Sir Eric Charles Miéville (31 January 1896 – 16 September 1971) was a senior British civil servant who served as Assistant Private Secretary to George VI from 1937 to 1945, and who also served as Private Secretary to several Governors-General of India and Canada.

Early life and family

Eric Charles Miéville was born in

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

, London, England, the youngest son of Charles Ernest Miéville (1858–1940), a stockbroker and estate agent, and Alice Huleat Garcia Bampfield (1864–1934). The Miéville family is Swiss in origin, descending from Yverdon-les-Bains. His uncle was the author Sir Walter Miéville. He was educated at St Paul's School. In the First World War, he served with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant, but was honourably discharged with a

Silver War Badge The Silver War Badge was issued in the United Kingdom and the British Empire to service personnel who had been honourably discharged due to wounds or sickness from military service in World War I. History The badge, sometimes known as the "Disc ...

Career

China

Miéville joined the Far Eastern Consular Service in 1919 as a

student interpreter Student interpreter was, historically, an entry-level position in the British and American diplomatic and consular service, principally in China, Japan, Siam and, in the case of the United States, Turkey. It is no longer used as a title. A number o ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

. From 1920 to 1927, he served as a private secretary and local vice-consul to successive British Ministers in Peking.

Canada and India

In 1927, Miéville was appointed secretary to the Governor General of Canada, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, in which capacity he served until the end of Lord Willingdon's tenure in 1931. Subsequently, he accompanied Freeman-Thomas to India upon his appointment as Governor-General of India and continued to serve as his secretary until the latter's retirement in 1936. From 1935 to 1936, he concurrently served as secretary on the Viceroy's Executive Council, and for his service was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.

Assistant Private Secretary to George VI

On 20 July 1936, Miéville was appointed Assistant Private Secretary to the Duke of York, succeeding

Harold Campbell Captain Sir Harold George Campbell (6 April 1888 – 9 June 1969) was a British sailor, civil servant and courtier who served as equerry to King George VI (1936–52) and then to Queen Elizabeth II 1952–54. Campbell was born in Kensington, t ...

. Following the abdication of Edward VIII, he continued his service to the now- George VI until 1945. He resigned his position that year in favour of the private sector. He was elected to serve in various directorships, including as director of Westminster Bank.

Return to India

In the spring of 1947,

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

requested Miéville return to India along with General Ismay to assist him during the crucial period leading up to the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. Miéville reportedly did not hesitate, and left England in April 1947 to serve as private secretary to Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, and as such played a minor role in the preparations of the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in August. He was promoted to a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in 1947, becoming one of the final recipients of the order.

Personal and later life

While posted in China, he married Dorothy Haslock on 7 March 1922. Following his return from India in August 1947, Miéville rejoined the private sector. He was appointed director of numerous groups, including the Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria in 1956 and the London Tin Corporation in 1957. In 1949, he was appointed to a Royal Commission on lotteries. He died in Midhurst, aged 75.

Honours

*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. ...

(CMG),

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

*Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI),

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

*Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE),

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

*Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE),

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

*Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO),

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

References

MIEVILLE, Sir Eric Charles
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mieville, Eric 1896 births 1971 deaths English people of Swiss descent British civil servants People from Acton, London People educated at St Paul's School, London Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George