Sir Walter Leonard Allinson (1 May 1926 – 28 December 2022) was a British civil servant and diplomat. Allinson was born on 1 May 1926, the only son of Walter Allinson and Alice Frances Cassidy of

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

, and educated at

Friern Barnet Grammar School The Friern Barnet Grammar School was a small independent day school for boys located on Friern Barnet Road, North London. It was later absorbed into the co-educational Woodside Park School foundation which was later renamed The North London Int ...

and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, graduating in 1944. In 1951 he married Margaret Patricia Watts. During his career, Allinson served as Principal at the British Ministry of Education (1948–58), First Secretary in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan (1960–62), First Secretary in Madras and New Delhi, India (1963–66), Deputy High Commissioner, Nairobi, Kenya (1970–73), Deputy High Commissioner and Minister, New Delhi (1975–77), High Commissioner, Lusaka (Zambia) (1978–80) and High Commissioner in Kenya and Ambassador to UN Environment Programme (1982–86). In recognition of his contributions to Her Majesty the Queen's Diplomatic Service, Allinson was awarded a knighthood—a KCVO—in 1979, having previously been awarded an MVO in 1961 and had a CMG conferred upon him in 1976. Allinson died on 28 December 2022, at the age of 96.

Arms

Allinson was granted arms by Letters Patent of Garter and Clarenceux Kings of Arms, from the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, dated 8 June 2018 with the following blazoning: "Arms: Azure three Chevronels interlaced Argent on a Chief wavy Or three Lime Trees eradicated proper. Crest: Upon a Helm with a Wreath Or and Azure A demi Asian Black Bear proper playing a Set of Bagpipes Or the cords Sable the bag in Gordon tartan also proper. Mantled Azure doubled Or."

References

External links

Interview with Sir Walter Leonard Allinson

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Allinson, Leonard 1926 births 2022 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of HM Diplomatic Service Civil servants in the Department of Education (United Kingdom) High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Kenya High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Zambia People educated at Friern Barnet Grammar School 20th-century British diplomats