In 1926, with the rank of counsellor, he was made head of the Foreign Office's Central Department, which covered Italy, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and the Balkans.
When he was promoted to assistant Under-Secretary in 1933 his scope widened to include France, Germany and Poland.
"He never had doubts about the significance of Hitler's rise to power in 1933, and he took every opportunity that came his way of emphasizing the reality of the menace.
It was no surprise to his colleagues that the public rejoicings over Munich should provoke him to say, 'Anybody would think that we were celebrating a major victory instead of the betrayal of a minor ally.
In a memorandum issued in August 1945, he wrote, "a feeling that Great Britain is now a secondary Power and can be treated as such... [is a] misconception which it must be our policy to combat".