Sir David Lee Cole,

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

, MC (31 August 1920 – 28 May 1997) was a British diplomat. He was British High Commissioner to Malawi from 1964 to 1967 and British Ambassador to Thailand from 1973 to 1978. Cole was born at Newmarket,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, the son of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

D. H. Cole,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

LittD Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

, and Charlotte Cole (''née'' Wedgwood). Cole was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

, where he was an

exhibitioner An exhibition is a type of scholarship award or bursary. United Kingdom and Ireland At the universities of Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield, at some public schools, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a sma ...

and took

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in History. His university studies were interrupted after one year by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which he served with the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

from 1940 to 1945 in India, Iran, Madagascar, and Italy. 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 1944, for his actions during the crossing of the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri"). ...

river. Joining the

Dominions Office The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet-level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free S ...

in 1947, Cole was seconded to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

for service with the UK Delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York from 1948 to 1951. He was First Secretary at the British High Commission in New Delhi from 1953 to 1956, private secretary to the

Earl of Home Earl of Home ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home of that Ilk, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473), and Lord Dunglass (1605), i ...

, (

Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations 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 ...

and

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the ...

) from 1957 to 1960, and head of the Personnel Department 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 ...

from 1961 to 1963. He was British Deputy High Commissioner to Ghana from 1963 to 1964, British High Commissioner to Malawi from 1964 to 1967, Minister (Political) at the British High Commission in New Delhi from 1957 to 1960, Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

from 1970 to 1973, and British Ambassador to Thailand from 1973 to 1978, when he retired from

HM 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 ...

. Cole was appointed CMG in 1965 and promoted

in 1975.

Family

Cole married in 1945 Dorothy Patton; they had one son. Lady Cole died in 2018.

Publications

* ''Thailand: Watercolour Impressions'' (Allied Printers, 1977) * ''Rough Road to Rome: A Foot-soldier in Sicily and Italy, 1943–44'' (William Kimber & Co Ltd, 1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, David 1920 births 1997 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Thailand High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malawi Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Military Cross Members of HM Diplomatic Service British Army personnel of World War II Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers People from Newmarket, Suffolk People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in India British expatriates in Ghana Military personnel from Suffolk 20th-century British diplomats