Bernard Ledwidge

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sir Bernard Ledwidge

| birth_name = William Bernard John Ledwidge

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|11|09|df=y}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|02|20|1915|11|09|df=y}}

| birth_place = London, England

| death_place = London, England

| termend = 1975

| successor2 = Anthony Elliott

| predecessor2 = Sir David Scott Fox

| monarch2 = Elizabeth II

| termend2 = 1972

| termstart2 = 1969

| office2 = British Ambassador to Finland

| predecessor = Sir Ernest John Ward Barnes

| termstart = 1972

| successor = Anthony Elliott

| monarch = Elizabeth II

| office = British Ambassador to Israel

| alma_mater = King's College, Cambridge
Princeton University

| honorific_prefix =

| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCMG|size=100%}}

| spouse = {{unbulleted list|Anne Kingsley (1948–1970)|Flora Groult (1970–)}}

}}

Sir William Bernard John Ledwidge, {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCMG|size=100%}} (9 November 1915 – 20 February 1998) was a British diplomat and writer. Ledwidge served as the British Ambassador to Finland from 1969 to 1972 and the British Ambassador to Israel from 1972 to 1975. Ledwidge also served as the Chairman of the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF from 1976 to 1989.

Early life

William Bernard John Ledwidge was born on 9 November 1915 in London, United Kingdom to Charles Ledwidge and Eileen O'Sullivan.{{Cite web|date=1 December 2007|title=Ledwidge, Sir (William) Bernard (John)|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U179915|access-date=12 April 2021|website=Who's Who|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U179915}}{{Cite news|last=Campbell|first=Alan|date=22 October 2011|title=Obituary: Sir Bernard Ledwidge|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-bernard-ledwidge-1147018.html|access-date=12 April 2021}}

Ledwidge was educated at Cardinal Vaughan School, a Roman Catholic day school in Holland Park, London. Ledwidge also attended King's College, Cambridge and Princeton University. He spent time as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow from 1937 to 1939.

Career

Ledwidge joined the India Office in 1939 as an Assistant Principal.

= Military service =

Ledwidge fought in the Second World War, joining the Royal Artillery in India in 1940. He then joined the Indian Army in 1941, where he served until the end of the war in 1945.

Ledwidge was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1964.

= Diplomatic career =

Ledwidge pursued a career in international diplomacy. He worked as a diplomat in the United States, in Afghanistan and in Berlin. In 1966, he was appointed Minister at the British Embassy in Paris. He remained in this position until 1969.{{Cite news|last=Hoffman|first=Stanley|date=20 March 1983|title=DE GAULLE IN AN EPIC OF HIS OWN MAKING|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/20/books/de-gaulle-in-an-epic-of-his-own-making.html|access-date=18 April 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

= Ambassador to Finland =

Ledwidge was appointed the British Ambassador to Finland in 1969, succeeding Sir David Scott Fox.

Upon leaving this appointment in 1972, he is reported to have said "it could plausibly be argued that it is a misfortune for anybody but a Finn to spend three years in Finland, as I have just done".{{Cite news|date=25 September 2010|title=The parting shots of diplomats|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/asia-travel/china/the-parting-shots-of-diplomats-prbf5k6n3v5|access-date=12 April 2021}}

= Ambassador to Israel =

Ledwidge was appointed the British Ambassador to Israel in 1972, succeeding Anthony Elliott.

He was raised to a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1974.

On 15 June 1975, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Yigal Allon, summoned Ledwidge to raise concern over reports of impending Anglo-Egyptian arms deals.{{Cite news|date=16 June 1975|title=Allon Sees British Envoy over Arms Deal Report|work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|url=https://www.jta.org/1975/06/16/archive/allon-sees-british-envoy-over-arms-deal-report|access-date=12 April 2021}}

He left this appointment in 1975.

He was then Chairman of the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF from 1976 to 1989.

= Writing =

Ledwidge published his first book, a novel based on his experience in India, called "Frontiers" in 1979.

In 1983, he published a biography of Charles de Gaulle. Critics noted the author's admiration for the French statesman. A French translation of this book was published the following year.{{cite journal |last=Stuart|first=Douglas T.|date=Spring 1994|title=Can Europe Survive Maastricht?|publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11252|pages=53-80 |journal=Daedalus |volume=123 |issue=2}}

Death

Ledwidge died on 20 February 1998 in London, United Kingdom.

Personal life

Ledwidge married his first wife, Anne Kingsley, in 1948. They had two children together, a son and a daughter. The marriage was dissolved in 1970. He married his second wife, Flora Groult, in 1970. He was a member of the Travellers Club and the Marylebone Cricket Club.