Sir Geoffrey Granville Whiskard (19 August 1886 – 19 May 1957) was a British civil servant and diplomat.

Early life and education

Whiskard was born at 3 Hartington Villas, Penge Road,

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

, Kent, to Ernest Whiskard, a local bank manager, and Lucy Marian Sutton, daughter of a political analyst. Shortly after, the family moved to

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

because Geoffrey's father had been appointed manager of the Capital and Counties Bank's local branch. Whiskard was educated at

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , h ...

, and then in December 1904 he won a scholarship to

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorot ...

, going up in October of the next year. He gained first class in Mods and Greats, graduating in 1909.

Career

Whiskard entered the Home Office in 1911 and served as an Assistant Secretary to the

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

during the

Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

, then in the Colonial Office 1922–1925 and in 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 ...

1925–1935. He was High Commissioner to Australia 1936–1941, and

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil s ...

at the Ministry of Works 1941–1943 and at the Ministry of Town and Country Planning 1943–1946.

Personal life

In 1915, he married Cynthia Reeves, having three children Richard, Mary and John. On 30 July 1940, his wife died of heart failure brought on by a severe asthma attack whilst visiting Sydney. Whiskard later remarried to Eileen Margaret Anderson after he had retired from government.

Writings

In 1947, ''Letters from a Civil Servant to his Son'' was published. Whiskard had decided the keep his name anonymous. The letters in Whiskard's book are addressed to Richard, the oldest son, and chronicle major parts of his life whilst covering heartfelt themes of love and war. His leaving school, enrolling in Oxford University and at the outbreak of the Second World War, where he joined the Welsh Guards. It was here Richard became friends with the esteemed painter

Rex Whistler Reginald John "Rex" Whistler (24 June 190518 July 1944) was a British artist, who painted murals and society portraits, and designed theatrical costumes. He was killed in action in Normandy in World War II. Whistler was the brother of poet and ...

. Lieutenant Richard Whiskard died on Wednesday, 2 August 1944, at the age of 24.

References

Sources

WHISKARD, Sir Geoffrey (Granville)
''Who Was Who'', A. & C. Black, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiskard, Geoffrey 1886 births 1957 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford People educated at Westminster School, London High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Australia British Permanent Secretaries Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George