Kenneth Edwin William Branch Westman (1907–1964) was a British diplomat and intelligence officer.
Kenneth Westman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Edwin William Branch Westman 2 February 1907 Glamorgan, Wales |
| Died | 30 July 1964 London, UK |
| Employer | Foreign Office |
| Spouse | Jean Felicia Bedworth |
| Children | 3, including Roger,Nicholas Westman and Andrew |
Life
editWestman was born at Glamorgan, Wales to James and Beatrice (née Branch). He was educated at Cheam and Cowbridge.
Westman entered HM Diplomatic Service in 1929.[1] A year later he was promoted to attaché, shortly after third secretary and later second secretary. His first overseas posting was to Paris, followed by Berlin, Vienna and the Hague.[2] He was involved in British covert operations in Latin America, particularly Bolivia, attempting to strengthen British involvement in the region.[3][4]
During the Second World War he served as an intelligence officer with the Secret Intelligence Service and SOE, being sent to France, from Madrid, on two occasions.[3]
From 1940 he served as first secretary and later envoy at the British Embassy in Madrid.[3] Maintaining Spanish neutrality was of great strategic importance and the British diplomats in Spain adopted a position of "benevolent neutrality" towards Franco's state.[5]
Personal life
editWestman married Jean Felicia Bedworth, daughter of Bertram James Davenport Bedworth and Edith Emily Dixon. They had issue:
- Roger Ulick Branch Westman (1939-2020), architect
- Nicholas John Westman (b. 1942), engineer, urbanist
- Kenneth Andrew Rodney Westman (b. 1948), archaeologist
References
edit- ^ "Kenneth Edwin Westman". The Times. London. 1964.
- ^ The Geographical Journal. Royal Geographical Society. 1946.
- ^ a b c "K. E. Westman". The Daily Telegraph. London. 1964.
- ^ Cormac, Rory (1 December 2020). "The currency of covert action: British special political action in Latin America, 1961-64". Journal of Strategic Studies. 45 (6–7): 893–917. doi:10.1080/01402390.2020.1852937. ISSN 0140-2390. S2CID 229392352.
- ^ Ramsay, Scott (4 May 2019). "Ensuring Benevolent Neutrality: The British Government's Appeasement of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939". The International History Review. 41 (3): 604–623. doi:10.1080/07075332.2018.1428211. ISSN 0707-5332.