Sir Edmund Charles Wyldbore-Smith (15 January 1877 - 18 October 1938) was a British

civil servant 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 ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, and businessman. Peerage

Biography

Smith was the son of Reverend Francis Smith (1841-1877), who was the fourth son of the second Smith-Marriott Baronet. His grandfather was Sir John Wyldbore Smith (1770-1852). In 1901, he married Evadne Maude Kellet; and the couple had two daughter—Monica Elizabeth and Jocelin Evadne.

Career

In the early 1900s, Wyldbore-Smith served in 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 ...

beginning his service as Vice-Consul at Tangiers in 1903. ''Journal of the Royal Statistical Society,''
Vol. 75 (1912). p. 40.] Four years later he was appointed Vice-Consul in Canea (modern

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

), Crete. In January 1910 he transferred to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

where he was employed as Officer-in-Charge of Commercial Enquiries in its recently established Exhibitions Branch; in effect he acted as deputy to the Director of the Branch, Ulick Fitzgerald Wintour. During the First World War, Smith was Director of the British Executive Staff of the ''Commission Internationale de Ravitaillement,'' which was the international commission for the purchase of supplies for the Allies.''London Gazette''
21 May 1918, p. 5990
/ref> Wyldbore-Smith resignation from the Civil Service in 1919 opened the way for a career in business. He was appointed chairman of

Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodation ...

(both the travel agency and the banking firm), succeeding Frank Cook, who was the grandson of the company's founder. Wyldbore-Smith served as vice-president of the

Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...

(International Sleeping-Car Company) and vice-president of the

Federation of British Industries The Federation of British Industries (FBI) was an employers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by the Midlands industrialist Dudley Docker in 1916 as the United British Industries' Association, but renamed later that same year, it was ini ...

. He also served as a director of the

Suez Canal Company Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...

Honours

In 1906, he was elected to the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

. Smith was awarded decorations of seven countries, including: *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

(United Kingdom) *

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France) *

Order of Leopold (Belgium) The Order of Leopold ( nl, Leopoldsorde, french: Ordre de Léopold, ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Le ...

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

, 1918 (Italy). *

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

, 1920 (Greece). *

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

, 1920 (Japan). * Order of the Crown of Romania, 1921._____. (1921)
''The Near East.''
Vol. 20.

Notes

References

* Burke, Edmund. (1839)
''The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year,''
vol. 80. London: Longmans, Green
OCLC 4982221
* Croslegh, Charles. (1904)
''Descent and alliances of Croslegh: or Crossle, or Crossley, of Scaitcliffe; and Coddington of Oldbridge; and Evans, of Eyton hall.''
Priv. print., The De La More Press. * Mosley, Charles. (1999)
''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage''
(106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Edmund Charles Wyldbore 1877 births 1938 deaths British diplomats British businesspeople Recipients of the Order of George I Recipients of the Legion of Honour Knights Bachelor