Stanley Wyatt Smith
| Stanley Wyatt-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born |
3 April 1887 Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died |
17 November 1958 (aged 71) Burleigh, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Education | Bedford Modern School |
| Alma mater | King's College London |
| Occupation | British Diplomat |
| Known for |
Consul-General of Manila Consul-General of Honolulu |
Stanley Wyatt-Smith (3 April 1887 – 17 November 1958) was Consul-General of Manila (1938–42) and Honolulu (1943-44).[1][2]
Early life
Wyatt-Smith was born in Minchinhampton on 3 April 1887 the son of Rev. WH Smith and Susannah (née Rice). He was educated at Bedford Modern School and King's College London.[1]
Diplomatic service
In 1907 Wyatt-Smith entered the Consular Service in China. He was a student interpreter in Peking (1907–09), Shanghai (1913–14) and Swatow (1914–17).[1] He was then made acting Consul at Tsinan (1917–18) and later at Wuchow (1918-20).[1]
Wyatt-Smith was Vice-Consul at Hankow (1921), Shanghai (1922–23), Senior District Officer at Wei-hai-wei (1923–25), Consul at Chinkiang (1926–27) and Tengyeuh (1927–31). The American journalist Edgar Snow stayed with Wyatt-Smith in Tengyeuh as relayed in Robert Farnsworth's book about Snow's time in Asia: 'Stanley Wyatt-Smith, the British consul, was a congenial and well-informed host'.[3] Lady Diana Cooper described him as,'...delightful...His confidence and poise far exceeded any English Consuls I have seen'.[4]
After Tengyeuh, Wyatt-Smith was Consul at Changsha (1931–32), Newchang (1933), Tsinan (1933), Foochow (1934–36) and Swatow (1937–38).[1] In 1938 Smith was promoted to Consul-General of Manila (1938–42) until he was interned at Santo Tomas Internment Camp by the Japanese military authorities on the occupation of Manila and repatriated in 1942.[5] In 1943 he was made Consul-General of Honolulu until his retirement in 1945.[1]
Family life
Wyatt-Smith married firstly Clara Mabel Smyth (one son and one daughter, his son killed on active service in 1945). He married secondly Beatrix, eldest daughter of Sir Francis Metford KCB OBE. He died in Burleigh, Stroud, Gloucestershire, on 17 November 1958.[1]
Publications
- Where China meets Burma (with wife, Beatrix Metford), 1935
- Articles and stories of life and customs on Burma-China Frontier
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Who Was Who, Published by A&C Black Limited, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920-2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014
- ↑ Obituary in The Times, 19 November 1958
- ↑ From Vagabond to Journalist:Edgar Snow in Asia, 1928-41, by Robert M Farnsworth, 1996
- ↑ "The Spectator, 23rd May, 1987, retrieved July 2015".
- ↑ Surviving a Japanese Internment Camp. Life and Liberation at Santo Tomas, Manila, in World War II , by Robert Wilkinson, 2014