Sir George Head Barclay, (23 March 1862 – 26 January 1921) was a British diplomat.

Early life

Barclay was born on 23 March 1862 at Walthamstow, Essex, England. He was the son of Richenda Louisa (née Gurney) Barclay (1827–1888) and Henry Ford Barclay (1826–1891) of

Monkhams Monkhams is an area in Woodford in the London Borough of Redbridge. The Monkhams Estate is an affluent area consisting mainly of large, detached homes. History Monkhams was originally a country estate in northern Woodford in what was then rural ...

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

. Among his siblings was Edith Richenda Barclay (mother of Sir George Nevile Bland); Sarah Adelaide Barclay (who married her cousin, Charles Alfred Leatham; son of William Henry Leatham); Henry Ford Barclay Jr.; Maj. Cameron Barclay (who married Hon. Charlotte Horsley-Beresford, daughter of the 3rd Baron Decies; Marion Alice de Gournay Barclay (wife of Sir Lancelot Carnegie); Charles Theodore Barclay and Col. Hugh Gurney Barclay, MVO (who married Evelyn Louisa Hogg, daughter of Sir Stuart Saunders Hogg). His father was a Justice of the Peace and served as the

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the ...

in 1886. His paternal grandparents were Ford Barclay and Esther (née Reynolds) Barclay. His maternal grandfather was Samuel Gurney of the Norwich Gurney family that established

Gurney's Bank Gurney's bank was a family-run bank founded by members of the Gurney family in 1770 and headquartered in Norwich, England. It merged into Barclays Bank in 1896. History The bank was founded in 1770 by John and Henry Gurney, sons of John Gurney ...

in 1770, which merged into Barclays in 1896. Among his maternal family was uncle Samuel Gurney (a member of parliament for Penryn & Falmouth); aunt Catherine Gurney, who was the wife of

Sir Edward Buxton, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward North Buxton, 2nd Baronet (16 September 1812 – 11 June 1858) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was the son of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton and his wife, Hannah Gurney (1783–1872). He married Catherine Gurney (1814–1911), dau ...

(an MP for

Essex South ''For the defunct provincial electoral district, see Essex South (provincial electoral district).'' Essex South was a federal and provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to ...

and East Norfolk); aunt Elizabeth Gurney, who was married to Ernest Christian Ludwig de Bunsen (an Anglo-German writer); and aunt Priscilla, who was married to William Henry Leatham (an MP for

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

and West Riding of Yorkshire South). His first cousin, Sir Maurice de Bunsen, 1st Baronet, was the British Ambassador to Spain and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Through his uncle, the Rev. John Gurney, he was a first cousin of John Gurney, the mayor of Norwich who married Isabel Blake-Humfrey. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Career

On 24 July 1886, Barclay joined the Foreign Office and in 1888 became attaché in Washington, D.C., serving until 1891. In that year, he became Secretary of Legation in Rome and, between 1897 and 1898, was posted to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. He subsequently served as Second Secretary in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

until August 1902, when he was posted as Secretary of Legation at Tokyo. He returned to the capital of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

as His Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople. From 1908 to 1912, he was

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to His Majesty the Shah of Persia in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. In 1912, he was appointed Minister at

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, the capital and largest city of Roumania. Barclay retired from the diplomatic service in 1920.

Honours

He was invested as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1898. In 1906, he was made a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

. In 1913, Barclay was invested as a Knight Commander of the Orders of St Michael and St George,Chancery of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
''The London Gazette'' (1 September 1908) and of the Star of India.Supplement to the London Gazette: India Office
''The London Gazette'' (1 January 1913).

Personal life

In 1891, while secretary of the British Legation at Washington, Barclay was married to Beatrix Mary Jay Chapman (1864–1942) at the

Jay Estate The Jay Estate is a 23-acre park and historic site in Rye, New York, with the 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House at its center. It is the keystone of the Boston Post Road Historic District, a National Historic Landmark District (NHL) created in 1993 ...

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

. Beatrix, an American who had been painted by John Singer Sargent in , was the daughter of Henry Grafton Chapman Jr., who served as

President of the New York Stock Exchange This is a list of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange. References {{reflist, 30em External linksPresidents and Chairmen of the New York Stock Exchange(PDF) New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Bi ...

, and the sister of noted writer

John Jay Chapman John Jay Chapman (March 2, 1862 – November 4, 1933) was an American author. Early life Chapman was born in New York City on March 2, 1862. He was a son of Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (1833–1883), a broker who became president of the New York S ...

. Her maternal grandfather was

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

, the U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary. Before their divorce in 1919, they were the parents of one child: * Dorothy Katherine Barclay (–1953), an author who became Lady Kennard after her marriage to Sir Coleridge Kennard, 1st Baronet, who was then Barclay's third secretary in Tehran, on 5 April 1911. In May 1920, Beatrix remarried to Maj. Gen. Raymond de Candolle, CB, C.E., son of

Casimir de Candolle Anne Casimir Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (20 February 1836, Geneva – 3 October 1918, Chêne-Bougeries) was a Swiss botanist, the son of Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle. Early life and education He studied chemistry, physics and mathematic ...

. In 1921, she lived in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, Greece. Barclay died in London on 26 January 1921.

Descendants

Through his daughter, he was the maternal grandfather of Sir Lawrence Kennard, 2nd Baronet and Sir George Kennard, 3rd Baronet.

References

External links

Barclay, Sir George Head (1862–1921) Knight Diplomat
at the National Archives. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, George 1862 births 1921 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order