Sir Peter Alexander Clutterbuck (27 March 1897 – 29 December 1975) was a British diplomat who was high commissioner to Canada and India and ambassador to Ireland.

Life and career

Alexander's father, Sir

Peter Clutterbuck Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Peter Henry Clutterbuck (28 September 1868 – 20 December 1951) was a British colonial civil servant and expert in forestry conservation, who worked as the Inspector General of Forests to the Government of India. Early ...

, was an Inspector General of Forests in India and Burma. Peter Alexander Clutterbuck was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

and was awarded the Military Cross and a

mention in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. After the war he entered the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, at first in the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, transferring to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

in 1922. He was secretary to the

Donoughmore Commission The Donoughmore Commission (DC) was responsible for the creation of the Donoughmore Constitution in effect between 1931–47 in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). In 1931 there were approximately 12% Ceylonese Tamils, 12% Indian Tamils (migrant an ...

1927–28, and a member of the UK delegations to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

General Assembly in 1929, 1930 and 1931. He was secretary to the

Newfoundland Royal Commission {{Short description, 1933 UK royal commission on Newfoundland finances The Newfoundland Royal Commission or Amulree Commission (as it came to be known) was a royal commission established on February 17, 1933 by the Government of the United Kingdom ...

in 1933. He was High Commissioner to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

1946–52 and to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

1952–55. His term in India was cut short by ill health: he was advised not to continue to serve in a tropical climate and was appointed ambassador to the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

1955–59. Finally, he was

Permanent Under-Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

at the

Commonwealth Relations Office The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Commo ...

1959–61. Clutterbuck was appointed CMG in the

1943 New Year Honours The 1943 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1942.United Kingdom (additiona ...

, knighted KCMG in the New Year Honours of 1946 and raised to GCMG in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 1952.
Above all Alec Clutterbuck was a Christian and a gentleman. Such phrases may sound out of fashion today, but there will be many past and present members of the service who will remember him with gratitude and affection and will recall the guiding lights of his life – loyalty, devotion to duty, integrity and, supremely, the Christian virtues of humility and charity.Lord Garner
Sir Alexander Clutterbuck
''The Times'', London, 3 January 1976, page 14

References

CLUTTERBUCK, Sir (Peter) Alexander
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
Sir Alexander Clutterbuck
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 31 December 1975, page 12

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clutterbuck, Peter Alexander 1897 births 1975 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Coldstream Guards officers People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to India Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ireland Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Military Cross Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office