Eric Arthur Cleugh, CMG, CVO,

OBE 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 ...

(; 1894–1964) was a British diplomat who retired as British Ambassador to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Earlier in his life, he had played for

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in a rugby union international against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, although the game was not one for which test caps were awarded.

Early life

Eric's was from a middle-class family from

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. They had three children, Dorothy, James and Eric Arthur. Eric completed his education at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, and immediately joined the Consular Service.Profile from www.cleugh.com
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Career

Eric's career immediately took him across the Atlantic. He was to go to South, Central and North America. Amongst his postings were stints in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

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 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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, ...

and

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...

and he reportedly became friends with

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

whilst in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, he was stationed in

. He retired in 1955 as British Ambassador to Panama.

Rugby union

Eric Arthur had learnt rugby at

, a school that already had a proud history in the sport. In 1922, the school magazine, ''The Alleynian'', reported that a "Rugby International match

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played at Monte Video (Uruguay) between Argentine and Uruguay". The report went on to detail that the participants included "twenty public school boys", of whom "five were O.A's" (O.A. being an

Old Alleynian Dulwich College is a 2-18 Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Colleg ...

, the term for a former pupil of Dulwich College). Despite five playing in the international, only four had won their 1st XV colours at Dulwich. The five former pupils named were C.H. Scott (1914–16) for Argentina, and L.P. Bridal (1914–18), Captain J.M. Cat (1909–15), E.A. Cleugh (1907–13), and C.E. Cat (1909–16) for Uruguay. Cleugh's former school mate, C.E. Cat, was at the time the captain of Argentina's premier team, Belgrano Club, but played for Uruguay because he was born in that country.Dulwich College Sporting Honours: Old Alleynians
The match took place 26 years before Uruguay's first official match against Chile in 1948.

Personal life

On June 27, 1927, Cleugh married socialite Frances Stevens in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

."PROMINENT PAIR WILL WED HERE". ''Reno Gazette-Journal''. June 15, 1935. They divorced on June 15, 1935. He married Maxine Rose-Marie Harding in New York City on February 11, 1938.Randolph, Nancy (February 12, 1938). "Diplomatic Set Sees Maxine Harding Wed". ''New York Daily News''. They had two daughters, Victoria Maxine and Nicola Ilona. Cleugh died in Mallorca, an island he had said he had fallen in love with "from the moment he first saw the rocky coastline from the deck of the Barcelona ferry."

Bibliography

Eric Cleugh published a number of books about his life and work. In 1960 he published his autobiography "Without Let or Hindrance" and his second book was titled "Viva Mallorca" was published in 1963, a very personal view of his perceptions of life in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. *''Without Let or Hindrance. Reminiscences of a British Foreign Service officer'', Publisher: Cassell (1960), ASIN: B000WTYLAY *''Viva Mallorca. Yesterday and today in the Balearic Islands.'', ASIN: B000WTUPQS *''Panama. Economic and commercial conditions in the Republic of Panama and the Canal Zone. With a map (Overseas Economic Surveys.)'', ASIN: B000WU0K3A

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleugh, Eric Uruguayan rugby union players People educated at Dulwich College 1894 births 1964 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Panama Rugby union players from Northumberland British expatriates in Argentina British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Cuba