Archie Lamb

Sir Albert Thomas (Archie) Lamb KBE CMG DFC (born 23 October 1921) is a British former ambassador, writer and former RAF fighter pilot. He served as British ambassador to Kuwait from 1974 to 1977, and to Norway from 1978 to 1980.

Sir Archie Lamb

KBE, CMG, DFC
British Ambassador to Norway
In office
1978–1980
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterJames Callaghan
Margaret Thatcher
Preceded byPeter Scott
Succeeded byDame Gillian Brown
British Ambassador to Kuwait
In office
1974–1977
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
James Callaghan
Preceded bySir John Wilton
Succeeded bySydney Cambridge
Personal details
Born
Albert Thomas Lamb

(1921-10-23) 23 October 1921
Swansea, Wales
EducationBishop Gore School
ProfessionDiplomat
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceRoyal Air Force
Years of service1941-1946
RankFlight Lieutenant
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Career

Albert Thomas Lamb was born in Britain on 23 October 1921, the son of R. S. Lamb and Violet Lamb (née Haynes). He was educated in Swansea at the Bishop Gore School. He joined the Foreign Office in 1938.

On the outbreak of World War II in 1939 he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, but was not called for service until 1941. He did pilot training in Southern Rhodesia; on his way back to Britain in SS Oronsay his ship was torpedoed and he spent nine days in a lifeboat before being rescued. Commissioned in 1941, he was promoted to flying officer (war-substantive) on 12 March 1943,[1] and to flight lieutenant (war-substantive) on 12 September 1944.[2] He flew combat missions in Hurricanes and Typhoons and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in January 1945.[3]

After the war Lamb returned to the Foreign Office and served at Rome, Genoa and Bucharest. He then studied Arabic at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies 1955–57 and subsequently served in Bahrain, as consul in Kuwait[4] and as political agent in Abu Dhabi. He served at the Foreign Office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) 1965–74, rising to assistant under-secretary, before being appointed ambassador to Kuwait 1974–77[5] and to Norway 1978–80.[6] Lamb found the Norwegian political establishment insular and unsympathetic to their NATO partners, who at the height of the Cold War, were concerned about Norway's vulnerable border with the Soviet Union. In his last diplomatic dispatch, Lamb says of the Norwegians "...you demand your allies' full support but restrict their ability to give it... 'All for Norway' is the Royal motto of the King of Norway; it sums up the Norwegian interpretation of the North Atlantic Alliance".[7]

After retiring from the Diplomatic Service, he became a director of the nationalised companies British National Oil Corporation, later privatised as Britoil, and British Shipbuilders.

Personal life

His daughter Kathryn Lamb is a cartoonist, illustrator and writer.[8]

Publications

  • A Long Way from Swansea: a memoir, 2003. Starborn Books. ISBN 1899530134
  • Abu Dhabi 1965–1968, 2003 Teapot Press.
  • The Last Voyage of SS Oronsay: A Questionable Venture, 2004 Starborn Books. ISBN 1899530185

Honours

Lamb was appointed MBE in 1953,[9] CMG in 1974[10] and knighted KBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1979.[11] He was made an honorary fellow of Swansea Metropolitan University in 2004.[12]

References

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Sir John Wilton
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Kuwait
1974–1977
Succeeded by
Sydney Cambridge
Preceded by
Sir Peter Scott
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Norway
1978–1980
Succeeded by
Dame Gillian Brown
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