Sir Harold Orme Garton Sargent (31 October 1884 – 23 October 1962) was a British diplomat and civil servant.

Early life and career

Sargent was born Giles Orme Sargent; his parents changed his name after they registered his birth. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

, then in Switzerland, and prepared for 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 obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. He entered the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

in 1906.

Diplomat

Sargent was at the British

legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legations ...

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

from 1917 to 1919 when he was posted to Paris with the British delegation to the Paris Peace Conference. " he ambassadors'discussions ranged over all the problems of Europe, and gave Sargent a memorable introduction to many of the new influences, hopes and fears occasioned by the disintegration of pre-1914 Europe."Obituary: Sir Orme Sargent – A Leading Expert On Europe, ''The Times'', London, 24 October 1962, page 15 He remained in Paris until 1925, when he returned to London and thereafter refused to go abroad again. In 1926, with the rank of counsellor, he was made head of the Foreign Office's Central Department, which covered Italy, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and the Balkans. When he was promoted to assistant Under-Secretary in 1933 his scope widened to include France, Germany and Poland. "He never had doubts about the significance of Hitler's rise to power in 1933, and he took every opportunity that came his way of emphasizing the reality of the menace. It was no surprise to his colleagues that the public rejoicings over

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

should provoke him to say, 'Anybody would think that we were celebrating a major victory instead of the betrayal of a minor ally.'"

Second World War

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 opposi ...

, Sargent was deputy under-secretary, taking charge of the Foreign Office when the

Permanent Under-Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil s ...

(head of the Foreign Office), Sir Alexander Cadogan, was away travelling with

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

, the

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...

, or

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. After the war, Sargent succeeded Cadogan as Permanent Under-Secretary in 1946. He retired in 1949.SARGENT, Sir Orme
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)

Postwar

Sargent was determined to maintain Britain's status as a world power although it had been economically weakened after the Second World War. In a memorandum issued in August 1945, he wrote, "a feeling that Great Britain is now a secondary Power and can be treated as such...

s a S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...

misconception which it must be our policy to combat"."Stocktaking after VE-day", August 1945, FO 371/50912, http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2808208 In retirement Sargent lived in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Pl ...

. He was a connoisseur of art and furniture and became chairman of the Holburne of Menstrie Museum in Bath. He bequeathed his art collection to the museum.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sargent, Orme 1884 births 1962 deaths People educated at Radley College Foreign Office personnel of World War II Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath