Richard Symonds (2 October 1918 – 15 July 2006) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
academic and civil servant.
He was born in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, the son of
neurologist
Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...
Sir
Charles Symonds
Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Putnam Symonds (11 April 1890 – 7 December 1978) was an English neurologist and a senior medical officer in the Royal Air Force.
His initial medical training was at Guy's Hospital, followed by specialised training ...
and Janet Poulton. He was educated at
Cothill House
Cothill House is a day and boarding boys' independent school for preparatory pupils in Cothill, Oxfordshire, which houses around 220 boys from the ages 8–13.
General information
The school offers day places, junior and full boarding, with aro ...
and
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...
and gained a scholarship to
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...
. When an undergraduate he went to Spain with
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
and a few other undergraduates during
their Civil War and experienced air raids there. After leaving Oxford University he joined the Friends' Ambulance and drove ambulances during the
London blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
. He was also in charge of the above-ground air-raid shelters.
When the Japanese were threatening India with air raids, he was sent by the Friends' Ambulance to advise because of the expertise he had already gained.
In 1947, Symonds returned to India to work with
Partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
refugees. After contracting
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...
, he was brought, at the insistence of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, to
Birla House in New Delhi, where he spend several weeks recuperating under Gandhi's care.
Richard Symonds served in the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
and was Resident Representative in various countries including
Sri Lanka (then Ceylon),
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
.
After a period as a professorial fellow at Sussex University, he returned to Oxford and to Queen Elizabeth House. He became a senior associate member of
St Antony's College
St Antony's College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises ...
. He set up the United Nations Career Records Project, based at St Antony's. It was later taken over by the
Bodleian Library.
Symonds was the author of many books. His first was ''The Making of Pakistan'' published by
Faber and Faber and was a best-seller. His last book was ''In the Margins of Independence'', a semi-autographical account of his life as a relief worker on the Indian continent.
Symonds was married three times; firstly to
Anne Harrisson (marriage dissolved 1948); secondly to Juanita Ellington (died 1979); thirdly to
Ann Hazel Spokes.
Independent Obituary
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symonds, Richard
1918 births
2006 deaths
British officials of the United Nations
English non-fiction writers
People from Oxford
People educated at The Dragon School
People educated at Rugby School
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
English male non-fiction writers
20th-century English male writers
Charters Symonds family
People educated at Cothill House