| Wyndham Henry Deedes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 March 1883 Kent, England |
| Died | 2 September 1956 (aged 73) Kent, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars |
World War I
|
| Awards | Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order |
| Relations | William Deedes |
| Other work | Councillor Social worker |
Sir Wyndham Henry Deedes[1] CMG DSO[2](10 March 1883 – 2 September 1956)[3] was a British Brigadier General and was also the Chief secretary to the British High Commissioner of the British Mandate of Palestine.
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Deedes was born in 1893 in Kent, England. He was the son of East Kent gentry, Colonel Herbert George Deedes and Rose Elinor Barrow,[3] whose family had owned the land between Hythe and Ashford for four centuries.[4]
He was educated at Eton College, Eton, Berkshire.[3]
Once Deedes had joined the army, his first posting was as Aide-de-camp to the Governor of Malta.[4] On 22 January 1906, Deedes was promoted to Lieutenant and seconded to the Colonial Office.[5] During this time he learned Turkish. By 1910 he had enough of a command of the language to satisfy a posting to Constantinople.[4] On 8 May 1910, Deedes was seconded for service under the Foreign Office.[6]
During World War I, Deedes saw service in Gallipoli, where he took part in the Gallipoli Campaign.[4] In 1915, he was a Captain in The King's Royal Rifle Corps.[7] On 27 April 1915, Captain Deedes was appointed as a General Staff Officer (2nd Class).[8] Deedes was promoted to Major on 14 September 1916.[9] On 21 March 1917, Deedes was promoted to temporary Lieutenant Colonel upon appointment as a General Staff Officer (1st Class) in the General Staff.[10] On 3 June 1917, Deedes was awarded the rank of Brevet Colonel "for distinguished service in the Field".[11]
After the war he was posted to Istanbul, Turkey, as a military attaché. He was posted to Cairo, Egypt, which was at that time a British protectorate, as public security director.[12] Here he helped to set up the Palestine Police Force.[13]
From 1920 to 1922, Deedes served as chief secretary to the then British High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel in Palestine.[12] Palestine was then under British mandate following the League of Nations decision in 1920 to hand it over to Britain control from 1923 onwards. Although Deedes had pro-Zionist sympathies, he played an active part in promoting the Supreme Muslim Council as an Arab counterweight to the Jewish Agency.[12] He retired from the British Army on 27 June 1923, with the honorary rank of Brigadier General.[14] Upon returning to England, he did not take up his heritage as a country squire, but moved to London and chose to do unpaid social work in one of the poorest quarters of the city.[4]
Between 1931 and the end of World War II in 1945, Wyndham shared a house in Bethnal Green with his nephew William Deedes. During this time Sir Wyndham became a local councillor, served on the education committee and became chairman of the London Council of Social Service.[4] He was also vice chairman of the National Council of Social Services.[15]
When the London Turkish House (Halkevi) was set up during World War II to help foster Anglo-Turkish relations, Deedes was its Chairman, with Lady Dorina Neave in charge of its social side.[16] During the War, Deedes also became chief Air Raid Warden of his borough.[4]
In 1949, one year after the state of Israel was formed, Deedes set up the Anglo-Israel Association.[17][18]
In 1946, severe illness forced him to retire from his work in the London East End. He returned to Hythe to live his years in a single room.[4] He died in 1956.[3]
Deedes was a strict Christian.[18] He never married nor had any children.[3] His older brother, Herbert William Deedes (born 27 October 1881), married Melesina Gladys Chenevix Trench on 3 July 1912. They had three children, with one of whom, William Deedes, Sir Wyndham shared a home from 1931 to 1939.[4]
Deedes translated three major Turkish literary works into English: two novels by Reşat Nuri Güntekin and a memoir by Mahmut Makal:[19]