Sir Charles Brinsley Pemberton Peake (2 January 1897 – 10 April 1958) was a British diplomat.

Early life and career

Peake served in the

Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

during 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 into the 1/4th Battalion in 1915. 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 ...

in June 1916. His service also included attachment to the regiment's 9th Battalion. Peake was discharged in 1918. He joined

Her 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 policy, foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Civil Servi ...

in 1922. His first appointment was in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, subsequently being posted to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

. In 1939, Peake became head of the Foreign Office News Department and chief press adviser at the Ministry of Information. In 1941 he was posted to Washington as Acting Counsellor. In 1946 he became Ambassador to Yugoslavia, before his appointment as Ambassador to Greece in 1951. He served in the position until 1957. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross 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. ...

in 1956.''The London Gazette'' (31 May 1956) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40787/supplement/3103/data.pdf

Personal life

Peake married Catherine Marie Knight, with whom he had four sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peake, Charles 1897 births 1958 deaths People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers Recipients of the Military Cross Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece