Henry Lennox D'Aubigne Hopkinson, 1st Baron Colyton, KCVO PC (3 January 1902 – 6 January 1996), was a British diplomat and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Biography

Colyton was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and then joined the

Diplomatic 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 obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. He served in various positions at the British embassies in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and was also assistant private secretary to the Foreign Secretary,

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954) was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of three people to ...

, from 1932 to 1934 and First Secretary to the War Cabinet Office from 1939 to 1940. He then served as private secretary to the

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (and its predecessors) since 1790. Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State f ...

, Sir Alexander Cadogan, between 1940 and 1941 and to

Oliver Lyttelton Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos (15 March 1893 – 21 January 1972) was a British businessman from the Lyttelton family who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts. Background, educ ...

, Minister of State in the Middle East, from 1941 to 1943, being posted to Cairo. Colyton was stationed in Lisbon from 1943 to 1944 and from 1944 to 1946 he served as Deputy High Commissioner and Vice-President of the Allied Commission in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He resigned from the Diplomatic Service the latter year to work for the Conservative Party and was Head of the Conservative Parliamentary Secretariat and Joint Director of the Conservative Research Department between 1946 and 1949. The following year, in 1950, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, a seat he held until 1956, and served under

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Secretary for Overseas Trade The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953, subordinate to the President of the Board of Trade. The office was replaced by the Minister of State for Trade on 3 Septem ...

from 1951 to 1952 and as

Minister of State for Colonial Affairs The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

from 1952 to 1955. On May 21 1952 during the

British Malayan headhunting scandal The British Malayan headhunting scandal of 1952 was a political scandal involving senior British politicians, military leaders, and activists, including prime minister Winston Churchill, communist publisher J.R. Campbell, general Gerald Templer, ...

, the Labour Party MP Michael Stewart asked Hopkinson in the House of Commons if the British government intended to punish British soldiers caught posing with decapitated human heads in images taken during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

and leaked by the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in Chicago founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists. Publication began in 1924. It generally reflected the prevailing views of members of the Communist Party USA (CPU ...

.'' Hopkinson confirmed that none of the British soldiers would be punished, claiming that said soldiers had never explicitly been forbidden from mutilating corpses. Hopkinson was also a Delegate to the Consultative Assembly of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

from 1950 to 1952 and to the

General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

from 1952 to 1955. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1952 and on 19 January 1956 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Colyton, ''of

Farway Farway is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the East Devon district of Devon, England. The village is situated about south-east of Honiton. The village lies on the River Coly, which rises in the north of the civil parish and ...

in the County of Devon and of

in the County of Somerset''. Lord Colyton married Alice Labouisse Eno, daughter of Henry Lane Eno, a banker and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

professor, in 1927. They had one son and one daughter. After his first wife's death in 1953 he married, secondly, Barbara Estella Barb, who had previously been married to cartoonist

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams Family, and were subsequently populari ...

, in 1956. Lord Colyton died in January 1996, aged 94, and was succeeded in the barony by his grandson Alisdair Hopkinson, his eldest son Hon. Nicholas Henry Eno Hopkinson having predeceased him.

Arms

References

* Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * *
Obituary

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colyton, Henry Hopkinson, 1st Barony 1902 births 1996 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of HM Diplomatic Service Hopkinson, Henry Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Hopkinson, Henry Hopkinson, Henry Hopkinson, Henry Hopkinson, Henry Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 20th-century British diplomats