Ronald Hugh Campbell

Sir Ronald Hugh Campbell GCMG PC (27 September 1883 – 15 November 1953) was a British diplomat who held several important positions at the Foreign Office including, from July 1939 to 22 June 1940, when the armistice between Germany and France was signed at Compiègne, that of British ambassador to France.^[1][2]

He was appointed British ambassador in Paris from the British Legation in Belgrade - a considerable jump in promotion and extremely rare in the diplomatic service. Such an important position is normally reserved for diplomats who have passed through several legations and other embassies. However, it was long recognized that Campbell possessed outstanding abilities. Following the fall of France in June 1940, he was evacuated through Saint-Jean-de-Luz on HMS Galatea (71)^[3] and returned to London. In November of the same year was transferred to Lisbon to act as British ambassador.^[4] He retired from the Foreign Office at the end of his period of service as British ambassador to Portugal in July 1945.^[5]

Further reading

• Leite, Joaquim da Costa. "Neutrality by Agreement: Portugal and the British Alliance in World War II" 14 (1). American University International Law Review: 185–199. Retrieved March 22, 2014.

Notes and Sources

1. ‘Campbell, Rt Hon. Sir Ronald Hugh’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 16 Nov 2008
2. John Balfour, ‘Campbell, Sir Ronald Hugh (1883–1953)’, rev. Anthony Adamthwaite, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 16 Nov 2008
3. "OPERATION AERIAL".
4. The Times, Wednesday, 17 November 1953; p. 9
5. John Balfour, ‘Campbell, Sir Ronald Hugh (1883–1953)’, rev. Anthony Adamthwaite, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 16 Nov 2008