Sir Arthur James de la MareKCMGKCVO (15 February 1914 – 15 December 1994) was a British diplomat. He rose to the rank of High Commissioner of Singapore, and was a leading authority on Asian affairs to the British Foreign Office.
De la Mare was acting consul general to Seoul by 1938 when the consul general fell ill and had to return to Britain.[2] At the time he had nothing more than two years' Japanese language training.[2]
Upon his arrival in Seoul in the late 1930s he was acting consul general, and then the vice consul promptly retired, and De la Mare took on his responsibilities as well.[2] De la Mare had no consular training at this stage.[2] He was later appointed head of the Far Eastern department of the Foreign Office.[3]
De la Mare oversaw the transition to independence from Britain whilst High Commissioner for Singapore. De la Mare expressed his anger that the British military bases on the island were handed over to the Singapore People's Action Party government.[6] De la Mare's valedictory dispatches from Thailand and Singapore are included in Matthew Parris's book Parting Shots (Penguin, 2011). In a view that was considered old-fashioned at the time, De la Mare maintained that the British Empire could be a force for good around the world.[7]
De la Mare was appointed CMG in 1957,[8] and knighted KCMG in 1968.[9] After the Queen's visit to Thailand in 1972 she gave him the additional knighthood of KCVO[10] and the King of Thailand made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Elephant.
He lived in the 1960s and 1970s in Walton on Thames, Surrey. He had an impish sense of humour. One of his neighbours saw Sir Arthur, somewhat shabbily dressed, doing the gardening in 1965. Assuming he was a hired hand, The neighbour asked him whether he would be willing to do the gardening at his house. Sir Arthur readily agreed. It took him some weeks to reveal to his neighbour that he was the ex-ambassador to Afghanistan and a Knight of the British Empire.
De la Mare had retired to his native Jersey by 1991.[11]
Publications
de la Mare, Sir Arthur Perverse and Foolish: A Jersey farmer's Son in the British Diplomatic Service, La Haule Books, Jersey, 1994 ISBN0861200462
References
^ ab"Sir Arthur de la Mare; Obituary". The Times. London. 5 January 1995. ProQuest 318241556.
^ abcdJ. E. Hoare (31 October 2013). Embassies in the East: The Story of the British and Their Embassies in China, Japan and Korea from 1859 to the Present. Routledge. p. 190. ISBN978-1-136-79617-3.
^"Personalities of the week". Illustrated London News. 18 May 1963.
arthur, mare, arthur, james, mare, kcmg, kcvo, february, 1914, december, 1994, british, diplomat, rose, rank, high, commissioner, singapore, leading, authority, asian, affairs, british, foreign, office, contents, life, career, publications, references, externa. Sir Arthur James de la Mare KCMG KCVO 15 February 1914 15 December 1994 was a British diplomat He rose to the rank of High Commissioner of Singapore and was a leading authority on Asian affairs to the British Foreign Office Contents 1 Life and career 2 Publications 3 References 4 External linksLife and career EditArthur James de la Mare was born into a farming family in Saint John Jersey 1 He grew up speaking the Norman French patois of his native island 1 He was educated at Victoria College Jersey then won a scholarship to Pembroke College Cambridge where he gained a double first in modern languages He joined the Foreign Service in 1936 and served in Tokyo Seoul San Francisco and Washington D C De la Mare was acting consul general to Seoul by 1938 when the consul general fell ill and had to return to Britain 2 At the time he had nothing more than two years Japanese language training 2 Upon his arrival in Seoul in the late 1930s he was acting consul general and then the vice consul promptly retired and De la Mare took on his responsibilities as well 2 De la Mare had no consular training at this stage 2 He was later appointed head of the Far Eastern department of the Foreign Office 3 He was appointed ambassador to Afghanistan 1963 65 4 High Commissioner in Singapore 1968 70 and ambassador to Thailand 1970 73 5 De la Mare oversaw the transition to independence from Britain whilst High Commissioner for Singapore De la Mare expressed his anger that the British military bases on the island were handed over to the Singapore People s Action Party government 6 De la Mare s valedictory dispatches from Thailand and Singapore are included in Matthew Parris s book Parting Shots Penguin 2011 In a view that was considered old fashioned at the time De la Mare maintained that the British Empire could be a force for good around the world 7 De la Mare was appointed CMG in 1957 8 and knighted KCMG in 1968 9 After the Queen s visit to Thailand in 1972 she gave him the additional knighthood of KCVO 10 and the King of Thailand made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the White Elephant He lived in the 1960s and 1970s in Walton on Thames Surrey He had an impish sense of humour One of his neighbours saw Sir Arthur somewhat shabbily dressed doing the gardening in 1965 Assuming he was a hired hand The neighbour asked him whether he would be willing to do the gardening at his house Sir Arthur readily agreed It took him some weeks to reveal to his neighbour that he was the ex ambassador to Afghanistan and a Knight of the British Empire De la Mare had retired to his native Jersey by 1991 11 Publications Editde la Mare Sir Arthur Perverse and Foolish A Jersey farmer s Son in the British Diplomatic Service La Haule Books Jersey 1994 ISBN 0861200462References Edit a b Sir Arthur de la Mare Obituary The Times London 5 January 1995 ProQuest 318241556 a b c d J E Hoare 31 October 2013 Embassies in the East The Story of the British and Their Embassies in China Japan and Korea from 1859 to the Present Routledge p 190 ISBN 978 1 136 79617 3 Personalities of the week Illustrated London News 18 May 1963 The London Gazette 19 July 1963 The London Gazette 17 November 1970 Derek Thiam Soon Heng Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied 2011 Singapore in Global History Amsterdam University Press p 195 ISBN 978 90 485 1437 3 Matthew Parris Andrew Bryson 2 June 2011 Parting Shots Penguin Books Limited p 302 ISBN 978 0 670 91929 1 The London Gazette 1 January 1957 The London Gazette 5 June 1968 The London Gazette 9 May 1972 Islands Magazine Islands 71 September October 1991 ISSN 0745 7847 External links EditPortraits of Sir Arthur James de la Mare at the National Portrait Gallery London de la MARE Sir Arthur James Who Was Who A amp C Black 1920 2007 online edn Oxford University Press Dec 2012 Sir Arthur de la Mare obituary The Times London 5 January 1995 page 21 Obituaries Sir Arthur de la Mare The Independent London 31 December 1994Diplomatic postsPreceded bySir Michael Gillett Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Kabul1963 1965 Succeeded bySir Gordon WhitteridgePreceded byJohn Vernon Rob High Commissioner to Singapore1968 1970 Succeeded bySir Sam FallePreceded bySir Neil Pritchard Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Bangkok1970 1973 Succeeded bySir David Cole Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arthur de la Mare amp oldid 1071570391, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
