James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October Crisis of October 1970. He was ultimately released almost two months later, and subsequently returned to the United Kingdom.

Early life and career

Cross was born in

Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, on 29 September 1921. His mother died during her labour with him. His older sibling had intellectual disabilities and was consequently institutionalised. Cross was raised on the family farm, which was a hundred acres in size, before moving in with relatives. He was nicknamed "Jasper" by his family and friends. Cross studied economics and political science at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where he graduated with a

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

degree in 1944. It was there that he also met his wife, Barbara Dagg, who studied modern languages. During

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 ...

, Cross served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and fought for the liberation of France. He was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

Movement Control Section in 1944. After the war, Cross joined the diplomatic service and was assigned first to

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

in 1953. His first stint in Canada commenced in 1957, when he served in Halifax and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

for five years. He was consequently assigned to

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

for four years (in then Malaya and after 1963

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

), before going back to London in 1966 to direct the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

branch in charge of exhibitions and fairs overseas. He returned to Canada in February 1968 as the senior Trade Commissioner in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Kidnapping

On 5 October 1970, Cross was abducted at gunpoint from his British diplomatic residence at 1297 Redpath Crescent, in the

Golden Square Mile The Golden Square Mile (, ), also known as the Square Mile, is the nostalgic name given to an urban neighbourhood developed principally between 1850 and 1930 at the foot of Mount Royal, in the west-central section of downtown Montreal in Quebec, Ca ...

district of Montreal, and held as a

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

for two months as the FLQ made a series of demands to the Quebec government. During captivity, due to stress and a shortage of food, Cross lost 10 kg (22 lb). He was released on 3 December after 60 days in captivity. In exchange for his release, his abductors would get safe passage to

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 ...

. The talks were held at the Canada Pavilion, located on

Notre Dame Island Notre Dame Island () is an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east of Saint Helen's Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the city of Saint-Lambert on the south sh ...

, the site of

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

. This site was declared Cuban territory for the period of the talks. Six members of the FLQ's " Liberation Cell" were later convicted of Cross's kidnapping when they returned to Canada during the late 1970s. They received custodial sentences ranging from 12 to 24 months. Cross said of his kidnapping: On the 40th anniversary of the day that sparked the October Crisis in 2010, Cross agreed to speak to CBC Radio's '' The Current'' about the events surrounding his kidnapping. There is also a transcript of a taped memoir online, uploaded by Churchill College.

Later life

Cross returned to the United Kingdom after his release and continued working for the civil service. However, he was no longer assigned overseas postings. Although he received a number of offers to sell his story, he did not since he was prohibited by the government from doing so. Cross went on to serve as Under-Secretary in various divisions of Britain's Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Energy. He was made a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in January 1971. Cross retired to

Seaford, East Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven, East Sussex, Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. I ...

. He died at his home there on 6 January 2021. He was 99, and suffered from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England were NHS England and Public ...

in the time leading up to his death. Both his wife and their only child (Susan) predeceased him in 2018 and 2015, respectively.

In fiction

Cross is depicted as a character in the novel '' The Revolution Script'' by Brian Moore, together with Pierre Laporte. Their names are changed by Moore out of respect for their families. He is also featured in ''My October'' by Claire Holden Rothman, and as a character in the 2006 Canadian television series '' October 1970'', played by R.H. Thomson.

References

External links

Interview with James Richard Jasper Cross

transcript
, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, James 1921 births 2021 deaths 1970s missing person cases 20th-century British diplomats British Army personnel of World War II British expatriates in Canada British expatriates in India British expatriates in Malaysia Canada–United Kingdom relations Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England Formerly missing British people Kidnapped British people Kidnapped diplomats Missing person cases in Canada October Crisis Diplomats from Dublin (city) People from Nenagh Royal Engineers officers Terrorism in Canada Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom