Sir Roderick Edward Barclay (2 February 1909 – 24 October 1996) was a British diplomat who was ambassador to Denmark and Belgium.

Career

Roderick Edward Barclay was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He entered 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 obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1932 and served at British embassies at

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and at 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 ...

as head of the Personnel Department. He was then appointed Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary,

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...

, 1949–51.

Barclay was a surprising choice as Bevin's Private Secretary since, at first sight, he and his intended master had nothing in common. ... But in the event he was probably the most successful of the exceptionally able men who served Bevin as Private Secretary.
— Obituary, ''The Independent'', 1 November 1996

After Bevin moved on due to illness in March 1951 (he died shortly afterwards), Barclay served as Assistant

Under-Secretary of State Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

at the Foreign Office 1951–53, then Deputy Under-Secretary 1953–56. He was Ambassador to Denmark 1956–60, then returned to the Foreign Office with the rank of Deputy Under-Secretary, as Adviser on European Trade and relations with the newly created

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. ...

1960–63. He took part in

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

's attempt to join the then

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

which, however, was vetoed in 1963 by

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. Barclay's final diplomatic post was as Ambassador to Belgium, 1963–69. In 1965, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Waterloo battle he set up a commemorative "

Duchess of Richmond's Ball The Duchess of Richmond's ball was a ball hosted by Charlotte Lennox, Duchess of Richmond, in Brussels on 15 June 1815, the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras. Charlotte's husband Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, was in command of a r ...

" and planted a tree in the

Bois de la Cambre The ( French, ) or ( Dutch, ) is an urban public park in Brussels, Belgium. It lies in the south of the Brussels-Capital Region, in the City of Brussels, and covers an area of , forming a natural offshoot of the Sonian Forest, which penetrate ...

on the lawn where English soldiers had played cricket on the eve of the Battle. Sir Roderick (as he had become) retired from the Diplomatic Service in 1969 and became a director of a unit of the family bank, Barclays Bank SA in France, 1969–79 (Chairman 1970–74), also of Barclays Bank International 1971–77, and of

Banque de Bruxelles The Bank of Brussels (, ) was a prominent bank in Brussels, established in 1871 and merged in 1975 with Banque Lambert to form Banque Bruxelles Lambert. It was Belgium's second-largest bank for most of its existence, behind the Société Géné ...

1971–77. He was also a non-executive director of

Slough Estates SEGRO plc (formerly known as Slough Estates Group) is a British property investment and development company based in London, England. It develops and invests in property located in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe focusing on edge of to ...

1969–84.

Private life

Roderick Barclay was born in 1909 in Kobe, Japan, the son of Joseph Gurney Barclay an Evangelican Anglican-Quaker missionary by his first wife Gillian Mary Birkbeck, who died from complications in childbirth bearing him. His father later remarried Gwendoline Watney, the daughter of a doctor and one of the first women sociology graduates. His half-brother was the Evangelical Anglican missionary

Oliver Barclay Oliver Rainsford Barclay (22 February 1919 – 12 September 2013) was a British academic and evangelical Christian. Originally a zoologist, he later turned his attentions to widening the influence of conservative evangelical Christianity within uni ...

(d. 2013). In 1941 he married Jean Cecil Gladstone, only daughter of Sir

Hugh Steuart Gladstone Sir Hugh Steuart Gladstone of Capenoch FRSE FSA FZS MBOU DL LL (1877–1949) was a Scottish ornithologist and landowner. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries 1946 to 1949. Life Gladstone was born on 30 April 1877 the son of Samuel Ste ...

of Capenoch, and his wife Cecil Emily Talbot, (d. 1949), a great-granddaughter of

Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot Charles Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot, KG, PC, FRS (25 April 1777 – 10 January 1849), styled Viscount of Ingestre between 1784 and 1793, was an English politician and peer. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1817 ...

(father of the 18th Earl of Shrewsbury). Jean Barclay was a kinswoman of the great Victorian statesman

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

. Sir Roderick and Lady Barclay had one son and three daughters. Their youngest daughter Davina Cecil Palmer née Barclay is mother of Juliet Palmer, now wife since 1991 of Hugh Cairns, Viscount Garmoyle (b. 1965, eldest son and heir of the 6th Earl Cairns). Her son is in direct succession to the earldom after his father.

Publications

*''Ernest Bevin and the Foreign Office 1932–69'', self-published, 1975.

Honours

Roderick Barclay was appointed CMG in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

of 1948, CVO in the Coronation Honours in 1953 and knighted KCMG 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 1955. He was awarded the additional honour of KCVO in 1957 and promoted to GCVO in 1966. The Danish government awarded him the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

and the Belgian government awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown.

References

BARCLAY, Sir Roderick (Edward)
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, retrieved 8 June 2012 *Sir Roderick Barclay: Obituary, ''The Times'', 31 October 1996, page 23

''The Independent'', London, 1 November 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Roderick Edward 1909 births 1996 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of HM Diplomatic Service Principal Private Secretaries to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) 20th-century British diplomats