Percy Loraine
Handwritten letter England/Turkey Sir Percy Lyham Loraine, 12th Baronet, GCMG, PC (5 November 1880 - 23 May 1961) was a British diplomat. Educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford, Loraine fought in the Second Boer War in Southern Africa. In 1904, he joined the foreign service. He first served in the Middle East, at the British missions in Istanbul and Tehran, where he was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 1921-26, before being posted in Rome, Beijing, Paris and Madrid. He took part in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference which was held following the end of World War I, before being sent as minister in Tehran and then Athens. In 1929, he was appointed as High Commissioner for Egypt and the Sudan. However, his policy of allowing King Fuad I to control the government led to his removal in 1933. He became close to Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk while serving in Ankara, which improved the relations between the two countries. While ambassador, Loraine visited Ataturk on his deathbed and later gave a BBC broadcast paying tribute to Ataturk on the 10th anniversary of his death. He was the last British ambassador to Italy before the start of World War II. Loraine was reputedly nicknamed 'pompous Percy' by his staff. Winston Churchill did not seek his advice on Middle Eastern matters during the war, and he retired from public life. Sir Percy's friends included Gertrude Bell, fellow diplomat Sir Lancelot Oliphant, and Sir Arnold Wilson. He took an interest in horse racing and thoroughbred horse breeding. Sir Percy died childless and the Baronetcy died with him
Manuscript, English, 1939
1939