| Reader Bullard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Reader William Bullard 5 December 1885 Walthamstow, Essex, England |
| Died | 24 May 1976 (aged 90) Wantage, Oxfordshire, England |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Diplomat and author |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael & St George Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire |
Sir Reader William Bullard KCB KCMG CIE (5 December 1885 – 24 May 1976) was a British diplomat and author.[1]
Reader Bullard was born in Walthamstow, the son of Charles, a dock labourer, and Mary Bullard. He was educated at the Drapers' School, Walthamstow, northeast London, and spent two years studying at Queens' College, Cambridge.[2] entered the Levant (Western Asia) Consular Service in 1906. He held various diplomatic positions during his career:[3]
In 1951, Bullard became Director of the Institute of Colonial Studies in Oxford.[4] In 1953, he became a member of the governing body of School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Bullard was appointed Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1916, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1933, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1936, and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1944.[2] He was an Honorary Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge, SOAS in London, and Lincoln College, Oxford.
In 1921, Reader Bullard married Miriam Catherine (Biddy), née Smith, daughter of the historian Arthur Lionel Smith, Master of Balliol College, Oxford.[4] They had four sons and one daughter, including the diplomats Sir Giles Bullard (1926–1992) and Sir Julian Bullard (1928–2006).
Bullard retired in 1946. Towards the end of his life he lived in Plantation Road, North Oxford, England.[5] Bullard's papers have been archived by St Antony's College, Oxford.[3]
Bullard published a number of books,[6] including Britain and the Middle East (1951) and his autobiography The Camels Must Go: An Autobiography (Faber, 1961). The diaries that he kept during his time in the Soviet Union were published posthumously, under the title Inside Stalin's Russia (Day Books, 2000).