Sir James Leishman Dodds KCMG (5 May 1891 – 13 August 1972) was a British career diplomat who served in Madrid, Berne, Stockholm, The Hague, Tehran, Tokyo and as Minister to Bolivia, Minister to Cuba and lastly, as Ambassador to Peru.

Early life

James Leishman Dodds was born on 5 May 1891. He was a son of Sir

James Miller Dodds James is a common English language surname and given name: * James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

KCB (1861–1935) and the former Helen Picton Baumgarten. He had two sisters and a younger brother; Frances Jean Macalister Dodds (wife of Peter Hately

Waddell Waddell may refer to: Places * Waddell, Arizona ** New Waddell Dam, on the Agua Fria River * Waddell Barnes Botanical Gardens, Macon, Georgia * Waddell Creek, a stream in California * E. E. Waddell Language Academy, Charlotte, North Carolina * ...

), Helen Isobel Mackenzie Dodds, and Edward Anthony Charles Dodds. His father, who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 1909 to 1921, was the second son of Rev. James Dodds, minister of the parish of Corstorphine, Scotland. His maternal grandparents were Capt. Edward Picton Baumgarten of the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince A ...

and Anna Isabella (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Mackenzie) Baumgarten. Dodds entered

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

in September 1904, before studying at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Dodds, Michael Nethersole, (later Commissioner for Indian Civil Service) another student were charged with being "drunk and disorderly" and with assault of a cinema attendant who threw them out of the Palace Cinema.

Career

During World War I, Dodds served in the British Army, achieving the rank of Second Lieutenant, then Captain with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He entered 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 ...

and throughout his career, he served all over the world, beginning as third Secretary and ending his career as an Ambassador. In August 1937, as the British ''

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

'' in Tokyo, he was tasked with delivering to Japans's

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Kōki Hirota (and former Prime Minister), his government's official protest of a Japanese airman's wounding of Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, the Britain's Ambassador to China. Hirota was later executed for war crimes committed during World War II in the Tokyo Trials. On 12 March 1938, he was appointed a Counsellor of Embassy in His Majesty's Diplomatic Service by the King. From 1940 to 1943, during World War II, he served as the British Minister to Bolivia in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

. After his service in Bolivia, he was the Minister to Cuba in Havana from 1944 to 1949. While in Cuba, the family stayed in a two-story house in suburban Jaimanitas that overlooked a golf course and contained the Dodd's collection of Chinese art objects he had bought while stationed there. His last post was as the

British Ambassador to Peru British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

from 1949 to 1951.

Personal life

On 7 July 1927, Dodds was married to Etelka Bertha (née Surtees) Bell (1891–1974) in Paris. Etelka, a daughter of Brig. Gen. Sir Herbert Conyers Surtees, was the widow of American diplomat Edward J. Bell, who died in Peking while serving as the acting British Minister to China in 1924. Her sister, Dorothy was married to Sir

Patrick Ramsay The Hon. Sir Patrick Ramsay (20 September 1879 – 19 June 1962) was a British diplomat who was minister to Greece, Hungary and Denmark. Early life The Honourable Patrick William Maule Ramsay was born on 20 September 1879. He was the seco ...

, the second son of

John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland in William ...

and a brother-in-law of

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer), Alexander Ramsay, she re ...

(through her husband Sir Alexander Ramsay). From his wife Etelka's first marriage, he was a stepfather to Evangeline Bell (1914–1995), who married

David K. E. Bruce David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (February 12, 1898 – December 5, 1977) was an American diplomat, intelligence officer and politician. He served as ambassador to France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom, the only American ...

(a son of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

William Cabell Bruce, he served as the

U.S. Ambassador to France The United States ambassador to France is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of France. The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with France since the American Revolution. Relations we ...

, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom), and

Virginia Bell Virginia Bell may refer to: * Virginia Bell (judge) (born 1951), Australian judge * Virginia Bell (actress) (1934–2010), American topless actress * Virginia Bell (baseball) Virginia Bell (July 30, 1927 – April 19, 1994) was a pitcher and ...

(1917–2017), who married (and later divorced) Sir

Henry Ashley Clarke Sir Henry Ashley Clarke (26 June 1903 – 20 January 1994) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Italy. Later he was chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund. Early life Henry Ashley Clarke was a son of Henry Hugh Rose Clarke (a son of Col. ...

, the

British Ambassador to Italy The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Italy is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Italian Republic, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Italy. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the ...

. From their marriage, Etelka and James were the parents of one daughter: * Josephine Leishman Dodds (b. 1928), who married the King's Messenger, Squadron Leader Hugh Glyn Laurence Arthur Brooking (1914–2000) in 1949. Brooking was a younger son of Hugh Cyril Arthur Brooking. Sir James died on 13 August 1972 at Church House in Beckley.

References

External links

Lieutenant James Leishman Dodds Royal Garrison Artillery
at The National Archives
Sir James Miller Dodds (1861-1935), Civil servant
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodds, James 1891 births 1972 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of the University of Oxford British diplomats Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bolivia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Cuba Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Peru Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Beckley, East Sussex British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery officers