# Samuel Falle

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{{Short description|British diplomat (1919–2014)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
'''Sir Samuel Falle''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|KCMG|KCVO|DSC}} (19 February 1919 – 20 February 2014)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fcoa.org.uk/requi |title=Requiem |publisher=Fcoa.org.uk |accessdate=2014-03-31 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407045246/http://www.fcoa.org.uk/requi |archivedate=7 April 2014 }}</ref> was a British diplomat and decorated Royal Navy officer. He served as Ambassador to Kuwait and Sweden, and High Commissioner to Singapore and Nigeria.

==Career==
Falle was educated at [Victoria College, Jersey](/source/Victoria_College%2C_Jersey). He served in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) 1937–48 and was awarded the [Distinguished Service Cross](/source/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_Kingdom)) "for gallantry in the face of overwhelming odds whilst serving in {{HMS|Encounter|H10|6}} during her last action in the Java Sea on 1st March, 1942".<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37448 |supp=y |page=719 |date=25 January 1946}}</ref>

''Encounter'', a destroyer, had taken part in the [Second Battle of the Java Sea](/source/Second_Battle_of_the_Java_Sea), suffered major damage and was scuttled by her crew. They were subsequently rescued by the [Imperial Japanese Navy](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Navy) destroyer [''Ikazuchi''](/source/Japanese_destroyer_Ikazuchi_(1931)) commanded by [Shunsaku Kudō](/source/Shunsaku_Kud%C5%8D). Falle spent the next three and a half years as a prisoner of war.

Falle joined the [Foreign Service](/source/Her_Majesty's_Diplomatic_Service) in 1948<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=39451 |page=579 |date=29 January 1952}}</ref> and served at [Shiraz](/source/Shiraz), Tehran, Beirut and Baghdad. He was [Consul-General](/source/Consul-General) at Gothenburg 1961–63, head of the [UN](/source/United_Nations) department at the [Foreign Office](/source/Foreign_Office) 1963–67 and accompanied [Lord Shackleton](/source/Edward_Shackleton%2C_Baron_Shackleton) on a mission to [Aden](/source/Aden) in 1967. He was deputy [High Commissioner](/source/High_Commissioner_(Commonwealth)) at Kuala Lumpur 1967–69, [ambassador](/source/ambassador) to Kuwait 1969–70,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=44798 |page=2175 |date=27 February 1969}}</ref> High Commissioner to Singapore 1970–74, ambassador to Sweden 1974–77,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=46357 |page=8113 |date=1 October 1974}}</ref> and High Commissioner to Nigeria 1977–78. He then retired from the Diplomatic Service and joined the [European Commission](/source/European_Commission), becoming EC delegate to Algeria 1979–82, then working as a consultant on development aid in Africa including evaluation of [EEC](/source/European_Economic_Community) aid to [Zambia](/source/Zambia) 1983–84, and Swedish aid to [Swaziland](/source/Swaziland) in 1986.

Falle was appointed a Companion of the [Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) (CMG) in the [1964 Birthday Honours](/source/1964_Birthday_Honours) of 1964,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=43343 |supp=y |page=4941 |date=13 June 1964}}</ref> appointed a Knight Commander of the [Royal Victorian Order](/source/Royal_Victorian_Order) (KCVO) in 1972<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=45667 |page=5535 |date=9 May 1972}}</ref> and promoted to the additional knighthood of Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the [1979 New Year Honours](/source/1979_New_Year_Honours).<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=47723 |supp=y |page=3 |date=30 December 1978}}</ref> The [King of Sweden](/source/Carl_XVI_Gustaf_of_Sweden) made him a Commander Grand Cross of the [Order of the Polar Star](/source/Order_of_the_Polar_Star) in 1975.

Falle sought out the location of the grave of [Shunsaku Kudō](/source/Shunsaku_Kud%C5%8D), to whom he held enormous gratitude for rescuing him during the [Second Battle of the Java Sea](/source/Second_Battle_of_the_Java_Sea), and visited there on 7 December 2008. Kudo was such a humble man that his family came to know of his deed for the first time when Falle visited them.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2008/12/17/japanese_war_ambassador_feature.shtml Officer tells of extraordinary rescue], BBC Somerset, 18 December 2008</ref>

==Publications==
*''My Lucky Life : In War, Revolution, Peace and Diplomacy'' (autobiography), Book Guild, Lewes, 1996. {{ISBN|1857761219}}

==References==
*[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U15417 FALLE, Sir Sam], ''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.thetimes.com/article/sir-sam-falle-fzbdd5fkscd Sir Sam Falle] (obituary), ''The Times'', London, 28 April 2014
* {{Cite web |title=Interview with Samuel Falle |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80023586|date=2003-08-04 |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=[Imperial War Museum](/source/Imperial_War_Museum) |language=en}} A 2½-hour oral history interview about Falle's naval career and experience as a prisoner of war.

{{S-start}}
{{S-dip}}
{{S-bef |before=[Geoffrey Arthur](/source/Geoffrey_Arthur)}}
{{S-ttl |title=[Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Kuwait](/source/List_of_Ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_Kuwait) |years=1969–1970}}
{{S-aft |after=[Sir John Wilton](/source/John_Wilton_(British_diplomat))}}
{{S-bef |before=[Sir Arthur de la Mare](/source/Arthur_de_la_Mare)}}
{{S-ttl |title=[High Commissioner to Singapore](/source/List_of_High_Commissioners_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_Singapore) |years=1970–1974}}
{{S-aft |after=[Peter Tripp](/source/Peter_Tripp_(diplomat))}}
{{S-bef |before=Sir [Guy Millard](/source/Guy_Millard)}}
{{S-ttl |title=[Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Stockholm](/source/List_of_Ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_Sweden) |years=1974–1977}}
{{S-aft |after=[Sir Jeffrey Petersen](/source/Jeffrey_Charles_Petersen)}}
{{S-bef |before=[Sir Martin Le Quesne](/source/Martin_Le_Quesne)}}
{{S-ttl |title=[High Commissioner to Nigeria](/source/List_of_High_Commissioners_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_Nigeria) |years=1977–1978}}
{{S-aft |after=Sir [Mervyn Brown](/source/Mervyn_Brown)}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falle, Sam}}
Category:1919 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:People educated at Victoria College, Jersey
Category:British World War II prisoners of war
Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Japan
Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II
Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Kuwait
Category:High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Singapore
Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Sweden
Category:High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Nigeria
Category:Civil servants of the European Union
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
Category:Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
Category:British officials of the European Union

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Samuel Falle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Falle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Falle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.