ED 408

Reference code

ED 408

Title

Papers of Sir Eugen Millington Drake

Level

Series

Administrative / Biographical history

Millington-Drake came to Eton in summer 1901, boarding with his tutor Hugh Macnaghten. His father was Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, so it is not surprising that he won the King's 3rd French Prize in 1904, 2nd in 1905 and 1st in 1906, but his greatest achievements were on the river. He was in the VIII 1905 - 1908, Captain of the Boats 1908, and a winner of School Pulling in 1907. He rowed in the Procession of Boats every year from 1903 and was elected to Pop in 1906. After leaving Eton in July 1908 he read History at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1912 he entered the Diplomatic Service and was posted to St Petersburg in 1913 and Buenos Aires in 1915. As a diplomat he was not called up, but many of his friends and members of Macnaghten's were killed, and in their memory, and that of his tutor who died in 1929, he presented his library of books relating to the Great War and a room to house them. From 1934 - 1941 he was Minister in Uruguay, and in 1942 he was created KCMG and seconded as Chief Representative of the British Council in South America. He returned to England in 1946 but continued to lecture widely and was involved with numerous cultural and sporting bodies. He was also the moving spirit behind the annual dinners of Macnaghten's Old Boys, and frequently visited Eton, often bringing distinguished visitors with him. He died in Rome on 12 December 1972.

Date

1915 - 1979

Content description

The papers listed here are those which do not relate to the Macnaghten Library (catalogued separately). They include copies, and some originals, of letters in the form of diaries which were apparently sent to his mother. These cover his diplomatic postings to Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Brussels and Copenhagen.There is miscellaneous Eton material, including copies of the lengthy letters and attachments he circulated to Macnaghten Old Boys, papers on the Macnaghten House Record and its publication, and a series of letters to the potential house master of his grandson.A few non-Eton items include a photograph album of the Prix Leclerc prersentation in 1950, a French lecture and a list by his secretary of papers stored in his house in Rome, annotated with their destination.

Provenance

These papers were mainly in the Macnaghten Library with the papers relating to its donation, acquisition and organisation.

Associated material

SCH/ML are the papers relating to the Macnaghten Library. Correspondence with Sir Eugen appears in the papers of successive Provosts and Head Masters, and also in ECR 65/497 - 499 in the context of plans for memorials to commemorate those fallen in WW2. The majority of his papers were given by his widow in 1975 to Churchill College, Cambridge, with a further deposit of scrap books, journals and letter books in 1981; a copy of the catalogue is available at Eton. Material of a less personal nature - speecehes, lectures, presentation albums - was deposited in the library of Canning House.