Stanley Wyatt-Smith (3 April 1887 – 17 November 1958) was a British diplomat. 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 ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

(1938–42) and

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

(1943–44). A collection of his photographs taken in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

during the 1911

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

form part of the 'Historical Photographs of China' project and are held at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Early life

Wyatt-Smith was born in

Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is a Cotswold Hills, Cotswolds market town and a civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Est ...

on 3 April 1887 the son of Rev. WH Smith and Susannah (née Rice). He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Diplomatic service

In 1907 Wyatt-Smith entered the Consular Service in China. He was a

student interpreter Student interpreter was, historically, an entry-level position in the British and American diplomatic and consular service, principally in China, Japan, Siam and, in the case of the United States, Turkey. It is no longer used as a title. A number ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

(1907–09), and later witnessed the 1911 (Xinhai) Revolution; his photographs of the aftermath of that revolution form part of the 'Historical Photographs of China' project and are held at the University of Bristol. He was later student interpreter in Shanghai (1913–14) and

Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 20 ...

(1914–17), before being made acting

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

(1917–18) and later at

Wuzhou Wuzhou ( zh, s= , p=Wúzhōu, j=Ng⁴zau¹, postal: Wuchow; ), formerly Ngchow, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi ...

(1918–20). Wyatt-Smith was

Vice-Consul 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 ...

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

(1921), Shanghai (1922–23), Senior District Officer at

Weihaiwei Weihai ( zh, t=, p=Wēihǎi), formerly Weihaiwei ( zh, s=, p=Wēihǎiwèi, l=Mighty Sea Fort, first=t), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport city in the easternmost Shandong province of China. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow ...

(1923–25),

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

(1926–27) and Tengyue (1927–31). The American journalist

Edgar Snow Edgar Parks Snow (July 19, 1905 – February 15, 1972) was an American journalist known for his books and articles on communism in China and the Chinese Communist Revolution. He was the first Western journalist to give an account of the history of ...

stayed with Wyatt-Smith in Tengyue as relayed in Robert Farnsworth's book about Snow's time in Asia: 'Stanley Wyatt-Smith, the British consul, was a congenial and well-informed host'.

Lady Diana Cooper Diana Cooper, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English silent film actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she ...

described him as,'...delightful...His confidence and poise far exceeded any English Consuls I have seen'. After Tengyue, Wyatt-Smith was

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

(1931–32),

Niuzhuang Yingkou ( zh, s=, t=, p=Yíngkǒu) is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , a ...

(1933), Jinan (1933),

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

(1934–36) and Shantou (1937–38). In 1938 Smith was promoted to

(1938–42) until he was interned at

Santo Tomas Internment Camp Santo Tomas Internment Camp, also known as the Manila Internment Camp, was the largest of several camps in the Philippines in which the Japanese interned enemy civilians, mostly Americans, in World War II. The campus of the University of Santo T ...

by the Japanese military authorities on the occupation of

and repatriated in 1942. In 1943 he was made

until his retirement in 1945.

Family life

Wyatt-Smith married firstly Clara Mabel Smyth (one son and one daughter, his son killed on active service in 1945). He married secondly Beatrix, eldest daughter of Sir Francis Metford KCB OBE. He died in Burleigh, Stroud,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, on 17 November 1958.

External links

Wyatt-Smith, Stanley Collection, Historical Photographs of China Project

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Stanley Wyatt 1887 births 1958 deaths People educated at Bedford Modern School Alumni of King's College London British expatriates in China British expatriates in the Philippines British diplomats in China

Early life

Diplomatic service

Family life

Further reading

External links

References