Colonel Claude Bayfield Stokes (27 October 1875 – 7 December 1948) was an Indian Army officer and diplomat. He served in India and was an intelligence officer with Dunsterforce during the First World War. Stokes was educated at

St John's School, Leatherhead Seek those things which are above , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent school Co-educational day, weekly and flexi boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , p ...

and Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the East Kent Regiment on 28 September 1895 and served on the North West Frontier 1897–98.January 1908 Indian Army List He transferred to the Indian Army 7 October 1897 and in July 1900 he joined the

3rd Skinner's Horse The 3rd Skinner's Horse was a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was originally raised at Hansi by Lt.-Col. James Skinner as the 2nd Regiment of Skinner's Horse in 1814, the various changes and amalgamations are listed below. *18 ...

, a unit of the Indian Army. Stokes was appointed

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

to Tehran from 1907–1911. During this period he supplied Edward Granville Browne with sensitive intelligence. In 1908 he saved the life of

Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda Allameh Ali Akbar Dehkhodā ( fa, علی‌اکبر دهخدا; 1879–March 9, 1956) was a prominent Iranian linguist and lexicographer. He was the author of the Dehkhoda Dictionary, the most extensive dictionary of the Persian language pu ...

, the Iranian linguist and Hassan Taqizadeh (a subsequent President of Iran), when he allowed him to take refuge in the British Legation compound. He commanded the first detachment of the British Army to go to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

arriving on 4 August 1918. He was appointed British High Commissioner in Transcaucasia, based in the Georgian capital of Tiflis, from 1920 to 1921. He retired from the Indian Army 1 October 1922. From 1931–1940 he was British

Vice consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Nice, France.

Family life

Stokes had married Olga Postovsky in Turkey in the early 1920s and they had a daughter. Stokes died at 22B Roland Gardens in South Kensington London on 7 December 1948."Deaths." Times ondon, England8 Dec. 1948: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Claude 1875 births 1948 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire British diplomats People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead British military attachés Military personnel of British India British people in colonial India