Richard Duke Coleridge, 4th Baron Coleridge (24 September 1905 – 20 May 1984) was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and served as the first Executive Secretary of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

(NATO) from 1952 to 1970.
Coleridge in the NATO Archives, Brussels

Biography

Coleridge was the son of

Geoffrey Coleridge, 3rd Baron Coleridge Geoffrey Duke Coleridge, 3rd Baron Coleridge (23 July 1877 – 27 March 1955) was responsible for making the archive of his family member the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge available to researchers for the first time. Biography The only son of B ...

of Ottery St. Mary and Jessie Alethea Mackarness. He married Cecilia Rosamund Fisher, daughter of Admiral Sir William Wordsworth Fisher, on 28 August 1936.Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition volume 1, page 852 Coleridge was educated at the

Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

and at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, in England. In 1926 he was promoted to sub-lieutenant with seniority, and in 1936 to lieutenant-commander. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was with the War Cabinet Office between 1940 and 1941. He was with the Joint Staff Mission to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1941, and was Deputy Secretary to the British Joint Staff and Combined Chiefs of Staff between 1942 and 1945. Coleridge was invested as an

Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1944. He was decorated with the United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

on 27 November 1945. He was U.K. Secretary to the

Military Staff Committee The Military Staff Committee (MSC) is the United Nations Security Council subsidiary body whose role, as defined by the United Nations Charter, is to plan UN military operations

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

between 1946 and 1948, and was Secretary to the British Joint Services Mission to Washington, D.C., in 1948. He was Chief Staff Officer to

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to ...

, Lord Tedder. He was invested as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951. He was promoted to captain in the Royal Navy in 1952. Coleridge succeeded to the title of 4th Baron Coleridge of Ottery St. Mary on 27 March 1955. He was invested as a

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1971. He was the first Executive Secretary of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

from 1952 to 1970.
NATO Archives He was Chairman of the Devon and Exeter Savings Bank between 1971 and 1975. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Devon in 1973. He was chairman of the

Trustee Savings Bank The Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) was a British financial institution that operated between 1810 and 1995 when it was merged with Lloyds Bank (historic), Lloyds Bank. Trustee savings banks originated to accept savings deposits from those with mode ...

between 1975 and 1984. His wife died in 1991 at age 81.

References

External links

Coleridge on the Peerage.com
in the

Archives
Commander Coleridge at the Chiefs of Staff Conference, 29 December 1941Coleridge
in the Harry S. Truman Library Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleridge, Richard Duke, 4th Baron 1905 births 1984 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit British bankers Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne