Memo quoting a recommendation for Burgess

This internal memo from the Controller of Programmes, Cecil Graves, to the Administration Controller quotes from a favourable reference for Burgess by the eminent historian (and Graves' personal friend) Professor George Trevelyan. The academic correctly gauges Burgess' suitability for a journalistic role, but judges that his interest in communism has passed.

The period between 1933 and 1939 saw a great deal of political upheaval, from the Depression to the rise of fascism and the spread of communism. There was growing concern about the possibility of another world war, although fewer than 20 years had passed since the Great War in which over 13 million died. Young people in particular were questioning the existing political order. Interest in Marxism was widespread and, inevitably, academic environments were the places where such debate took place.