William George Tyrrell, 1st Baron Tyrrell
Encyclopedia
William George Tyrrell, 1st Baron Tyrrell GCB
, GCMG
, KCVO
, PC (17 August 1866 – 14 March 1947) was a British
civil servant and diplomat. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1925 and 1928 and British Ambassador to France from 1928 to 1934.
n princess
, was educated in Germany
(he spoke fluent German) and at Balliol College, Oxford
.
from 1896 to 1903 and then secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence
from 1903 to 1904 before being appointed as second secretary at the British embassy in Rome. He returned firstly as precis-writer from 1905 to 1907 and later, with Louis Mallet
, as private secretary to Sir Edward Grey
from 1907 to 1915. Tyrrell supported the Entente Cordiale
with France
and did not think a rapprochement with Imperial Germany was possible before 1914. He appears to have been one of Grey's few intimates but an inherent laziness and frustration with red tape make an assessment of his influence difficult. Certainly however Tyrrell played a more important role than his title might suggest and, for example, in the autumn of 1913 he was sent to Washington
as a personal ambassador by Grey to discuss the situation in Mexico following the overthrow of Francesco Madero.
In the spring of 1915 Tyrrell appears to have suffered an almost total breakdown (perhaps precipitated by the death of his younger son that year) and he was moved to a less stressful job at the Home Office
before being made head of the Political Intelligence Department
from 1916 to 1919. He was Permanent Under-Secretary from 1925 to 1928 and British Ambassador to France from 1928 to 1934. As Permanent Under-Secretary he did not think there was a military threat from Japan
and that Russia
was the enemy and as Ambassador he worked for an Anglo-French agreement. He was also suspicious of Nazi Germany
. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1928 and made a Peer
as Baron Tyrrell of Avon in the County of Southampton, in 1929. In 1935 he was appointed President of Board of Film Censors, a post he held until 1947.
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...
, GCMG
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....
, KCVO
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...
, PC (17 August 1866 – 14 March 1947) 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...
civil servant and diplomat. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1925 and 1928 and British Ambassador to France from 1928 to 1934.
Background and education
Tyrell, a grandson of an IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
, was educated in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(he spoke fluent German) and at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
.
Career
Tyrrell served in the Foreign Office from 1889 to 1928. He was private secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Thomas SandersonThomas Sanderson, 1st Baron Sanderson
Sir Thomas Henry Sanderson, 1st Baron Sanderson of Armthorpe was born on the 11th January 1841 in Gunton Park, about 6 miles North of Aylsham, in Norfolk.Second son to Richard Sanderson, Member of Parliament for Colchester from 1832 to 1847, and the Hon...
from 1896 to 1903 and then 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...
from 1903 to 1904 before being appointed as second secretary at the British embassy in Rome. He returned firstly as precis-writer from 1905 to 1907 and later, with Louis Mallet
Louis Mallet
Sir Louis Mallet was a British civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India.He was born in London and was in all probability educated there, though at which school or college is not known. He began his career in the Civil Service as a clerk in the Audit Office and appears to...
, as private secretary to Sir Edward Grey
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon KG, PC, FZL, DL , better known as Sir Edward Grey, Bt, was a British Liberal statesman. He served as Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916, the longest continuous tenure of any person in that office...
from 1907 to 1915. Tyrrell supported the Entente Cordiale
Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...
with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and did not think a rapprochement with Imperial Germany was possible before 1914. He appears to have been one of Grey's few intimates but an inherent laziness and frustration with red tape make an assessment of his influence difficult. Certainly however Tyrrell played a more important role than his title might suggest and, for example, in the autumn of 1913 he was sent to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as a personal ambassador by Grey to discuss the situation in Mexico following the overthrow of Francesco Madero.
In the spring of 1915 Tyrrell appears to have suffered an almost total breakdown (perhaps precipitated by the death of his younger son that year) and he was moved to a less stressful job at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
before being made head of the Political Intelligence Department
Political Intelligence Department (1918 - 1920)
The Political Intelligence Department was a department of the British Foreign Office created towards the end of World War I. It was created on March 11, 1918, by Permanent Under-Secretary Lord Hardinge. It gathered political, economic, and military conditions in both allied and enemy countries...
from 1916 to 1919. He was Permanent Under-Secretary from 1925 to 1928 and British Ambassador to France from 1928 to 1934. As Permanent Under-Secretary he did not think there was a military threat from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and that Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
was the enemy and as Ambassador he worked for an Anglo-French agreement. He was also suspicious of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1928 and made a Peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
as Baron Tyrrell of Avon in the County of Southampton, in 1929. In 1935 he was appointed President of Board of Film Censors, a post he held until 1947.