Norman Ernest Archer CMG,

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 ...

(27 August 1892 – 15 February 1970) was a British naval officer and diplomat. Archer was one of two Royal Navy officers stationed with the Russian

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

during the naval conflict in the Black Sea in 1914–1917. After the war, Archer pursued a diplomatic career, including postings in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and Dublin. He served as Principal Private Secretary to

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

as Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs from 1939 to 1940.

Life and career

Early life and education

Norman Ernest Archer was born on 27 August 1892 in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

Norway, the son of

Alice Lima Murray Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

and

Walter Archer Walter Edward Archer C.B. F.R.S.E. (4 July 1855 – 19 August 1917) was a British civil servant, spy and specialist on "the sex life of the salmon". Walter Archer led the Fisheries Division of the UK government's Board of Agriculture and Fis ...

C.B., Assistant Secretary of the British government's Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. Walter Archer was recruited in 1912 with the code name "Sage" by 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 ...

's first director Mansfield Smith-Cumming to spy on German ships in Norwegian and Danish waters. Norman Archer passed the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

's qualifying examinations in December 1904 to enter the College on the Isle of Wight in January 1905.

Career

Archer served in the Royal Navy between 1908 and 1921, gaining the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. As a young naval officer Archer served with the Russian fleet during the First World War. Archer spent most of his tour of duty in Sevastopol, the Black Sea Fleet's main base, but he was present when the Russians captured Trebizond from the Turks in 1916. According to historian Toby Ewin, "Archer both advised the Russians about British torpedo practice, and informed the British Admiralty about what the Russians were doing." Archer entered the Dominions Office as part of the post-war reconstruction stream. Between 1932 and 1936, he served as the Official Secretary to the

British High Commission, Ottawa The British High Commission in Ottawa, Ontario, is the main diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in Canada. It is located at 80 Elgin Street in downtown Ottawa, across the street from the National Arts Centre and not far from Parliament Hill ...

. From 1939 to 1940, Archer served as Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

and helped Eden with the relevant section of his memoirs. Archer later served as Assistant Secretary to the Dominions Office, 1941–1944, and Assistant Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Relations, 1948–1949. In 1948, as part of the British Representative's Office in Dublin, Archer was involved in attempts to ensure that Irish citizens in India were covered in the absence of diplomatic representation. Archer was Principal Secretary to the United Kingdom Representative to Éire John Maffey's Office for two periods between 1941 and 1948. In "Spying on Ireland: British Intelligence and Irish Neutrality During the Second World War", Eunan O'Halpin writes: "MI5's dealings with Ireland were mediated through Maffey's office, where they were handled by the principal secretary Norman Archer (for two periods between 1941 and 1948). In addition to extensive dominions and colonial experience, Archer had been a career naval officer ..consequently had direct knowledge of military affairs as well as civil administration." Archer was appointed

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 the

1937 Coronation Honours The 1937 Coronation Honours were awarded in honour of the coronation of George VI. Royal Honours Order of the Thistle * The Queen Royal Victorian Chain * The Queen * Queen Mary * Clive, Baron Wigram Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) * The Queen ...

, and 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 honou ...

(CMG) in the

1944 New Year Honours The 1944 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1944 for the Briti ...

. He retired to Norway and died on 15 February 1970 in Lambeth, Surrey, at the age of 77. He is buried in Sand, Rogaland, Norway.

Personal life

Archer married Hon. Ruth Evelyn Pease (1900–1982), daughter of Herbert Pike Pease, 1st Baron Daryngton and Alice Mortimer Luckock, on 30 June 1925. They had two children: * Esther Joy Archer (1926–1977), who married Irish educationalist Robert Blackburn. * Ronald Walter Archer (1929–1992), who became vice-chairman of Unilever.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Norman 1892 births 1970 deaths Norwegian military personnel Royal Navy officers People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Members of HM Diplomatic Service Private secretaries in the British Civil Service British spies World War I spies for the United Kingdom Military history of the Black Sea Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British diplomats British expatriates in the Russian Empire