Today we honor the anniversary of British Monuments Man Ronald Balfour’s death. He was one of two Monuments Men killed in action while working to preserve the cultural heritage of Europe. While writing The Monuments Men, we researched his papers at King’s College, Cambridge. As usual, his papers were not only filled with reports and biographical information, but also touching personal letters and memories of him from professional associates and loved ones.
Amongst these things we found a draft of a lecture he had prepared for soldiers on the importance of protecting cultural property in times of war. We don’t know if the lecture was ever given, but his words perfectly and eloquently summarize the mission of the Monuments Men.
“We do not want to destroy unnecessarily what men spent so much time and care and skill in making…[for] these examples of craftsmanship tell us so much about our ancestors…If these things are lost or broken or destroyed, we lose a valuable part of our knowledge about our forefathers. No age lives entirely alone; every civilization is formed not merely by its own achievements but by what it has inherited from the past. If these things are destroyed, we have lost a part of our past, and we shall be the poorer for it.”
Bronze Sculpture of President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London. (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.)
Before departing London I passed by these two really interesting looking guys and asked them to make some bench space for me on what was a glorious sunny day. OK, well, it was a pretty humorous setting to sink low enough onto the bench to grab this photo while all the passers-by stopped to take my photo of trying to get this photo!
President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were stallwart allies and became good friends before FDR’s death on April 12, 1945. This wonderful bronze sculpture at the end of New Bond Street stops not just tourists but Londoners who enjoy spending a moment looking at these two remarkable leaders. It is but one of many landmarks in the Westminster area of London that remind us of the historic events that took place there 60 plus years ago.
On the night of August 24, 1940, German bombs fell on London for the first time during World War II.
The Luftwaffe began bombing industrial targets in England in early July, and had recently increased night bombing runs. Perhaps worried that Churchill would be even less likely to negotiate, or out of fear that British bombs would fall on Berlin in retaliation, Hitler had been ignoring his military advisor’s urgings to bomb the capital itself. However on the night of August 24, 170 Heinkel HE 111s set out to bomb oil installations at Thameshaven and an aircraft factory in Rochester, but veered off course and bombed parts of London by mistake.
It might not have been an intentional military maneuver, but the first bombings of London marked a turning point early in the war. Churchill angrily ordered the bombing of Berlin, which had also been avoided until this point. On the night of August 25-26, the RAF Bomber Command sent 95 planes to hit industrial targets in the German capital, most notably the Tempelhof Airport and the Siemensstadt area of factory buildings. 81 of the planes dropped bombs on Berlin that night. Five more raids on Berlin occurred within the next two weeks, but damage was minimal.
Hitler was in turn angered by the retaliation bombing, and decided to proceed with a sustained attack on London. He was convinced that the terror bombing would make the British more likely to negotiate after all, and ordered “for disruptive attacks on the population and air defenses of major British cities, including London, by day and night.”
Ollie and I (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.)
Several months in Europe conducting research and visiting friends culminated this past week with the launch of The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, my new book about these remarkable heroes of civilization. I had numerous print, radio, and a few television appearances in front of worldwide audiences. (Some of the links to these interviews can be found on this website).
I’ll take from this week alone several memories that will forever be cherished: a celebratory dinner with close friends Thursday after the launch at one of my favorite restaurants; being “desperately” wanted by BBC World radio impromptu for an interview; and seeing one of my books in a bookstore.
But one of my happiest moments was meeting Ollie Brittan, a young boy who is working during the summer as an assistant to the very capable concierge team at Claridge’s Hotel headed by Martin, Miles, Karin, Bobby and others. When I first introduced myself to Ollie and asked him if he liked working at Claridge’s, he said “I LOVE it Sir”. Each day when I walked in with my arms full of books and press materials Ollie was there to assist me.
Before departing we had a chance to visit and I gave him a copy of my book. This fine young boy, work ethic quite intact, has his sights set on one day working at Claridge’s. I suggested to him he in fact might some day own it as hard working and polite as he is. It was a wonderful way to end a remarkable summer as I now prepare for our biggest launch on September 3rd in the United States!
It’s been quite a wait since finishing the writing of The Monuments Men in April, but the wait is now over as the book appears today in bookstores and online throughout the United Kingdom. I’m very excited about introducing these heroes of civilization and providing you an opportunity to share in their thrilling and yet harrowing story.
This week I’ve given a number of print interviews including Time Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph, and The Sunday Express, radio interviews on BBC which aired both throughout the United Kingdom and last night on BBC World Radio, and on television. In fact, one interview I was particularly pleased to give was with BBC World. (I’ve provided links below if you are interested!)
The people of London, and everyone with whom I’ve spoken, are very excited to hear about this great untold story of World War II and, in particular, these unknown heroes. Later today and tomorrow I’ll be stopping into various bookstores to sign books and meet some of the people who I know will adopt these heroes just as I have.
Anne Popham Bell (Photo Courtesy of Anne Popham Bell's Collection.)
We speak so frequently of “Monuments Men” we oftentimes create the wrong impression that these heroes were all men. In fact, there were 29 women who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section during its eight years of existence. Fortunately, one of these women is still with us: Anne Popham Bell.
Anne Popham was well prepared for work with the MFAA, as she studied art history at the Courtlauld Institute from 1934 to 1937. Her father, A.E. ‘Hugh’ Popham was a distinguished authority on Italian drawings, and Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, which collection was transferred for safety to Wales in advance of the German Blitzkrieg on London. Anne Popham’s ‘war work’ began in 1941 when she joined the Ministry of Information as a research assistant, first in the Photographs and then in Publications Divisions, largely concerned with the production of informative booklets on the British war effort published by His Majesty’s Stationary Office. In 1945 she transferred to the MFAA Branch of the Control Commission for Germany, and from October was stationed at Bunde in Westphalia, the Divisional Headquarters where she acted as coordinator to the work of the Branch’s officers on the ground. Her detailed diaries of her daily activities are preserved in the Imperial War Museum in London.
Following her return home from Germany in 1947, Popham joined the Art Department of the Arts Council of Great Britain, where she was engaged in the preparation of major exhibitions in London and the provinces, and in editing their authoritative catalogues. In 1952, she married Quentin Bell, who was to become Professor of History and Theory of Art at both Leeds and Sussex Universities. He was the son of Clive and Vanessa Bell (the artist), central figured in the ‘Bloomsburg Group’, of which Vanessa’s sister, Virginia Woolf, was a participant. After raising three children, Anne worked closely with her husband on the research for his acclaimed 1972 biography of his aunt Virginia Woolf, and thereafter undertook the editing of her complete Diary (5 volumes), for which she was appointed FRLS and given two Honorary Doctorates.
Anne Popham Bell filmed on December 3, 2007. (Photo Courtesy of Agon Arts & Entertainment, LLC.)
Anne Popham Bell is a charming woman who, like the other Monuments Men I have interviewed, defers all praise for her work and contribution to the MFAA. She is a distinguished and accomplished member of the arts community. Her love for the arts is so apparent, her desire to preserve history so evident. It has been a great pleasure to get to know Anne and her family and to understand her perspective on World War II and the men and women who made up the “Monuments Men”.
Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, c. 1637-38. Oil on canvas, 3.7 x 2.9m (12 ft 2 in x 9 ft 6 in). The National Gallery, London. (Photo Courtesy of National Gallery, London.)
On a visit to the National Gallery this weekend I walked directly into the room with a magnificent painting by Anthony van Dyck, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, an enormous canvas measuring about 12 by 10 feet. This great work, painted in 1637, was just one of thousands of works of art at the National Gallery and other London museums that were at risk during World War II.
In preparation for war, museum officials packed up tens of thousands of paintings, sculptures, and other priceless treasures and began the complicated process of transporting them to famous but remote country estates and castles for safekeeping. Some would remain there for the duration of the war, but in many cases others had to be relocated again to quarries and mines in the Wales region where they were stored underground.
Movement of the van Dyck was a particularly cumbersome problem due to its enormous size. After being loaded onto this truck and secured to a large wooden panel, the painting was then covered with a tarpaulin for added security. Seems simple enough, right?
This vehicle, carrying a custom crate containing the portrait of King Charles I, was in transit to Manod for underground storage. Officials had to lower the level of the road to create sufficient passage-way. This was but one of many types of problems confronting museum officials as they rushed to protect their national heritage. (Photo Courtesy of National Gallery, London.)
In fact, the well-mapped out road to its intended destination overlooked one crucial detail: road overpass height! As such, the vehicle couldn’t pass beneath the bridge above, even after deflating the tires. These kind of problems bedeviled art officials in allied countries over and over again.
In this instance, officials actually lowered the road a sufficient depth to allow passage. The painting ultimately arrived to Manod Quarry where it safely sat out the war. All this effort was tragically rewarded: the National Gallery, along with most of London’s main museums, were damaged by German bombing and subsequent fires during the blitz of the great city. That we can visit today this incredible museum and enjoy such wonderful works of art is a credit to the museum officials — and Monuments Men — who worked so diligently at protecting these treasures of civilization for us all.
Monuments Man Ronald Balfour (1904 - 1945). (Photo Courtesy of Kings College Archive Center, Cambridge)
Major Ronald Balfour of the First Canadian Army, was from Oxfordshire, England. He was a historian at Cambridge University, a “gentleman scholar”, a bachelor dedicated to the intellectual life without ambition for accolades or position.
Before heading off to combat in August 1944, Balfour succinctly and beautifully made the compelling case of the importance of the task confronting the Monuments Men in a speech he planned to deliver to his men. He said: “No age lives entirely alone; every civilisation is formed not merely by its own achievements but by what it has inherited from the past. If these things are destroyed, we have lost a part of our past, and we shall be the poorer for it.”
Balfour also explained for his men the word “monuments”:
When we invade Europe, we shall be going into countries which are full of churches and other buildings, of museums and pictures and other works of art, of libraries and archives. These things are all valuable and many of them irreplaceable. It will be the same wherever we go, whether it is France or Belgium or Holland or Norway. To avoid repeating the whole list — churches and other buildings, museums and pictures and other works of art, libraries and archives — every time we speak of them , we use the word monuments to cover them all. So don’t be misled into thinking that when I speak of monuments I mean only statues and tombstones.
Sadly, Monuments Man Ronald Balfour was unable to deliver in person these remarks and others he had prepared. Still, the work he accomplished as a Monuments officer, not to mention the friendships he made and high esteem in which he was held by his comrades, is a testament to this great man and all he did to preserve the things “inherited from the past” he so cherished.
