Sir Howard William Kennard

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

CVO CVO may refer to: Science and technology * Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington, US * Chief veterinary officer, the head of a veterinary authority * Circumventricular organs, positioned around the ventricular system of the brain * Co ...

(23 March 1878 – 12 November 1955) was a British diplomat.

Early life

Kennard was born on 23 March 1878 in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, the son of Arthur Challis Kennard and Anne Homan Mulock, and educated at

Wixenford School Wixenford School, also known as Wixenford Preparatory School and Wixenford-Eversley, was an Independent school (UK), independent Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school for boys near Wokingham, founded in 1869. A wiktionary:feeder school, fe ...

and

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, C ...

.Bewley 1905, pp. 25-26

In Poland

He was a British Chargé d'affaires, and subsequently Ambassador to Poland until 1939. Despite being pro-Polish, he nevertheless urged Poland to negotiate moderation with Germany. During the Czechoslovak Crisis, he briefed

Viscount Halifax A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

on 10 September 1938 by pointing out that "the Poles, especially the ruling classes, do not feel the same horror of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

as is felt in democratic countries... among the peasants there is a dislike of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

which counterbalances the disgust with which other countries regard the manifestations of German

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

" and that there was a great dislike by Poland towards the Czechs. He made it clear to London, which was then in negotiations with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

for a defensive alliance, that Russia was "violently disliked and distrusted in Poland" and that any kind of transit on land or by air to Czecho-Slovakia over Polish territory would be resisted by force of arms. In March the following year, he gave his support to the Anglo-Polish defensive guarantee, which ultimately drew England into the war. He became ambassador to the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

until 1941. and was also ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

References

Bibliography

*''The Story of Mulock: The Pedigree of the Mulock Family of Ireland'' by Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley (Ponsonby & Gibbs, 1905) *''By Virtue & Faith: A History of the Mulock & Mullock Families'' by Robert Hughes-Mullock FRAS (2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennard, Howard William 1878 births 1955 deaths Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Poland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Yugoslavia People educated at Eton College People educated at Wixenford School