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William Seeds

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Sir William Seeds KCMG (27 June 1882 – 2 November 1973) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to both the Soviet Union and Brazil.

Sir William Seeds
KCMG
Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office
1939–1940
MonarchGeorge VI
Preceded byViscount Chilston
Succeeded bySir Stafford Cripps
Personal details
Born(1882-06-27)27 June 1882
Dublin
Died2 November 1973(1973-11-02) (aged 91)
London
NationalityBritish
Spouse(s)Arabella, Lady Seeds (d.1979)
Alma materRugby School

Background and education

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Seeds was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 27 June 1882, to an Ulster Protestant family. He was the only son of Robert Seeds (1835-1892),[1] of Rutland Square, Dublin, QC, the Queen's Advocate General, and Ada Charlotte, daughter of John Le Mottée, of Le Vanquiédou, a Jurat of Guernsey. After the death of Robert Seeds, his widow married in 1900 Sir William Squire Barker Kaye, CB, KC, Assistant Under-Secretary for Ireland.[2][3][4]

Seeds was educated at Rugby School and was proficient in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. In his late teens he spent two years (1899–1901) in the Russian Empire as a student living with several Russian families, studying the culture and language. He grew to love "the real old Russia like a story or play by Chekhov"[5] On his return from Russia he studied in London to enter the diplomatic service whilst fully enjoying the many entertainments that Edwardian London nightlife had to offer.

Diplomatic career

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Seeds entered His Majesty's Diplomatic Service in 1904 and served in Washington D.C., United States, (1904–07), at the British Legation at Peking, China, (1908–10)[6] and at the British Legation in Athens, Greece (1911–13). He was Chargé d'Affaires and British Consulate General in Lisbon, Portugal, (1913–1919) and Chargé d'Affaires and First Secretary in Berlin, Germany, in 1919. He was appointed Consul General for Bavaria in November 1920[7] and transferred to Munich. In January 1922, having attended a rally at the Bürgerbräukeller, Seeds wrote one of the first British official reports on the Nazi Party in which he described Adolf Hitler as “a rabid Nationalist and anti-Semite”.[8] In November 1922 Seeds warned: "Herr Hitler has developed into something much more than a scurrilous and rather comic agitator."[9] Seeds was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia in Bogotá from 1923 to 1925[10] and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of Venezuela in Caracas from 1925 to 1926.[11] In 1926–28 he was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General to the Albanian Republic[12] under the rule of Zog I of Albania whom Seeds reported "is not the pallid tyrant trembling in his palace that some expect him to be".[13]

In 1928 Seeds became British High Commissioner for the Rhineland in Koblenz, and during his tenure of the post, he was mainly occupied in the arrangements for the evacuation.[14] In the article “Lone Seeds”, Time (magazine) wrote, “Left behind was a lone Briton, one William Seeds, Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commissioner since 1928, who must represent the dignity and power of the British Empire in Germany”[15] In 1930 Seeds was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) by George V.[16] Sir William served as Ambassador to Brazil (1930–35).[17] Seeds' final and most controversial[18] diplomatic post before retirement was as Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1939–40).[19][20] During this time he tried to negotiate with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov to form a collective security pact between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in the months before World War II, which ended when the Soviet Union instead signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany.[21]

A tall and handsome man who charmed the ladies, Seeds was nevertheless known “not to suffer fools gladly, nor always sufficiently restrain his brilliant wit”.[22]

Family

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On 17 November 1911, Seeds married Arabella Agnes Muriel (1883–1979), daughter of Theobald Butler, a descendant of James Butler, 2nd/ 12th Baron Dunboyne.[23] They had three sons and one daughter. Their eldest son, Robert Seeds[24](1914–1991), a Major in the Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom) who lost his left hand in 1941 whilst detonating a bomb for the Special Operations Executive,[25] was a university professor and journalist working in and for Saudi Arabia from 1959 until his death.[26] Their second son Hugh[27] (1917-2010) initially joined the Royal Navy then became a conscientious objector and emigrated to New Zealand after the war. The youngest son, James (1919-1940), served as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force, and was killed in action at the age of 20.[28][29]

Their daughter Sheila[30] (1912-2005), worked at MI5 headquarters in HMP Wormwood Scrubs during the war years.[citation needed] She married first, in 1934 (divorcing in 1949), Sir John Fisher Wentworth Dilke, 5th Baronet, and had two sons, who each succeeded to the baronetcy. Her elder son, Charles, was a Catholic priest at the Brompton Oratory, and died unmarried and without issue. Charles' brother, Dr.Timothy Dilke, a consultant rheumatologist, is expected to succeed him as the 7th Baronet.[31][32]

Death and legacy

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Seeds died peacefully in his home in St. John's Wood, London at the age of 91 on 2 November 1973[33] and was buried in the Seeds family graveyard in Derriaghy, Lisburn, Northern Ireland.[34] There is a memorial to Seeds and his wife at Lymington Church, Hampshire, where they were regular worshippers.[35]

A collector of Chinese and Russian artworks, he bequeathed a Carl Fabergé gold, enamel and diamond presentation box to the Victoria and Albert Museum[36] where it is on display (room 91, case 56,) to whom he had also intended to bequeath his collection of 10 Fabergé hardstone figurines[37] who he referred to as “my little men” in his diaries and conversations.

Seeds' extensive papers, diaries and photographs are kept by his granddaughter, Corinna Seeds,[38] on Hydra (island) in Greece,[39] and can be viewed and referenced on request.[40][41]

Arms

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Coat of arms of William Seeds
 
Notes
Granted 20 January 1928 by Sir Nevile Rodwell Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms.[42]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours a hand erect holding six ears of wheat and charged at the wrist with a plate Proper.
Escutcheon
Ermine two pales Azure charged with six plates on a chief Argent three roses Gules.
Motto
Pax Et Copia

References

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  1. ^ Lyons, Dr Jane (6 March 2013). "Derriaghy Gravestone Transcriptions, Co. Antrim". From-Ireland.net. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. ^ The County Families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, Edward Walford, Dalcassian Publishing Co., 1860, p. 742
  3. ^ Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, Robert Phipps Dod, S. Low, Marston & Co., 1923, p. 484
  4. ^ The Irish Law Times, 7 Jan. 1882, pub. J. Falconer, p. 12, "Births, Marriages, and Deaths"
  5. ^ Sidney Aster "Leadership and Responsibility in the Second World War" p.122 OCLC 1245303820
  6. ^ C-055525, Library and Archives Canada / (27 March 1909), Rt. Hon. Sir John Jordan, British Ministers to China, in the Forbidden City to present letters of credence to the new Prince Regent. Seen from left to right are: Colonel Michael Willoughby, Sir Alexander Hosie , Joseph Addison, Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King, S.F Mayers , Sir John Neville Jordan, William Seeds, Colonel Anderson, W.C. Campbell., retrieved 29 June 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "No. 32173". The London Gazette. 24 December 1920. p. 12591.
  8. ^ Carsten F.L.: Britain and the Weimar Republic Publisher Batsford London 1984 p.109 OCLC 12669748
  9. ^ Carsten F.L. Britain and the Weimar Republic Publisher Batsford London 1984 p.109 OCLC 610336604
  10. ^ "No. 32852". The London Gazette. 10 August 1923. p. 5492.
  11. ^ "No. 33069". The London Gazette. 24 July 1925. p. 4951.
  12. ^ "No. 33222". The London Gazette. 19 November 1926. p. 7475.
  13. ^ Jason Tomes: King Zog, Sutton Press p. 113 OCLC 141380805 [11]
  14. ^ Margaret Pawley, 2007,The Watch on the Rhine OCLC 1023203159
  15. ^ Time Magazine “Germany: Lone Seeds” Dec 23 1929
  16. ^ "No. 33586". The London Gazette. 7 March 1930. p. 1485.
  17. ^ "No. 33638". The London Gazette. 26 August 1930. p. 5293.
  18. ^ Sidney Aster Sir William Seeds:The Diplomat as Scapegoat? Leadership and Responsibility in the Second World War Carleton University Press, p. 121-164 OCLC 1245303820
  19. ^ "No. 34607". The London Gazette. 14 March 1939. p. 1762.
  20. ^ "Russia to stand by peace pact policy - May 9, 1939". The Telegraph. 9 May 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  21. ^ Bouverie, Tim (2019). Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War (1 ed.). New York: Tim Duggan Books. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-451-49984-4. OCLC 1042099346.
  22. ^ ANN "The Times" 17 November 1973
  23. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th ed., vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 1215
  24. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, ed. Patrick W. Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1980, p. P-396
  25. ^ Daniel Cordier: Alias Caracalla Gallimard, Press, 2009 p.249,255,262-3,267-8 OCLC 937041438
  26. ^ The Times May 9, 1967 VII-VIII
  27. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, ed. Patrick W. Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1980, p. P-396
  28. ^ "Register". Retrieved 7 August 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  29. ^ "Pilot Officer J SEEDS (33445), Royal Air Force) [Royal Air Force WW2 Casualty ]".
  30. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, ed. Patrick W. Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1980, p. P-396
  31. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th ed., vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 1146
  32. ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (12 December 2022). "Father Charles Dilke, veteran and much-loved priest of the Brompton Oratory – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  33. ^ Obituaries "The Times" and "The Telegraph" 3 November 1973
  34. ^ W.N.C. Barr: Derriaghy: A Short History of the Parish 1974 p. 85 OCLC 6901639
  35. ^ The Annotated Capital, Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley, Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 12OCLC 491886376
  36. ^ "Box | Perkhin, Mikhail | V&A Explore the Collections".
  37. ^ https://fabergeresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/3rdintfabsympresention1.pdf page 8
  38. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, ed. Patrick W. Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1980, p. P-396
  39. ^ Corinna Seeds, Theatre Director, Hydrama Theatre, PO Box 9, Hydra, Greece 18040
  40. ^ Brian Farrell,Leadership and Responsibility in the Second World War,Carleton University Press, p.151 OCLC 1245303820
  41. ^ Ivan Maisky,The Maisky Diaries, by Ivan Yale University Press, p.562 OCLC 1302154281
  42. ^ "Grants and Confirmations of Arms Volume M". National Library of Ireland. p. 230. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
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