Arthur Ferdinand Yencken (1 April 1894 – 18 May 1944) was an Australian-born British Army officer and diplomat. He was killed in an aircrash in Spain on 18 May 1944.

Early life

The son of Edward Yencken and his English-born wife Florence (née Orr), the family had built up a successful business over two generations. Like his father before him he was educated at

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and seni ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

(BA 1919).

War service

Yencken joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

at the outbreak of the

First World War 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 ...

, being commissioned as

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the 6th London Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

on 21 August 1914. He was raised to temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 28 July 1915, which was made substantive on 1 June 1916 when he was also confirmed as a temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was made a substantive captain on 1 July 1917. He was further promoted to

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 22 May 1918, while commanding a battery. On 26 September 1917 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. The citation was carried on 10 January 1918 as below: Yencken relinquished his commission on 7 June 1919 as a major. For his service as an acting major with 236 London Brigade,

he was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

Sir Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' on 7 July 1919.

Diplomatic service

On 10 October 1919 his appointment as a

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

His Majesty's Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which d ...

was announced in the ''London Gazette'', and he was gazetted to the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

on 4 November 1919. The ''London Gazette'' carried an announcement of his appointment as a

First Secretary First Secretary may refer to: * First minister, a leader of a government * Secretary (title), a leader of a political party (especially Communist parties), trade union, or other organization * First Secretary (diplomatic rank), a role within an emba ...

from 15 July 1929. Yencken, was thus an Australian serving in the British Diplomatic Service. Australia did not have its own Foreign Service representation at this time. Postings to Washington, USA, from 1920 to 1922, Berlin, Germany, from 1928 to 1932, Cairo, Egypt, as deputy High Commissioner from 1933 to 1936, and Rome, Italy, from 1937 to 1939 were followed by his appointment on 23 April 1939 to the British Embassy to Spain, then located in San Sebastian, with the rank of acting Counsellor. Following the Embassy's move back to Madrid in July 1940 he was given the local rank of Minister Plenipotentiary and in April 1941 also promoted to Counsellor. During his diplomatic posting to Spain he regularly acted as Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy. He died in an air crash in Spain at the age of 50 on 18 May 1944 while on diplomatic service.

Tennis

Yencken was a championship level tennis player. He played at Wimbledon in 1914, the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

on 9 December 1922, Wimbledon on 7 July 1923 and again 3 July 1926 and finally in 1927.

Second World War

Yencken played a major role, with others in the Embassy, in working to ensure that Spain remained neutral and in preventing Franco from joining the Axis group. Yencken and wife Joyce also worked fearlessly in difficult and hostile conditions to repatriate to the UK Allied airmen having been being smuggled over the Pyrenees. She was a daughter of George Russell, a Victorian grazier. She with her sister grew up on his sheep station, Langi Willi, near Skipton. On 12 June 1941 Yencken was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

at which time he held the position "Minister Plenipotentiary at His Majesty's Embassy in Madrid". At the time of his death he was British Chargé d'Affaires, Madrid. April 1942 - Mr Arthur Yencken, British Minister in Madrid and his wife came to Gibraltar to meet Mr. R.G. Casey, ex Governor of Bengal, who was in Gibraltar on his way to Cairo to take up his post as British Minister Middle East. Mr. Casey had been the best man at the Yencken’s wedding. Yencken died on 18 May 1944 in an air crash south of Barcelona, Spain, when a small aircraft flown by the Assistant Air Attache at Madrid,

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

H. C. Caldwell, crashed in bad weather killing the pilot, Yencken and a Spanish engineer.

Family

On 5 June 1925 he married Mary Joyce Russell in St. Margarets, Westminster. In 1948 his widow married Sir Denys Pilditch, the wartime director of counter-espionage in India. Joyce lived with him in England until her death in 1975, coincidentally in Madrid, though she returned frequently to Australia where her children John, Elizabeth, and David lived. His eldest son was Dr. John Yencken (1926–2012) distinguished for his services to science in Australia. His youngest son was

David Yencken David George Druce Yencken (June 3, 1931 – September 21, 2019) was a builder, businessman, academic and heritage practitioner in Australia. Family and early history David Yencken was born in Berlin. His father was an Australian-born British A ...

(1931–2019) distinguished for his services to history, design and conservation in Australia. The Australian Press announced in December 1944 that Yencken's will left an estate valued at £96,446. The Courier Mail, Brisbane, 7 December 1944
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