John Horace Ragnar Colvin, CMG (18 June 1922 – 4 October 2003) was a British sailor, intelligence officer, banker and military historian.

Family

The

Colvin family The Colvin family, for the purposes of this article, is that group of people descended from James Colquhoun Colvin (1767–1847), the son of Alexander Colvin (1718–1791) and Elizabeth 'Bettie' née Kennedy (1714–1795). James was a merchant tra ...

had a long history of service to Queen and country, both in the military and administration. John Horace Ragnar Colvin was the son of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin; the grandson of Clement Sneyd Colvin; and the great-grandson of

John Russell Colvin John Russell Colvin (29 May 1807 – 9 September 1857) was a British administrator of the East India Company, and Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces from 1853 until his death from cholera during the Indian Rebellion of 18 ...

, lieutenant-governor of the

North-West Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the nawab-ruled kingdo ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

during the

mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

, who had ten children and founded a dynasty of Empire-builders. Relatives included Walter Mytton and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, also lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

Brenda Colvin Brenda Colvin CBE (1897–1981) was a British landscape architect, author of standard works in the field and a force behind its professionalisation. She was part of the Colvin family, which had long ties to the British Raj. Biography Colvin ...

(1897–1981) was an important landscape architect, author of standard works in the field and a force behind its professionalisation.

Sidney Colvin Sir Sidney Colvin (18 June 1845 – 11 May 1927) was a British curator and literary and art critic, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family. He is primarily remembered for his friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson. Family and early ...

was a critic, curator, and great friend of

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

. Colvin married twice. His first marriage was to Anne Manifold in 1948, which ended in 1963. His second was to Moranna Cazenove in 1967. Each marriage produced a son and a daughter.. His former wife Anne later married Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot, a senior officer in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, and became Lady Synnot. One of Colvin's children (with Anne) was

Mark Colvin Mark Colvin (13 March 1952 – 11 May 2017) was an Australian journalist and radio and television broadcaster for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and worked on most of the flagship current affairs programs. Notably, based in Sydne ...

, a hugely influential and much loved Australian journalist. Mark wrote of his father's career in his 2016 book ''Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy's Son''.

Career

He was educated at the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, and passed into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the early part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the War, he served mostly in South-East Asia. Among other exploits, he joined combined operations in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, and served behind Japanese lines in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. He emerged from undercover work to accept the surrender of the Japanese command in Saigon on Japan's capitulation, and remained in the South Vietnamese capital for a year. After leaving the Royal Navy with the rank of lieutenant commander, Colvin studied at the

School of Slavonic and East European Studies The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia. It teaches a range of subjects, including the history, ...

in London and joined the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

. He was posted to a number of

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

hotspots including

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. His most high-profile postings, however, were Consul-General in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

from 1966 to 1967 at the height of the American bombing campaign in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, where he was succeeded by Brian Stewart; HM Ambassador to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

from 1971 to 1974; and head of the SIS station in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

1977–1980. He was appointed a

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. ...

in 1968 following his return from Hanoi. On retirement from SIS, Colvin advised

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

for eight years in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

as a vice-president of the

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fina ...

. He retired to London in 1988. Colvin wrote military history. His best-selling works were ''Not Ordinary Men'', which examined the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Imperial Japan, Japanese Operation U-Go, U-Go offensive into British Raj, India in 1944 during the World War II, Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June ...

, and ''Decisive Battles'', which looked at twenty crucial battles throughout history. He also published a memoir of his time in Hanoi and

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north cen ...

called ''Twice Around the World''.

Personal life

Colvin was an active member of several of London's gentlemen's clubs, the

St James's Club The St James's Club was a London gentlemen's club which operated between 1857 and 1978. It was founded by two leading diplomats and its members continued to be largely diplomats and authors. It was first established in Charles Street and moved to ...

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

, the

Beefsteak A beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat cut of beef with parallel faces, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers. In common restaurant service a single serving has a raw mass ranging from . Beef steaks are usually grilled, pan ...

, as well as, latterly, the Academy Club.

Selected publications

* ''Twice Around the World: Some Memoirs of Diplomatic Life in North Vietnam and Outer Mongolia''. London: Leo Cooper, 1991. * '' Not Ordinary Men: The Story of the Battle of Kohima''. London: L. Cooper, 1994. Heavily reprinted. * ''Volcano Under Snow: Vo Nguyen Giap''. London: Quartet Books, 1996. * ''Nomonhan''. London: Quartet Books, 1999. * ''Decisive Battles: Over 20 Key Naval and Military Encounters from 480 BC to 1943''. London: Headline, 2003.

Notes

References

* von Bulow, Claus,
John Colvin
. ''The Independent'', 16 October 2003. *

. ''The Telegraph'', 8 October 2003. * "http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1167380.ece" ''Times Online'', 8 October 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, John 1922 births 2003 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Royal Navy personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Mongolia Secret Intelligence Service personnel Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British expatriates in Sri Lanka British expatriates in Vietnam British expatriates in Norway British expatriates in Austria British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Malaysia