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Robert Bruce Lockhart had an extraordinary career. In 1918, he served as the British Government’s “Agent” in Bolshevik Russia and orchestrated a brazen plot to topple Vladimir Lenin’s regime. The plot’s failure resulted in Lockhart’s imprisonment in the Kremlin before returning to Britain in disgrace. He was subsequently posted to the Prague Legation – the hub of ‘Eastern’ Europe’s post-war reconstruction.
Lockhart was not to know that his arrival in the newly created Czechoslovakia would lead to his enduring affection for the Czech people, a lifelong friendship with Jan and Tomáš Masaryk and a willingness to defend their country from Nazi and Communist aggression for years to come.
This talk explores Lockhart’s service as Britain’s representative to the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile during World War Two, his work with the Special Operations Executive and the Czech resistance and his attempts, following the Communist coup of 1948, to use his gifts as a propagandist and practitioner of psychological warfare to rally the Czechs in the face of Soviet expansionism.
James Crossland is a Professor of International History at Liverpool John Moores University, with a specialism in the history of intelligence, propaganda and terrorism. His latest book – the product of a decade of research – is Rogue Agent: From Secret Plots to Psychological Warfare, the Untold Story of Robert Bruce Lockhart (Elliot & Thompson, 2024).
This event will take place in person and will also be livestreamed
Light refreshments will be served
Booking details to follow
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