Francis Oswald Lindley
Sir Francis Oswald Lindley (12 June 1872 – 17 August 1950) was a British diplomat who was HM Consul-General in Russia in 1919, British High Commissioner in Vienna 1919–1920, Ambassador to Austria 1920–1921, Ambassador to Greece 1922–1923, Minister in Oslo 1923–1929, Ambassador to Portugal 1929–1931, and finally Ambassador to Japan 1931–1934. Lindley was described as "a rather tough old character in some respects and very outspoken in his likes and dislikes." Early life. Lindley was born on 12 June 1872 at The Lodge, East Carleton, Norwich in the county of Norfolk. He was the fourth son of  nine children born to Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley, an English judge who served as Master of the Rolls and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (and namesake of Mount Lindley in Antarctica), and Sarah Katharine Teale, daughter of Edward John Teale of Leeds. His paternal grandparents were John Lindley, a botanist and orchidologist, and Sarah (née Freestone) Lindley, a descendant of Sir Edward Coke. He was educated at Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford. Career. Lindley became an Attaché in 1896 and a Clerk at the Foreign Office in 1897. He was appointed Acting Third Secretary in Vienna in 1899, and  served in Tehran from 1900 to 1901. Promoted Second Secretary in the Diplomatic Service in October 1902, before serving the Egyptian Government from 1902 to 1904, he was next in HM Agency in Cairo for two years, then in Tokyo from 1906 to 1908, returning to London for a home posting in the Foreign Office, 1908–1909. He was promoted First Secretary in the Diplomatic Service in 1909 and served in Sofia, 1909–1911, Christiania, 1912, and as Counsellor of the British Embassy at Petrograd, 1915. More senior postings came after the Great War. Lindley was appointed H.M. Commissioner in Russia in  June 1918 and H.M. Consul-General there in 1919, where "he earned the respect of the Bolsheviks." Lindley served as High Commissioner in Vienna from 1919 to 1920. He succeeded Sir Maurice de Bunsen as the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Austria, serving between 1920 and 1921, and then succeeded Granville Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville as the Ambassador to Greece between 1921 and 1922, until a break in diplomatic relations in 1922. Beginning in 1923, he succeeded Sir Mansfeldt Findlay as the Minister to Norway in Oslo. In 1929, he succeeded Sir Colville Barclay as  the Ambassador to Portugal, serving until 1931. His final diplomatic post was as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Japan from 1931 to 1934 during the reign of Emperor Hirohito. While in Japan, he did not live in the Ambassador's residence, which was still being reconstructed after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, but at the embassy house in Chuzenji. Lindley had his final audience as Ambassador with George V on 2 June 1934. Later life. From 1935 to 1949, he was the chairman of the Council of the Japan Society of London. In retirement, Lindley lived at The Weir  House, Alresford, Hampshire, and in 1934 was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the county. He belonged to the Turf Club and Brooks's. He was an official Verderer of the New Forest from 1943. In 1947, he published an autobiography entitled "A Diplomat Off Duty". Personal life. In 1903, Lindley married Etheldreda Mary Fraser (1872–1949), third daughter of Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat. Her elder brother was Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat and among her younger siblings was Alastair Thomas Joseph Fraser (who married Lady Sybil Grimston, daughter of James Grimston, 3rd Earl of Verulam) and Margaret May  Fraser (who married Brig-Gen Archibald Stirling, son of Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet). They had four daughters, all of whom had prominent marriages: Lindley's wife died in 1949 and he died on 17 August 1950. Descendants. Through his daughter Brigid, he was the grandfather of seven, including: Through his daughter Mary he was the grandfather of: Both Sir Henry and Sir Chips served as chairman of Jardine Matheson Holdings. Through his daughter Sarah, he was the grandfather of: Combined English Universities. 1937 Combined English Universities by-election