Sir Albert Thomas "Archie" Lamb

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

CMG DFC (23 October 1921 – 19 October 2021) was a British diplomat, writer and RAF

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

. He served as British ambassador to Kuwait from 1974 to 1977, and to Norway from 1978 to 1980.

Career

Albert Thomas Lamb was born in Britain on 23 October 1921, the son of R. S. Lamb and Violet Lamb (née Haynes). He was educated in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

at the

Bishop Gore School The Bishop Gore School () is a secondary school in Swansea in Wales, founded on 14 September 1682 by Hugh Gore (1613–1691), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated in Sketty, close to Singleton Park and Swansea University. In Decem ...

. He joined 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 * United ...

in 1938. On the outbreak of

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 ...

in 1939 he volunteered for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, but was not called for service until 1941. He did pilot training in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

; on his way back to Britain in SS ''Oronsay'' his ship was torpedoed and he spent nine days in a lifeboat before being rescued. Commissioned in 1941, he was promoted to

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

(war-substantive) on 12 March 1943, and to flight lieutenant (war-substantive) on 12 September 1944. He flew combat missions in

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

s and

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

s and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in January 1945. After the war Lamb returned to the Foreign Office and served at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. He then studied

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies 1955–57 and subsequently served in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, as

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

and as

political agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to: *Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs * Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

in 1965-68, during which time he oversaw the 1966 Abu Dhabi coup d'etat. He served at the Foreign Office (later the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

) 1965–74, rising to assistant under-secretary, before being appointed

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Kuwait 1974–77 and to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

1978–80. Lamb found the Norwegian political establishment insular and unsympathetic to their

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 ...

partners, who at the height of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, were concerned about Norway's vulnerable border with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In his last diplomatic dispatch, Lamb says of the Norwegians "...you demand your allies' full support but restrict their ability to give it... 'All for Norway' is the Royal motto of the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...

; it sums up the Norwegian interpretation of the North Atlantic Alliance". After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, he became a director of the nationalised companies British National Oil Corporation, later privatised as

Britoil Britoil plc was originally a privatised British oil company operating in the North Sea. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company was acquired by BP in 1988, becoming a brand of it.British Shipbuilders British Shipbuilders (BS) was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in Great Britain from 1977 through the 1980s. Its head office was at Benton House in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The corporation wa ...

Personal life

His daughter

Kathryn Lamb Kathryn Jane Lamb (born 1959) is a British cartoonist, illustrator and writer. Lamb is the daughter of Sir Archie Lamb, a former British Ambassador to Kuwait and Norway. She was educated at St Hugh's College, Oxford where she received a bachelo ...

is a cartoonist, illustrator and writer. He died on 19 October 2021, four days before his 100th birthday.

Publications

''A Long Way from Swansea: a memoir''
2003. Starborn Books.
''Abu Dhabi 1965–1968''
2003 Teapot Press.
''The Last Voyage of SS Oronsay: A Questionable Venture''
2004 Starborn Books.

Honours

Lamb was appointed MBE in 1953, CMG in 1974 and knighted KBE in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

of 1979. He was made an honorary

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Swansea Metropolitan University Swansea Metropolitan University () is a former university based in Swansea, Wales, UK. The university merged with, and became a constituent campus of, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David on 1 August 2013. Employing more than 500 staff ...

in 2004.Honorary Fellows and Awards
, Swansea Metropolitan University

References

LAMB, Sir Albert Thomas, (Sir Archie)
''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013
Interview with Sir Archie Lamb
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge
Sir Archie Lamb
Starborn Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Archie 1921 births 2021 deaths People educated at Bishop Gore School Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Kuwait Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Norway Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British writers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force pilots of World War II People associated with Swansea Metropolitan University Royal Air Force officers People from Swansea Military personnel from Swansea