William Seeds

Sir William Seeds KCMG (1882–1973) was a British diplomat. He served as Ambassador to both Russia and Brazil.

Sir William Seeds KCMG
Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office 1939–1940
Monarch	George VI
Preceded by	Viscount Chilston
Succeeded by	Sir Stafford Cripps
Personal details
Born	27 June 1882 (1882-06-27) Dublin
Died	2 November 1973 (1973-11-03) London
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Arabella, Lady Seeds (d.1979)
Alma mater	Rugby

Background and education

Sir William Seeds was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 27 June 1882, to an Ulster Protestant family. He was the only son of Lady Kaye and Robert Seeds QC, the Queen's Advocate General. He was educated at Rugby and was proficient in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. In his late teens he spent two years (1899–1901) in Russia as a student living with several Russian families and studying the culture and language and grew to love "the real old Russia like a story or play by Chekhov"^[1] On his return from Russia he studied in London to enter the diplomatic service whilst fully enjoying the many entertainments that Edwardian London nightlife had to offer. He refers to his early years as the "prehistoric years" in his diaries.

Diplomatic career

Sir William entered the British Diplomatic Service in 1904 and served in Washington,USA, (1904–07), at the British Legation at Peking, (1908 -9) Stockholm (1910) and at the British Embassy in Athens, Greece (1911–13). He was Chargé d'Affaires and British Consulate General in Lisbon, Portugal (1913–1919) and Chargé d'Affaires and First Secretary in Berlin in 1919. He was appointed Consul General for Bavaria in November 1920^[2] and transferred to Munich. He was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Colombia in Bogota from 1923 to 1925 ^[3] and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of Venezuela in Caracas, from 1925– 1926.^[4] In 1926–28 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General to the Republic of Albania ^[5] under the rule of King Zog^[6] In 1928 he became British High Commissioner for the Rhineland in Coblenz and during his tenure of the post was mainly occupied in the arrangements for the evacuation. Two years later he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) by King George V. Sir William served as Ambassador to Brazil 1930–35^[7] His final and most controversial^[8] diplomatic post before retirement was as Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1939–40.^[9][10]

A tall and handsome man who charmed the ladies, Sir William was nevertheless known “not to suffer fools gladly, nor always sufficiently restrain his brilliant wit”^[11]

Family

He married Arabella Agnes Muriel Butler^[12] (1883–1979) on 17 November 1911. They had three sons and one daughter. Their daughter Sheila, then married to Sir John Fisher Wentworth Dilke, worked at MI5 headquarters in HMP Wormwood Scrubs during the war years. Their middle son, Hugh, initially joined the Navy then became a conscientious objector and emigrated to New Zealand after the war. Their eldest son, Professor Robert Seeds (1914–1991), lost his left hand in 1941 whilst detonating a bomb for the British Secret Service. Their youngest son, James, joined the RAF and was killed in action in 1940 at the age of 20.

Death and Legacy

Sir William died peacefully in his home in St. John's Wood, London at the age of 91 on 2 November 1973^[13] and was buried in the Seeds family graveyard in Derriaghy, Lisburn Northern Ireland^[14] A collector of Chinese and Russian artworks, Sir William bequeathed a Carl Fabergé gold, enamel and diamond presentation box to the Victoria and Albert Museum^[15] where it is on display (room 91, case 56,) to whom he had also intended to bequeath his collection of 10 Fabergé hardstone figurines who he called “my little men”. A year before his death Sir Wlliam was persuaded to sell the collection to the art dealers Wartski’s, on the “gentleman’s agreement “ and understanding that they would be kept together as a collection. However the “little men” were sadly soon separated and resold singly.^[16] Sir William’s papers, diaries and documents are kept by his granddaughter, Corinna Seeds,^[17] on the island of Hydra in Greece and may be viewed and referenced by historians on request.

References