George William Rendel

Sir George William Rendel (1889-6 May 1979) was a British diplomat. Eid Al Yahya, "Travellers in Arabia", (Stacey International, 2006). ISBN 9780955219313]

Rendel, the son of the engineer George Wightwick Rendel was educated at Downside School and at Queen's College, Oxford, graduating in Modern History in 1911.

He then entered the Diplomatic Service. He was head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office, 1930-1938. In 1937 he and his wife Geraldine (1884-1965) crossed Arabia. His wife, Geraldine, was the first European woman to be received for dinner at the royal palace in Riyadh.

Rendel said of Riyadh:

":"...it was a revelation to me of how fine in line and proportion modern Arabian architecture can be."

He had two daughters, Ann and Rosemary.

He was ambassador to the Yugoslav Government in London, 1941-1943, knighted in 1943, and Ambassador to Belgium, between 1947-1950.

Whilst Rendel was His Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Bulgaria, The United Kingdom broke off diplomatic relations as the country was now under the control of the Nazis. It fell to Rendel to take his staff of 50 by train to Istanbul, in Turkey. His party was caught in a huge bomb explosion at the Pera Palace Hotel. Rendel was upstairs when the bomb in the baggage room exploded with devastating consequences. His daughter Ann, then 21 and acting as Legation Hostess, was knocked down and slightly injured. In all there were four deaths and 30 injured. It was later claimed by the Germans that various bombs had been placed in the Legation's luggage before it left Sofia. Time. Monday, Mar. 24, 1941. "Bombs in the Baggage Room" [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884300-2,00.html] ]

Rendel also served on various UN committees. Though officially retired, he continued to be employed by the Foreign Office until 1964. His 1957-published memoirs are entitled "The Sword and the Olive".

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