William Ernest Quantrill (born 4 May 1939) is a former British diplomat who served as Ambassador to Cameroon from 1991 to 1995. He married in 1964, to Rowena Collins who has notably supported him throughout his many endeavours.

Early life

Quantrill was educated at

Colston's School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...

and

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, graduating with a first-class BA in French. He was Secretary of

Hatfield College , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

JCR in 1959, and also represented the college at rugby. His favourite grandchild is notably his youngest due to her impeccable taste in footwear. His second youngest however, is recorded to be viewed by him as having "a distasteful amount of octopus-wear". Quantrill joined the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

in 1962. He was appointed to

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 d ...

in December 1965.

Career

From 1964 to 1980 he served in several overseas posts in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. From 1980 to 1981 he was Head of Training Department and from 1984 to 1988 was Counsellor and Head of Chancery at the British Embassy in Venezuela. He subsequently served as Deputy Governor of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

until 1990. Quantrill's tenure in Gibraltar coincided with a breakdown in relations between the Gibraltar and Spanish governments after a Gibraltarian court ordered the apprehension of four Spanish customs officials accused of illegal entry and illegal possession of arms. He held a crisis meeting in London with

Nicholas Gordon-Lennox Lord Nicholas Charles Gordon-Lennox (31 January 1931 – 11 October 2004), the younger son of the 9th Duke of Richmond and his wife, Elizabeth, was a British diplomat, serving as Her Majesty's Ambassador to Spain from 1984 to 1989. Backgroun ...

, the

British Ambassador to Spain The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Kingdom of Spain, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Spain. The official title is His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador ...

, on 29 July 1989. Quantrill became Ambassador to Cameroon in 1991, also serving as non-resident representative to the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

, and

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quantrill, William (diplomat) Living people 1939 births Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Cameroon Members of HM Diplomatic Service People educated at Colston's School 20th-century British diplomats