Sir Reader William Bullard (5 December 1885 – 24 May 1976) was a British diplomat and author.

Education

Reader Bullard was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

, the son of Charles, a dock labourer, and Mary Bullard. He was educated at the

Monoux School Sir George Monoux College is a sixth form college located in Walthamstow, London. It is a medium-sized college with around 1,620 full-time students as of 2018. Brief history Sir George Monoux, the founder of the Grammar School (later College ...

there and later at

Bancroft's School Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent day school located in Woodford Green, London Borough of Redbridge. The school currently has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18, around 200 of whom are pupils of the Preparatory School an ...

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in north-east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the west. Epping ...

, northeast London, and spent two years studying at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, c ...

. He entered the

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

(Western Asia)

Consular Service Consular assistance is help and advice provided by the diplomatic agents of a country to citizens of that country who are living or traveling overseas. The diplomats may be honorary consuls, or members of the country's diplomatic service. Such ...

of 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 S ...

in 1906.

Career

Bullard held various diplomatic positions during his career: * 1920: Military Governor,

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

, Iraq * 1921: Middle East Department,

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

* 1923–25: Consul, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * 1925–28: Consul,

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Greece * 1928: Consul,

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

* 1930: Consul General, Moscow,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

* 1931–34:

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia * 1934: Rabat,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

* 1936–39: Minister, Jedda, Saudi Arabia * 1939–46: Minister and later Ambassador,

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

In ''

Eastern Approaches ''Eastern Approaches'' (1949) is a memoir of the early career of Fitzroy Maclean. It is divided into three parts: his life as a junior diplomat in Moscow and his travels in the Soviet Union, especially the forbidden zones of Central Asia; his e ...

'', Fitzroy Maclean describes how Bullard and General Joseph Baillon, the Chief of Staff, requested him to kidnap a powerful Iranian. They were concerned about the influence of

Fazlollah Zahedi Fazlollah Zahedi ( fa, فضل‌الله زاهدی, Fazlollāh Zāhedi, pronounced ; 17 May 1892 – 2 September 1963) was an Iranian lieutenant general and statesman who replaced the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup d'é ...

, the general in charge of the

Iranian forces Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian ...

in the Isfahan area, who, their intelligence told them, was stockpiling grain, liaising with German agents, and preparing an uprising. Baillon and Bullard asked Maclean to remove Zahidi alive and without creating a fuss, and so he did so. (Zahedi spent the rest of the war in

British Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

; five years later he was back in charge of the military of southern Iran, by 1953 he was

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

.) In 1951, Bullard became Director of the Institute of Colonial Studies in Oxford. In 1953, he became a member of the governing body of

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

(SOAS),

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. Bullard was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No app ...

(CIE) in 1916,

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 IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

(CMG) in 1933,

Knight Commander 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 IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

(KCMG) in 1936, and

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(KCB) in 1944. He was an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of Queens' College, Cambridge,

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

in London, and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, t ...

Personal life

In 1921, Reader Bullard married Miriam Catherine (Biddy), née Smith (1888–1973), daughter of the historian

Arthur Lionel Smith Arthur Lionel Smith (1850 – 12 April 1924) was a British historian at the University of Oxford. Smith served as Master of Balliol College, Oxford, from 1916 to 1924. Early life Smith was born on 4 December 1850. He studied at Balliol College, ...

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

. They had four sons and one daughter, including the diplomats Sir

Giles Bullard Sir Giles Bullard (24 August 1926 – 11 November 1992), was a British diplomat. His appointments included British Ambassador to Bulgaria and High Commissioner to the West Indies at the time of the American invasion of Grenada. Early life G ...

(1926–1992) and Sir

Julian Bullard Sir Julian Leonard Bullard (8 March 1928 – 25 May 2006) was a British diplomat and Pro-Chancellor of Birmingham University. He was employed at Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service from 1953 until 1988, the ambassador to Bonn in the mid-1980s ...

(1928–2006). Bullard retired in 1946. Towards the end of his life he lived in Plantation Road,

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The lea ...

. Bullard's papers have been archived by

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics ...

. He was on the governing body of

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

from 1951 to 1955.

Works

Bullard published a number of books, including ''Britain and the Middle East'' ( Hutchinson, 1951) and his autobiography ''The Camels Must Go: An Autobiography'' (

Faber Faber may refer to: People * Faber (surname) Companies * Faber and Faber (also known as "Faber and Gwyer"), publishing house in the United Kingdom * Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments * Faber Music, British sheet musi ...

, 1961). The diaries that he kept during his time in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

were published posthumously, under the title ''Inside Stalin's Russia'' (Day Books, 2000). See also Margaret Bullard - ''Bootstraps: A Memoir of Reader William Bullard'' (MPG Books Group, 2008)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullard, Reader William 1885 births 1976 deaths People from Walthamstow People educated at Bancroft's School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Iran English non-fiction writers English autobiographers People associated with SOAS University of London Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Members of HM Diplomatic Service 20th-century diplomats English male non-fiction writers Governors of Abingdon School Burials at Holywell Cemetery 20th-century British diplomats