Sir Samuel Falle (19 February 1919 – 20 February 2014) was a British diplomat and decorated Royal Navy officer. He served as Ambassador to Kuwait and Sweden, and High Commissioner to Singapore and Nigeria.

Career

Falle was educated at

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

1937–48 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross "for gallantry in the face of overwhelming odds whilst serving in during her last action in the Java Sea on 1st March, 1942". ''Encounter'', a destroyer, had taken part in the

Second Battle of the Java Sea The Second Battle of the Java Sea was the last naval action of the Netherlands East Indies campaign, of 1941–42. It occurred on 1 March 1942, two days after the first Battle of the Java Sea. It saw the end of the last Allied warships operati ...

, suffered major damage and was scuttled by her crew. They were subsequently rescued by the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

destroyer ''Ikazuchi'' commanded by Shunsaku Kudō. Falle spent the next three and a half years as a prisoner of war. Falle joined the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

in 1948 and served at

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

, Tehran, Beirut and Baghdad. He was

Consul-General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

at Gothenburg 1961–63, head of the UN department 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 ...

1963–67 and accompanied

Lord Shackleton Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton, Baron Shackleton (15 July 1911 – 22 September 1994) was a British geographer, Royal Air Force officer and Labour Party politician. Early life and career Born in Wandsworth, London, Shackleton was the young ...

on a mission to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

in 1967. He was deputy High Commissioner at Kuala Lumpur 1967–69,

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to Kuwait 1969–70, High Commissioner to Singapore 1970–74, ambassador to Sweden 1974–77, and High Commissioner to Nigeria 1977–78. He then retired from the Diplomatic Service and joined the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, becoming EC delegate to Algeria 1979–82, then working as a consultant on development aid in Africa including evaluation of

EEC 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 ...

aid to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

1983–84, and Swedish aid to

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

in 1986. Falle was appointed CMG 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 1964, knighted KCVO in 1972 and given the additional knighthood of KCMG in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1979. The

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

made him a Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

in 1975. Falle sought out the location of the grave of Shunsaku Kudō, to whom he held enormous gratitude for rescuing him during the

, and visited there on 7 December 2008. Kudo was such a humble man that his family came to know of his deed for the first time when Falle visited them.Officer tells of extraordinary rescue
BBC Somerset, 18 December 2008

Publications

*''My Lucky Life : In War, Revolution, Peace and Diplomacy'' (autobiography), Book Guild, Lewes, 1996.

References

FALLE, Sir Sam
''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012

External links

Sir Sam Falle
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 28 April 2014 * A 2½-hour oral history interview about Falle's naval career and experience as a prisoner of war. {{DEFAULTSORT:Falle, Sam 1919 births 2014 deaths People educated at Victoria College, Jersey British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Royal Navy officers of World War II Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Kuwait High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Singapore Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria European civil servants Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star British officials of the European Union