Sir Stephen Lewis Holmes (5 July 1896 – 20 April 1980) was a British diplomat who became High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Australia from 1952 to 1956. Holmes was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. Between 1916 and 1919 he served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the First World War in France and Belgium, and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, and mentioned twice in despatches. He entered the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

in 1921, becoming Secretary of the Office of the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Canada between 1936 and 1939, and Assistant Secretary of the

Dominions Office The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet-level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free S ...

from 1939 to 1943. In 1943–1944, he was Dominions Office representative in Washington, and thereafter Deputy High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Canada (1944–1946). Holmes became Under Secretary of the Board of Trade in 1946, Second Secretary of the Board of Trade between 1947 and 1951, and Deputy Under-Secretary of State for the Commonwealth Relations Office in 1951. In 1952 Holmes was appointed High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom, a post which he held until 1956. He was awarded the 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, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

and Knight Commander of the same order (KCMG) in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, and was Master of the

Leathersellers' Company The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers is one of the Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The organisation originates from the latter part of the fourteenth century and received its Royal Charter in 1444, and is therefore t ...

between 1967 and 1968. Stephen Holmes was the son of Basil Holmes and

Isabella Holmes Isabella Matilda Holmes (1861-1949) was a notable Victorian social campaigner and an advocate of opening up London's green spaces to the poor. Work Holmes was an authority on the graveyards and parks of London. Intrepid and doughty, she chronicl ...

, a leading social reformer. Isabella Holmes was daughter of British chemist

John Hall Gladstone John Hall Gladstone FRS (7 March 1827 – 6 October 1902) was a British chemist.* He served as President of the Physical Society between 1874 and 1876 and during 1877–1879 was President of the Chemical Society. Apart from chemistry, where ...

and half-sister of

Margaret Ethel MacDonald Margaret Ethel MacDonald (' Gladstone; 20 July 18708 September 1911) was a British feminist, social reformer, and wife of Labour politician Ramsay MacDonald from 1896 until her death from blood poisoning in 1911. Biography Margaret Gladstone w ...

, wife of Prime Minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

. Basil Holmes married Noreen Charlotte Trench on 21 January 1922. They had three children. Basil's brother, Wilfred Gladstone Holmes, died in 1913 while serving as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Wilfred Holmes is memorialised in

St Peter's Church, Ealing St Peter's Church, Ealing, is an Anglican parish church in Mount Park Road, North Ealing, in the Diocese of London, regarded by Sir John Betjeman as being amongst "the noblest churches we possess". Held to be one of the premier architectural ...

, and at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Stephen 1896 births 1980 deaths British diplomats People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office