1918 Corporal George Henry Carter, M2/130656 of the 880th Motor Transport Convoy, Army Service Corps writes to his wife Minnie. His letter, written and indeed read with hope and optimism speaks of change. He confirms an Armistice had been reached with the Bulgarians; ‘…the Germans are about done too, So I am looking […]

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10th November 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania

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by Claire Lawrence

Former British Ambassador to Lithuania

Why I am – commemorating Remembrance Sunday in Vilnius

Every year, the British and Canadian Embassies in Vilnius organise a multi-faith Remembrance Sunday Service in Vilnius. We remember the end of the First World War and the supreme sacrifice of those who gave their lives then, and since, to secure and protect our freedom. The focus of our remembrance is the eleventh hour of […]

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8th November 2016 Canberra, Australia

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by Tony Brennan

Deputy High Commissioner

Yes, Canberra

As I approach the end of my four years representing the British Government in Australia, it is time for reflection. With some diplomatic postings you are counting the days for them to end. With others, you hope they never will. This one is in the latter category. I have seen a lot of this extraordinary […]

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7th November 2016 Geneva, Switzerland

by Julian Braithwaite

Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva

The New Human Rights Council

So what do the elections to the UN’s Human Rights Council tell us about the state of human rights in the world today? The elections took place ten days ago. There are 47 members of the HRC, and each has a three year term. A third of the membership is elected each year. All the […]

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3rd November 2016 London, UK

Liz Hitchcock

Liz Hitchcock

Digital Training and Upskilling Manager

Digital training and capability at FCO: pilots have landed

The new half-day Agile workshops for leadership at our embassies and high commissions (Posts) bring together the head of mission and deputy head of mission, and the main people from the press and public affairs teams, policy teams and consular communications team. The purpose is to decide how well a Post’s digital channels are supporting […]

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3rd November 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia

UK in Macedonia

UK in Macedonia

Why we wear poppies

On 11 November we will mark the ninety-eighth anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War. The guns on the Western Front finally fell silent at eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 after four years of war which left millions of victims and devastated countries. Each year […]

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3rd November 2016

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by Keith Allan

British High Commissioner to Mauritius

Arctic Convoys: 75th anniversary commemorations in Liverpool

I was in Liverpool on 31 October to attend an event in honour of the 75th anniversary of the Arctic Convoys. It was two months to the day since we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the Arctic Convoys in Arkhangelsk, Russia, in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal […]

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