Sir Rowland Arthur Charles Sperling (4 January 1874 –1 August 1965) was a British diplomat who served as ambassador to Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Finland.

Early life

Sperling was born in 1874 in London, England the son of Commander Rowland Money Sperling (1841–), RN, and Marian Charlotte, daughter of Charles Keyser. He was educated at Eton College and New College Oxford in 1892. He left New College in 1899 without a degree and went to work as a clerk in the Foreign Office.

Diplomat

He was sent to Russia in 1902 to learn Russian before becoming acting third secretary in St Petersburg in the Diplomatic Service. He returned to the Foreign Office in 1905 first as an assistant clerk, then as a senior clerk and in 1914 Head of the Western Department. He stayed in the Foreign Office during the first world war. He was attached to the Paris Peace Conference : assistant secretary Foreign Office 1919.Kelly's Handbook, 1938. In 1920, he represented the United Kingdom at a conference on international communications in Washington. By 1924 he was transferred to the Diplomatic Service and he was appointed Minister at Berne, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Switzerland 1924–28. In 1928 he moved as Minister to Sofia, Bulgaria 1928–9, and then to Finland 1930–35.C. Cook, P. Jones, J. Sinclair, Jeffrey Weeks, Sources in British Political History, 1900–1951
p. 228
Ray Jones, The nineteenth-century Foreign Office: an administrative history, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1971 – 224 pp.
p. 183
/ref> He retired from the service in 1935.

Family life

In 1905, Sperling married Dorothy Constance Kingsmill (1874–1951), daughter of William Howley Kingsmill (1838–1894), DL, JP, of Sydmonton Court,

Sydmonton Sydmonton is a small village, estate and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green, in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, which lies ...

, and Constance Mary(died 1947), daughter of Sir Wyndham Spencer Portal, 1st Bt. They had two sons and a daughter. One son was killed on active service in a flying accident at

Manston Airport Manston Airport is a British airport. Originally operated as RAF Manston, from 1916, it has also operated as a commercial airport and was known as Kent International Airport and, briefly, London Manston Airport. It has been closed since 2014. ...

in March 1940. His wife died in 1951. Following retirement to

Kingsclere Kingsclere is a large village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. At the centre of the village lies the Church Of England parish church of St. Mary's with its distinctive tower. St. Mary's church has C12 origins. It is cruciform and has N ...

, Hampshire, he was a member of

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geo ...

from 1936 to 1949, and

High Sheriff of Hampshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959. List of High Sheriffs 11th and 12th centuries 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th ...

from 1945 to 1946. Sperling died on 8 January 1965 at his home in Wiltshire aged 91.

Honours and awards

*In the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

he was invested as 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); *On he was invested as a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

; *In the

1934 New Year Honours The 1934 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1933. The recipients of honou ...

, Sperling was invested as a Knight Commander of the

(KCMG).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperling, Rowland Arthur Charles 1874 births 1965 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Finland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Alumni of New College, Oxford High sheriffs of Hampshire People educated at Eton College Burials in Hampshire People from Kingsclere