Sir Philip Bouverie Bowyer Nichols

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) ...

MC (7 September 1894 – 6 December 1962) was an English diplomat who served as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia and 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 ...

Early life

Nichols was born on 7 September 1894. He was the younger son of the former and Catherine Louisa Bouverie-Pusey and the poet and artist John Bowyer Buchanan Nichols of Lawford Hall, Essex.Townend, Peter. ''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 18th edition. 3 volumes''.

London, England London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1965-1972, volume 1, page 530. Among his siblings was Robert Nichols, poet and dramatist and sisters, Irene, who married Sir

George Gater Brigadier-General Sir George Henry Gater (26 December 1886 – 14 January 1963) was a senior British Army officer and civil servant. Early life Gater was born in Southampton, the son of William Henry Gater, a solicitor, and his wife, Ada Mary ...

, and Anne, who married

Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford Henry George Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford, QC (24 June 1892 – 28 August 1974) was a British lawyer and a Conservative politician. Background and education He was born at 19 Pembridge Gardens, Kensington, London, on 24 June 1892. He was the ...

. His paternal grandfather was the editor and writer Francis Morgan Nichols, and was paternally descended from the printer and writer

John Bowyer Nichols John Bowyer Nichols (1779–1863) was an English printer and antiquary. Life The eldest son of John Nichols, by his second wife, Martha Green (1756–1788), he was born at Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London, on 15 July 1779. He spent his ...

, author of ''Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century''. His maternal grandparents were Capt. Edward Bouverie-Pusey (a grandson of Hon.

Philip Bouverie-Pusey Hon. Philip Bouverie-Pusey (8 October 1746 – 14 April 1828) was an English heir and landowner. Early life Pusey was born Philip Bouverie on 8 October 1746 in Westminster, London. He was the only surviving son of Jacob Bouverie and, his second ...

) and Esther Elliot Hales (a daughter of Rev.

Richard Hales Richard Cox Hales (29 September 1817 – 25 April 1906) was an English first-class cricketer and clergyman. The son of James Hales of the Bengal Army, he was born in British India at Dinapore in September 1817. He later studied in England as a ...

).G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 290. Nichols was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Career

Nichols "served for two years in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

giving advice and helping train a diplomatic service there. He was ambassador to the

Czechoslovak government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia ( cz, Prozatímní vláda Československa, sk, Dočasná vláda Československa), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechos ...

" in London during

World War II 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 ...

, and went to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1945 to "continue his duties." In 1948, he was appointed Ambassador to the Netherlands, serving until his retirement late in 1951.

Personal life

On 6 February 1932, at the age of 38, was married to Phyllis Mary Spender-Clay (1905–1972) in Dormansland. Phyllis was the eldest daughter of

Herbert Spender-Clay Herbert Henry Spender-Clay, PC CMG DL JP (4 June 1875 – 15 February 1937) was an English soldier and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1910 to 1937. Early life Herbert Henry Spender-Clay was born on 4 June ...

, MP and the former Pauline

Astor Astor may refer to: People * Astor (surname) * Astor family, a wealthy 18th-century American family who became prominent in 20th-century British politics * Astor Bennett, a character in the Showtime television series ''Dexter'' * Ástor Piazzol ...

. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of

William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...

. Her younger sister Rachel married Sir

David Bowes-Lyon Sir David Bowes-Lyon KCVO (2 May 1902 – 13 September 1961) was the sixth son and last child of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck, as well as their tenth and youngest child. His el ...

, brother of

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

. They lived at

Lawford Lawford is a large village and civil parish in the Tendring district of northeast Essex, England. It is approximately northeast from the centre of Colchester and west of, and contiguous with, Manningtree. Mistley merges with the east side of M ...

Hall,

Manningtree Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Natural Beauty. Smallest town claim Manningtree has traditionally claimed to b ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and he was interested in "forestry, farming, opera and ballet." Together, they were the parents of two daughters and two sons, including: * Anne Nichols, who married William Charlton, a son of Lancelot Charlton of London and a grandson of Mrs. Percy Byron of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and Darien in 1959. Sir Philip died on 6 December 1962 in London at the age of 68 and he was buried at St Mary's, Lawford. His widow died in London on 5 January 1972.

References

External links

Sir Philip Bouverie Bowyer Nichols (1894-1962), Diplomat
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Philip 1894 births 1962 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of HM Diplomatic Service Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Czechoslovakia British ambassadors to the Netherlands 20th-century British diplomats