Sir John William Denys Margetson (9 October 1927 – 17 October 2020) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to Vietnam, the United Nations, and the Netherlands.

Early life

Margetson was the younger son of the Very Rev. William Margetson and Marion Jenoure. He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

and St John's College, Cambridge, where he was a

choral scholar A choral scholar is a student either at a university or private school who receives a scholarship in exchange for singing in the school or university's choir. This is a common practice in the UK at schools attached to cathedrals where the choir is ...

. From 1947 to 1949, Margetson served his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

with the Life Guards regiment of the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...

Diplomatic career

Following his period of National Service Margetson joined the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and later the Diplomatic Service where he was speech writer to the Foreign Secretary,

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

, 1966–68. Margetson's later career included appointments as British Ambassador to

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 ...

1978–80, deputy

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

(with rank of ambassador) 1983–84, and ambassador to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

1984–88. He was appointed CMG in 1979 and knighted

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

in 1986. Following his retirement from the Foreign Office, Margetson devoted himself to various charities and was chairman of the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

1988–94, of the

Yehudi Menuhin School The Yehudi Menuhin School is a specialist music school in Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, England, founded in 1963 by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. The current director of music is the British classical pianist Ashley Wass. The school is on ...

1990–94, and of the joint committee that manages the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

and the Royal Academy of Music 1991–94. He served as Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod from 24 July 1992 – 25 October 2002.

Personal life and death

In 1963, Margetson married Miranda, daughter of

Sir William Coldstream Sir William Menzies Coldstream, CBE (28 February 1908 – 18 February 1987) was an English realist painter and a long-standing art teacher. Biography Coldstream was born at Belford, Northumberland, in northern England, the second son of cou ...

. They had a son and a daughter. Margetson died on 19 October 2020, at the age of 93.

References

MARGETSON, Sir John (William Denys)
''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014;online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014

External links

Interview with Sir John Margetson
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Margetson, John 1927 births 2020 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Vietnam