Sir John William Denys Margetson (9 October 1927 – 17 October 2020) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to Vietnam, the United Nations, and the Netherlands.

Early life

Margetson was the younger son of the Very Rev. William Margetson and Marion Jenoure. He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he was a

choral scholar {{Short description, Student who receives a scholarship for singing in a choir A choral scholar is a student at either a university or a private school who receives a scholarship in exchange for singing in the school or university's choir. This is ...

. From 1947 to 1949, Margetson served his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

with the Life Guards regiment of the Household Cavalry.

Diplomatic career

Following his period of National Service Margetson joined the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and later the Diplomatic Service where he was speech writer to the Foreign Secretary,

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

, 1966–68. Margetson's later career included appointments as British Ambassador to Vietnam 1978–80, deputy Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(with rank of ambassador) 1983–84, and ambassador to the Netherlands 1984–88. He was appointed CMG in 1979 and knighted KCMG in 1986. Following his retirement from the Foreign Office, Margetson devoted himself to various charities and was chairman of the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

1988–94, of the Yehudi Menuhin School 1990–94, and of the joint committee that manages the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

and the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

1991–94. He served as

Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod The usher of the Blue Rod, formally known as the Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod or Lady Usher of the Blue Rod is the Usher to the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, established in 1818. The office was simply designated a ...

from 24 July 1992 – 25 October 2002.

Personal life and death

In 1963, Margetson married Miranda, daughter of Sir William Coldstream. They had a son and a daughter. Margetson died on 17 October 2020, at the age of 93.

References

MARGETSON, Sir John (William Denys)
''Who's Who 2014'', A & C Black, 2014;online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014

External links

Interview with Sir John Margetson
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Margetson, John 1927 births 2020 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Vietnam