Robert MacLeod Hodgson
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert MacLeod Hodgson KCMG
KBE
(25 February 1874 – 18 October 1956) was a British
diplomat
and consul
.
Hodgson was born in West Bromwich
, Staffordshire
, the son of the Reverend Robert Hodgson
, founder of West Bromwich Albion Football Club
. He was educated at Radley College
, near Abingdon
in Oxfordshire
from 1887 to 1893, where he was a prefect
, and Trinity College, Oxford
, where he captained the University of Oxford
hockey
team and graduated with a pass degree in 1897.
He joined the Consular Service, working at the consulate in Algiers
from 1901 to 1904 and becoming Vice-Consul at Marseille
in 1904. In 1906, he was appointed Commercial Agent at Vladivostock and given the rank of Vice-Consul two years later and Consul in 1911. He stayed in Vladivostock until 1919, when he was moved to Omsk
as Acting High Commissioner to the anti-Bolshevik
government. In November 1919 he was appointed Commercial Counsellor in Moscow
. He married a Russian woman, Olga Bellavina, in 1920 and was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours. He became Chargé d'affaires
in 1924 following British official recognition of the Communist government, but was recalled to Britain with the rest of the British diplomatic mission in 1927. He had been appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1925.
In 1928, he was appointed Minister
to Albania
. He retired in August 1936, but in December 1937 returned to the Foreign Office as British agent to General Franco's
government in Burgos
, Spain
. In December 1939 he was appointed Chargé d'affaires, but was surprisingly not appointed ambassador to Spain when full diplomatic relations were established in April 1939 perhaps because of his wife having been born in Russia .
The British ambassador to Spain instead was Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood title awarded after his return late in 1944 from Spain, married however to a lady, née Lady Maud Lygon, (1882- 1962), a DBE in her own right, daughter of Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, (1830 - 1891). It seems that Spanish Dictator from 1939 to 1975 General Franco described in private the British Ambassador appointed by Winston Churchill
as , that Jew of Samuel Hoare indeed. Once again retiring, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).
From 1943 to 1945 relying on the couple family background he was Chairman of the Council of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
, and in 1944 to 1945 an adviser to the Foreign Office on censorship.
On 9 October 1956, Hodgson tripped over the kerb and fell while crossing Sloane Street
in Chelsea
, fracturing
his femur
. This caused him to contract pneumonia
and he died in hospital nine days later.
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....
KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(25 February 1874 – 18 October 1956) 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
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
.
Hodgson was born in West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, the son of the Reverend Robert Hodgson
Robert Hodgson
Sir Robert Hodgson was a Canadian lawyer, politician, judge, and the second Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island....
, founder of West Bromwich Albion Football Club
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
. He was educated at Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
, near Abingdon
Abingdon
Abingdon may refer to the following places:In Australia :* Abingdon, Queensland, a place in Northern QueenslandIn Britain:*Abingdon, Oxfordshire**Abingdon School**Abingdon Abbey**Abingdon Lock**Abingdon Bridge**Abingdon Air & Country Show...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
from 1887 to 1893, where he was a prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
, and Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, where he captained the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
team and graduated with a pass degree in 1897.
He joined the Consular Service, working at the consulate in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
from 1901 to 1904 and becoming Vice-Consul at Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
in 1904. In 1906, he was appointed Commercial Agent at Vladivostock and given the rank of Vice-Consul two years later and Consul in 1911. He stayed in Vladivostock until 1919, when he was moved to Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
as Acting High Commissioner to the anti-Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
government. In November 1919 he was appointed Commercial Counsellor in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He married a Russian woman, Olga Bellavina, in 1920 and was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours. He became Chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
in 1924 following British official recognition of the Communist government, but was recalled to Britain with the rest of the British diplomatic mission in 1927. He had been appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1925.
In 1928, he was appointed Minister
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
to Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. He retired in August 1936, but in December 1937 returned to the Foreign Office as British agent to General Franco's
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
government in Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In December 1939 he was appointed Chargé d'affaires, but was surprisingly not appointed ambassador to Spain when full diplomatic relations were established in April 1939 perhaps because of his wife having been born in Russia .
The British ambassador to Spain instead was Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood title awarded after his return late in 1944 from Spain, married however to a lady, née Lady Maud Lygon, (1882- 1962), a DBE in her own right, daughter of Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, (1830 - 1891). It seems that Spanish Dictator from 1939 to 1975 General Franco described in private the British Ambassador appointed by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
as , that Jew of Samuel Hoare indeed. Once again retiring, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).
From 1943 to 1945 relying on the couple family background he was Chairman of the Council of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies is a school of University College London . It is the largest centre for the study and research of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and Russia in the United Kingdom...
, and in 1944 to 1945 an adviser to the Foreign Office on censorship.
On 9 October 1956, Hodgson tripped over the kerb and fell while crossing Sloane Street
Sloane Street
Sloane Street is a major London street which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along, entirely in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712...
in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, fracturing
Fracture
A fracture is the separation of an object or material into two, or more, pieces under the action of stress.The word fracture is often applied to bones of living creatures , or to crystals or crystalline materials, such as gemstones or metal...
his femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
. This caused him to contract pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and he died in hospital nine days later.