Edward Maurice Berkeley Ingram

CMG CMG may refer to: Companies * Capitol Music Group, a music label * China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC * China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector * ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(14 December 1890 – 11 May 1941) was a British diplomat and civil servant.

Background and education

Ingram was the son of Major Edward Richard Berkeley Ingram (1850–95), 2nd Battalion, Welsh Regiment (41st Regiment), and Laura Maria Chennell Ingram (1850–1943), daughter of Thomas B. Shoobridge and Anna Maria Chennell, of

Tenterden Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was a first cousin, once removed, of the writer

Leonard Shoobridge Leonard Knollys Haywood Shoobridge (20 October 1858 – 1 February 1935) was an English writer, archaeologist, poet and politician. He is best known as a contributor to ''The Book of Bodley Head Verse'' (edited by J. B. Priestley) and co-author ...

(Ingram's grandfather's brother was the father of Leonard). He began his education at St Davids School,

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

, Surrey (a boarding school), went on to Eton from 1904 to 1907, and Hubert Brinton's House from September 1904 until Easter 1909, and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

from 1909 to 1913.

Career

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

Ingram served as a captain on the General Staff at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...

and was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in 1918. After the war 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 * United S ...

and

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited t ...

in 1919, where he acted as private secretary to Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland and Sir Hamar Greenwood (when they were additional Parliamentary Under Secretaries for Foreign Affairs). He served as Assistant Secretary to

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From De ...

's mission to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

and as Lord Milner's private secretary, was appointed Second Secretary in 1920, First Secretary in 1924 and was posted to

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 ...

in 1925. In 1927, he transferred to the Foreign Office as Chief Clerk of the News Department. Between 1926 and 1934 Ingram was

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 ambassado ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, then chargé d'affaires in the legation in

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, and was appointed full Counsellor in Peking while resident in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

(the latter place was where the Chinese Government was resident). 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

(CMG) in 1934. Between 1935 and 1937 he was chargé d'affaires in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, after which he returned to the Foreign Office. In 1939 he joined the

Ministry of Economic Warfare The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive and the Ministry of Economic Warfare. See also * Blockade of Germany (19 ...

as diplomatic adviser, taking charge of the

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...

side of the policy of

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which ar ...

against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Personal life

Ingram was a friend of

Edward Joseph Dent Edward Joseph Dent (16 July 1876 – 22 August 1957), generally known as Edward J. Dent, was an English musicologist, teacher, translator and critic. A leading figure of musicology and music criticism, Dent was Professor of Music at the Univer ...

Glyn Philpot Glyn Warren Philpot (5 October 188416 December 1937) was a British painter and sculptor, best known for his portraits of contemporary figures such as Siegfried Sassoon and Vladimir Rosing. Early life Philpot was born in Clapham, London, but ...

, Sir Arthur Colefax and his wife Lady Sibyl Colefax,

Alvary Gascoigne Sir Alvary Douglas Frederick Trench-Gascoigne GBE, KCMG (6 August 1893 – 18 April 1970) was a British diplomat.; Early life Alvary Douglas Frederick Trench-Gascoigne was born on 6 August 1893. He was the son of Colonel Frederic Richard Thoma ...

, Lord Gladwyn, Lord Greenwood, Lord Killearn and

Sir Frederick Whyte Sir Alexander Frederick Whyte (30 September 1883 – 30 July 1970) was a British civil servant, Liberal Party politician, writer, and journalist. From 1920 to 1925 he served as the first President of the new Central Legislative Assembly of B ...

. He was killed in May 1941, aged 50, by enemy action whilst fire watching from his home at 56

Curzon Street Curzon Street is located within the Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district; the eastern end is north-east of Green Park underground station. It is within the City of Westminster, running ap ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

during the German Blitz on

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. An obituary appeared in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' of London. His funeral was held at Albury Church,

Much Hadham Much Hadham, formerly known as Great Hadham, is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England. The parish of Much Hadham contains the hamlets of Perry Green and Green Tye, as well as the village of Muc ...

, Hertfordshire, and a memorial service was held at

St Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

Archives & Local Studies, Hertfordshire Records Office, Hertford, UK. Collection no: DP 1/25/4, DP 1/25/5 & DP 1/25/6. In 1943, money was invested to establish The Maurice Ingram Trust whose purposes were (1) "a boy or girl from the Albury School to help with books, clothing or fees on going to the secondary school" (2) assist with local

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

expenses (3) beautification of local church surrounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, Edward 1890 births 1941 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China British civil servants British civilians killed in World War II Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deaths by German airstrikes during The Blitz Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College Civil Defence Service personnel