Sir Peregrine Alexander Rhodes (14 May 1925 - 7 March 2005) was a British diplomat.
Rhodes was the son of Cyril Edmunds Rhodes, by his wife Elizabeth, and was educated at
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...
and at
New College, Oxford. He served in the closing stages of the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
as an officer in the
Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...
, before joining the
Foreign Office in 1950. He served as the Second Secretary in Rangoon (1953–56), Private Secretary to the Minister of State (1956–59), First Secretary in Vienna (1959–62) and the First Secretary in Helsinki (1962–65). He was posted at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office between 1965 and 1968, before holding senior diplomatic posts in Rome and East Berlin. From 1975 to 1978 he was on secondment at the
Cabinet Office. Between 1979 and 1982 he served as
High Commissioner to Cyprus and was
Ambassador to Greece from 1982 to 1985. He subsequently worked as Chairman of the Anglo-Hellenic League (1986–90) and as Vice-President of the
British School at Athens from 1982 to 2002.
He was appointed a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1976, and was made a Knight Commander in the same order in 1984.
[''The London Gazette'' (16 June 1984) https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/49768/supplement/3/data.pdf] Rhodes was made a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts in 1988.
He married firstly, in 1951, Jane Marion Hassell, by whom he had two sons and one daughter. He married secondly Margaret Rosemary Page in 1969. His grave lies in the churchyard of St Mary's,
Thorpe Morieux
Thorpe Morieux ( ) is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is 10 miles south-east of Bury St Edmunds and 10 miles north east of Sudbury.
Located in Babergh district, the parish contains the hamlets of Thorpe Green and Alms ...
, Suffolk.
References
1925 births
2005 deaths
People educated at Winchester College
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece
High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Cyprus
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