Sir Samuel Falle (19 February 1919 – 20 February 2014) was a British diplomat and decorated Royal Navy officer. He served as Ambassador to Kuwait and Sweden, and High Commissioner to Singapore and Nigeria.

Career

Falle was educated at

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

1937–48 and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

"for gallantry in the face of overwhelming odds whilst serving in during her last action in the Java Sea on 1st March, 1942". ''Encounter'' had taken part in the

Second Battle of the Java Sea The Second Battle of the Java Sea was the last naval action of the Netherlands East Indies campaign, of 1941–42. It occurred on 1 March 1942, two days after the first Battle of the Java Sea. It saw the end of the last Allied warships operating ...

, suffered major damage and was scuttled by her crew. They were subsequently rescued by the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

destroyer Ikazuchi commanded by

Shunsaku Kudō Commander was an Officer (armed forces), officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He is notable for the humanitarian act of rescuing 442 enemy British and American sailors from the Java Sea in 1942. Biography Born in 1901, Kudō graduated from th ...

. Falle spent the next three and a half years as a prisoner of war. Falle joined the

Foreign 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 to o ...

in 1948 and served at

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. He was

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

1961–63, head of the UN department at 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 * Unit ...

1963–67 and accompanied

Lord Shackleton Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, (15 July 1911 – 22 September 1994) was a British geographer, Royal Air Force officer and Labour Party politician. Early life and career Born in Wandsworth, London, Shackleton was the you ...

on a mission to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

in 1967. He was deputy High Commissioner at

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

1967–69,

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

1969–70, High Commissioner to Singapore 1970–74, ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

1974–77, and High Commissioner to Nigeria 1977–78. He then retired from the Diplomatic Service and joined the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

, becoming EC delegate to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

1979–82, then working as a consultant on development aid in Africa including evaluation of

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

aid to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

1983–84, and Swedish aid to

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

in 1986. Falle was appointed CMG in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 1964, knighted KCVO in 1972 and given the additional knighthood of KCMG in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1979. The

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...

made him a Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

in 1975. Falle sought out the location of the grave of

, to whom he held enormous gratitude for rescuing him during the

, and visited there on 7 December 2008. Kudo was such a humble man that his family came to know of his deed for the first time when Falle visited them.Officer tells of extraordinary rescue
BBC Somerset, 18 December 2008

Publications

*''My Lucky Life : In War, Revolution, Peace and Diplomacy'' (autobiography), Book Guild, Lewes, 1996.

References

FALLE, Sir Sam
''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012

External links

Sir Sam Falle
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 28 April 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Falle, Sam 1919 births 2014 deaths People educated at Victoria College, Jersey British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Royal Navy officers of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Kuwait High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Singapore Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria European civil servants Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star British officials of the European Union