Howard William Kennard
Sir Howard William Kennard GCMG, CVO (23 March 1878 – 12 November 1955) was a British diplomat.
Howard William Kennard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 23 March 1878 Brighton |
| Died | 12 November 1955 (aged 77) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | British diplomat |
Early life
Kennard was born on 23 March 1878 in Brighton, the son of Arthur Challis Kennard and Anne Homan Mulock, and educated at Wixenford School[1] and Eton College.[2]
In Poland
He was a British Chargé d'affaires, and subsequently Ambassador to Poland until 1939. Pro-Polish, he nevertheless urged Poland to negotiate moderation with Germany. During the Czech crisis he briefed Viscount Halifax on 10 September 1938 pointing out that "the Poles, especially the ruling classes, do not feel the same horror of Nazism as is felt in democratic countries...among the peasants there is a dislike of Jews which counterbalances the disgust with which other countries regard the manifestations of German anti-Semitism," and that there was a great dislike by Poland towards the Czechs. He made it clear to London, who were then in negotiations with the Soviet Union for a defensive alliance, that Russia was "violently disliked and distrusted in Poland" and that any kind of transit, on land or by air to Czecho-Slovakia over Polish territory would be resisted by force of arms.[3] In March the following year he gave his support to the Anglo-Polish defensive guarantee which ultimately caused the Second World War. He became ambassador to the Polish government-in-exile until 1941.[4] and was also ambassador to Switzerland and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[5][6]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Alban Young |
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes 1925 – 1929 |
Succeeded by Neville Meyrick Henderson |
| Preceded by Claud Russell |
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation 1931 – 1935 |
Succeeded by George Warner |
| Preceded by William Erskine |
Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Poland 1937 – 1941 |
Succeeded by Sir Cecil Dormer |
References
- 'Howard William Kennard (1878–1955)' in Frank C. Roberts, ed., Obituaries from the Times (1951), p. 410
- Bewley 1905, pp. 25-26
- Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939 edited by Professor E.L.Woodward, M.A.,F.B.A., Rohan Butler, M.A., and Margaret Lambert, PhD., HMSO, London, 1949, Third Series, vol.ii, p.287-8.
- Mullock-Morgans, Robert; Hughes-Mullock, Robert (2010-11-17). "The Irish Bomfords 1617 to the Present". Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- "No. 33735". The London Gazette. 14 July 1931. p. 4626.
- "No. 33054". The London Gazette. 5 June 1925. p. 3788.
Bibliography
- The Story of Mulock: The Pedigree of the Mulock Family of Ireland by Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley (Ponsonby & Gibbs, 1905)
- By Virtue & Faith: A History of the Mulock & Mullock Families by Robert Hughes-Mullock FRAS (2012)