Basil Gould

Known as "B.J.", Gould was born in Worcester Park, Surrey, to Charles and Mary Ellen Gould.1901 England Census He was educated at Winchester College and Oxford University. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1907.Sir Basil Gould, The Jewel in the Lotus, Chatto & Windus 1957 p.3"Obituary: Sir Basil Gould, C. M. G., C. I. E.", F. M. Bailey, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 123, No. 2 (Jun. 1957), pp. 280–281.

Gould was a British Trade Agent in Gyantse, Tibet from 1912 to 1913.Gould also visited Tibet in 1936, 1940 and 1941.[https://books.google.com/books?id=LW9QAC-aPFYC&dq=basil+gould&pg=PA178 Tibetan Histories: A Bibliography of Tibetan-Language Historical Works], Dan Martin, with contributor Michael Aris, Serindia Publications, 1997, {{ISBN|0-906026-43-1}} In 1912, the 13th Dalai Lama asked that some "energetic and clever sons of respectable families" should be given "world-class educations at Oxford College, London". The Indian government decided that Gould, who was about to go on leave back to England, should guide the four young boys (known as the "Four Rugby Boys") on their journey to the United Kingdom and assist them during their first few weeks in England in April 1913.[https://books.google.com/books?id=3BPsOQe654IC&dq=basil+gould&pg=PA325 The History of Tibet], Alex Mackay, Routledge, 2003, {{ISBN|0-7007-1508-8}}

Gould married Lorraine Macdonald Kebbell (1898–1935) when back in England on leave from India on 14 September 1921. They had two sons.[https://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/mec/MEChandlists/GB165-0407-Lorraine-Gould-Collection.pdf Lorraine Gould Collection], Lorraine Macdonald Gould, Reference code: GB165-0407, Dates of creation of material: 19–25 Dec 1928, [http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/mec/ Middle East Centre], St Antony's College, Oxford.

In 1926 Gould was posted to the British Legation in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was subsequently assigned to Kurrum, Malakand and Waziristan and finally in 1933 to Baluchistan. His wife Lorraine died in Baluchistan in 1935.

In August 1936, Gould led a delegation to Lhasa to negotiate with the Tibetan government on the possibility of the 9th Panchen Lama's return to Tibet. Gould also discussed British military aid to Lhasa. Gould inquired about the creation of a British office in Lhasa, but the Tibetan government rejected this. Gould eventually departed Lhasa, but left behind his commercial representative, Hugh Richardson, who had been previously stationed in Gyantse. Richardson was equipped with a radio so Richardson could maintain contact with the British.[http://www.china.org.cn/ch-xizang/tibet/historical_status/english/e0608.html (8) The Demise of the 13th Dalai Lama and Huang Musong's Entry Into Tibet] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050107101909/http://www.china.org.cn/ch-xizang/tibet/historical_status/english/e0608.html |date=7 January 2005 }}, Wang Jiawei and Nyima Gyaincain, Chapter VI: Tibet is Not an Independent Political Entity During the Period of the Republic of China, in The Historical Status of China's Tibet, China Intercontinental Press, 1997.

Gould married his second wife Cecily, the daughter of Colonel C. H. Brent-Good, of Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. Gould had one son with Cecily. Gould made some amateur films in Tibet in 1936–41 which are preserved by the British Film Institute.[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/introduction-bfi-collections/bfi-mediatheques/great-british-home-movie#:~:text=Sir%20Basil%20Gould%E2%80%99s%20Films%20of%20Tibet%20%281936-41%29%20Remarkable,recording%20the%20magic%20of%20the%20Festival%20of%20Britain. The Great British Home Movie ]; British Film Institute, Mediatheque

In 1940, Gould attended the installation ceremonies of the 14th Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet.

[https://books.google.com/books?id=CRhz9S2mf3wC&dq=basil+gould&pg=PA3 Seeing Lhasa: British Depictions of the Tibetan Capital, 1936–1947], Clare Harris, Tsering Shakya,

Serindia Publications, 2003. Gould brought a gift of a Meccano set for the young Tenzin Gyatso.[https://books.google.com/books?id=aysDzErFH3sC&dq=basil+gould+1941&pg=PA101 Kundun: A Biography of the Family of the Dalai Lama], Mary Craig, Counterpoint Press, 1998, {{ISBN|1-887178-91-0}} In 1941, Gould was knighted by King George VI. In 1945, the British Mission under Gould helped to start a school in Lhasa, but it was soon closed under pressure from Tibetan religious authorities.

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080516201958/http://herold-ny.com/tibet/chron.htm Tibet and the United States of America: An Annotated Chronology of Relations Since 1900], Ken Herold.

He died in Yarmouth in 1956, two days before his 76th birthday.

• The jewel in the lotus: Recollections of an Indian political, Basil John Gould, Chatto & Windus, 1957.
• Tibetan language records, Basil Gould, Tharchin, 1949.
• Tibetan Word Book, Sir Basil Gould, C.M.G., C.I.E., and Hugh Edward Richardson, Oxford University Press, 1943.
• Report on the Discovery, Recognition and Installation of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, B. J. Gould, New Delhi, 1941.
• The Discovery of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, B. J. Gould, The Geographical Magazine, volume 19, October 1946, p. 246–258.

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Category:1883 births

Category:1956 deaths

Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers

Category:Indian Political Service officers

Category:People educated at Winchester College

Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford

Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire

Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George

Category:Knights Bachelor