William Melville Codrington (16 December 1892 – 29 April 1963) was a British soldier, diplomat, and railway officer. He served as Chief of Security to the British Foreign Office during 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 opposin ...

. He was the second son of Lieutenant-General

Alfred Codrington Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Edward Codrington, (4 May 1854 – 12 September 1945), was a British Army officer who served in colonial wars in Africa during the late nineteenth century, and later commanded a reserve army during the First World W ...

and his wife Adela Portal. On 15 August 1914, he was commissioned from the

Officers' Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

to become a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

in the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the Haldane Reforms, military reforms im ...

of officers. He was promoted to lieutenant in the

16th The Queen's Lancers The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early war ...

on 22 February 1915. On 28 December 1915, he was seconded to the

Royal Engineers Signal Service The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

. 17 Jan 1918-to be acting captain while commanding a Divisional Signal Squadron. After the war, he was promoted to a substantive captaincy in the 16th Lancers on 4 May 1919. He 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 ...

on 3 June 1919, as part of the 1919 Birthday Honours. He was transferred to the reserve of officers of the 16th/5th Lancers on 25 November 1922 when the 16th was amalgamated into that regiment. He resigned his reserve commission on 9 June 1939. On 23 April 1919, he was appointed a third secretary in

HM Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

. He was promoted to second secretary on 15 December 1920. He resigned from the diplomatic service in 1925 to become secretary of the

Great Western Railway of Brazil Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

. In 1940, he was appointed Chief of Security to the Foreign Office, an unsalaried post. He was made a

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. ...

on 1 January 1946. Codrington served on the boards of several railways, including the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in the UK and several systems overseas, including the

Nyasaland Railways Malawi Railways was a government corporation that ran the national rail network of Malawi, Africa, until privatisation in 1999. With effect from 1 December 1999, the Central East African Railways consortium led by Railroad Development Corporati ...

and some of the Argentine companies

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

. He served as

High Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The high sheriff, sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enf ...

in 1947 and as

Lord Lieutenant of Rutland The ancient position of Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland was abolished on 31 March 1974. Between 1 April 1974 and its reestablishment on 8 April 1997 Rutland came under the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1690, all lord-lieutenants have also bee ...

from 1951 until his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Codrington, William Melville 1892 births 1963 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George High Sheriffs of Rutland Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland Recipients of the Military Cross