 By late 1917 it was clear to Walpole and to the British authorities that there was little advantage in keeping him in Russia . On 7 November he left , missing the <unk> Revolution , which began on that day . He was appointed to a post at the Foreign Office in its Department of Information , headed by John Buchan . Soon after returning he volunteered for the British army , but , as expected , failed the necessary medical examination because of his poor sight . He continued to work in British propaganda when the department was reconstituted under Lord <unk> in April 1918 , and remained there for the rest of the war and beyond , resigning in February 1919 . Little is known about what he wrote for the department , as most of its records were destroyed after the war , but he noted in his diary that he had written the department 's official report to the War Cabinet : " a <unk> job – the worst I 've ever attempted " . For his wartime work he was awarded the CBE in 1918 . 
