John Tilley (diplomat)
Encyclopedia
Sir John Anthony Cecil Tilley PC, GCMG
, GCVO
, CB
(January 1869–April 5, 1952) was a British
diplomat. He was British Ambassador to Brazil from 1921 to 1925, and Ambassador to Japan from 1926 to 1931.
, Secretary to the General Post Office
, by his third marriage, to Susannah Anderson Montgomerie. She was the grand daughter of Alexander Montgomerie
; daughter of William Eglinton Montgomerie of Annick Lodge and Greenville
, Ayrshire "The Times Archive" in online database (subscription required), accessed 16 May 2011 by his marriage to Susanna Fraser Anderson and great niece of Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton
. Tilley was the half brother of Arthur Augustus Tilley
. and godson of Anthony Trollope
.
Before being awarded a scholarship to Eton
, Tilley attended a preparatory school at Thorpe Mandeville
, Northamptonshire
, and on 8 October 1887 entered King's College, Cambridge
, where he graduated BA
in 1890, proceeding MA in 1894. Between 1887 and 1889 he was editor of the Cambridge Review, an undergraduate magazine.
He then prepared for the Foreign Office entrance examination. To improve his “moderately good” French he spent three months in a village near Tours, France. He then moved to live with a family in Dresden, Germany, to learn German, where he also learnt some Spanish. From Dresden
, he returned to England and attended Scoones where he crammed for the Foreign Office entrance examination
On 7 September 1901 Tilley married Edith Honoria Montgomery-Cuninghame, eldest child of Sir William Montgomery-Cuninghame, 9th Baronet, by his marriage to Elizabeth Hartopp.
In 1899 he was appointed Second Secretary in Paris
and, having done much of the preparatory translation work for the frontier dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela
, also Secretary to the British Agent for the Boundary Arbitration (Venezuela Crisis of 1895
) between British Guiana
and Venezuela, also based in Paris.
At the end of 1898, Tilley returned to the Foreign Office to work in the Consular Department.
In 1902, he became Secretary to the Committee on Consular Service, and in 1903 Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence
. This was a temporary appointment and ended in June 1904 when George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe
was appointed permanently to the position.
On 3rd August 1906 he was appointed Acting First Secretary in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service
In 1906, having obtained an exchange with a member of the Diplomatic Service Tilley was assigned as the First Secretary at the British Embassy in Constantinople
, where he remained until 1908. Here he served under Nicholas Roderick O'Conor for whom Tilley felt great affection and admiration.
After promotion early in 1909, he was made Head of the African Department. At the end of 1909, he became British Plenipotentiary at the Brussels Arms Conference and at the beginning of 1910 Delegate to the Conference respecting frontiers between Uganda
, German East Africa
and Congo
, held in Brussels
. The representing Minister at this conference was Arthur Henry Hardinge
.
In 1912 he was Delegate to the African Liquor Conference,which was also held in Brussels.
In October 1913 he was promoted to the Chief Clerk at the Foreign Office. He was also appointed Foreign Office representative on the Governing Body at the School of Oriental Studies.
1916 saw the formation of a committee to consider reform of the Diplomatic Service. As Chief Clerk, Tilley was appointed to this committee which resulted in the merger of the Diplomatic and Foreign Office Services and for the first time, allowances were paid to men serving abroad. Between 1919 and 1920 remained in the Foreign Office as Assistant Secretary.
Sir John attended Buckingham Palace on 21st December 1920, where he was sworn of his Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council of the United Kingdom
and took his place on the board accordingly.
Between 1921 and 1925 Tilley was a head of mission as British ambassador to Brazil. After a long leave, his final posting, from 1926 to 1931, was as Ambassador to Japan.
Tilley’s final ceremonial duty before leaving Japan was to lay the foundation stone of Christ Church, Yokohama built to replace the original church destroyed in an earthquake.
Tilley and his family left Japan on 18 October 1930 taking a long journey via a number of countries home, into retirement
In retirement, he lived at Felsham House
, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace
for the county.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, GCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(January 1869–April 5, 1952) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
diplomat. He was British Ambassador to Brazil from 1921 to 1925, and Ambassador to Japan from 1926 to 1931.
Early life
Born on 21 or 31 January 1869, Tilley was the ninth child and fourth son of Sir John TilleyJohn Tilley (KCB)
Sir John Tilley KCB was Secretary to the General Post Office of the United Kingdom.-Early life and family:Tilley was the posthumous youngest son of John Tilley, a merchant of Peckham, who had died before he was born...
, Secretary to the General Post Office
General Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
, by his third marriage, to Susannah Anderson Montgomerie. She was the grand daughter of Alexander Montgomerie
Alexander Montgomerie
Alexander Montgomerie , Scottish Jacobean courtier and poet, or makar, born in Ayrshire. He was one of the principal members of the Castalian Band, a circle of poets in the court of James VI in the 1580s which included the king himself. Montgomerie was for a time in favour as one of the king's...
; daughter of William Eglinton Montgomerie of Annick Lodge and Greenville
Annick Lodge and Greenville
Annick Lodge is an estate between Perceton and Cunninghamhead in North Ayrshire, Scotland.- History :Annick Lodge and estate was built by Captain Alexander Montgomery, the brother German of Hugh, Earl of Eglinton...
, Ayrshire "The Times Archive" in online database (subscription required), accessed 16 May 2011 by his marriage to Susanna Fraser Anderson and great niece of Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton
Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton
Sir Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton KT was a Scottish peer, politician, and composer. He was the grandfather of Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton....
. Tilley was the half brother of Arthur Augustus Tilley
Arthur Augustus Tilley
Arthur Augustus Tilley was an academic of the University of Cambridge. An Old Etonian, his first subject at Cambridge was Classics, after which he began a career as a barrister...
. and godson of Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
.
Before being awarded a scholarship to Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Tilley attended a preparatory school at Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville
Thorpe Mandeville is a village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about northeast of Banbury in neighbouring Oxfordshire. The hamlet of Lower Thorpe lies just north of the village....
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, and on 8 October 1887 entered King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he graduated BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1890, proceeding MA in 1894. Between 1887 and 1889 he was editor of the Cambridge Review, an undergraduate magazine.
He then prepared for the Foreign Office entrance examination. To improve his “moderately good” French he spent three months in a village near Tours, France. He then moved to live with a family in Dresden, Germany, to learn German, where he also learnt some Spanish. From Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, he returned to England and attended Scoones where he crammed for the Foreign Office entrance examination
On 7 September 1901 Tilley married Edith Honoria Montgomery-Cuninghame, eldest child of Sir William Montgomery-Cuninghame, 9th Baronet, by his marriage to Elizabeth Hartopp.
Career
In 1893, Tilley took the Foreign Office examination and was appointed to the only available vacancy, where he was assigned as a junior to the Eastern Department “…dealing with the affairs of the Near and Middle East, including Russia, the Turkish Empire and Egypt.” A year later, he was transferred to the Far Eastern Department.In 1899 he was appointed Second Secretary in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and, having done much of the preparatory translation work for the frontier dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, also Secretary to the British Agent for the Boundary Arbitration (Venezuela Crisis of 1895
Venezuela Crisis of 1895
The Venezuela Crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with the United Kingdom about the territory of Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela saw as Venezuelan territory...
) between British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
and Venezuela, also based in Paris.
At the end of 1898, Tilley returned to the Foreign Office to work in the Consular Department.
In 1902, he became Secretary to the Committee on Consular Service, and in 1903 Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence
Committee of Imperial Defence
The Committee of Imperial Defence was an important ad hoc part of the government of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from just after the Second Boer War until the start of World War II...
. This was a temporary appointment and ended in June 1904 when George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe
George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe
George Sydenham Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe GCSI, GCIE, GCMG, GBE was a British colonial administrator and British Army officer.-Background and education:Clarke was born in Lincolnshire...
was appointed permanently to the position.
On 3rd August 1906 he was appointed Acting First Secretary in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service
In 1906, having obtained an exchange with a member of the Diplomatic Service Tilley was assigned as the First Secretary at the British Embassy in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he remained until 1908. Here he served under Nicholas Roderick O'Conor for whom Tilley felt great affection and admiration.
After promotion early in 1909, he was made Head of the African Department. At the end of 1909, he became British Plenipotentiary at the Brussels Arms Conference and at the beginning of 1910 Delegate to the Conference respecting frontiers between Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
and Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
, held in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. The representing Minister at this conference was Arthur Henry Hardinge
Arthur Henry Hardinge
Sir, ,Arthur Henry Hardinge , G.C.M.G.,1910, K.C.B.,1904, , a fluent speaker of the Spanish and the French languages, was the son of General Hon...
.
In 1912 he was Delegate to the African Liquor Conference,which was also held in Brussels.
In October 1913 he was promoted to the Chief Clerk at the Foreign Office. He was also appointed Foreign Office representative on the Governing Body at the School of Oriental Studies.
1916 saw the formation of a committee to consider reform of the Diplomatic Service. As Chief Clerk, Tilley was appointed to this committee which resulted in the merger of the Diplomatic and Foreign Office Services and for the first time, allowances were paid to men serving abroad. Between 1919 and 1920 remained in the Foreign Office as Assistant Secretary.
Sir John attended Buckingham Palace on 21st December 1920, where he was sworn of his Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
and took his place on the board accordingly.
Between 1921 and 1925 Tilley was a head of mission as British ambassador to Brazil. After a long leave, his final posting, from 1926 to 1931, was as Ambassador to Japan.
Tilley’s final ceremonial duty before leaving Japan was to lay the foundation stone of Christ Church, Yokohama built to replace the original church destroyed in an earthquake.
Tilley and his family left Japan on 18 October 1930 taking a long journey via a number of countries home, into retirement
In retirement, he lived at Felsham House
Felsham
Felsham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 its population was 420.-History:The origin of the name "Felsham" is not clear, but one theory gives its meaning as Faela or "pleasant enclosure". Felsham was listed as Fealsham in the Domesday...
, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for the county.
Selected works
- The Foreign Office (1933), 3 editions
- London to Tokyo (1942), 7 editions, the last in 1973
Honours
- 1916: Companion of the Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(CB) - 1919: Knight Companion of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(KCMG) - 1920: Privy Counsellor (PC)
- 1927: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(GCMG) - 1927 Order of the Rising SunOrder of the Rising SunThe is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
, Grand Cordon - 1929 Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(GCVO)