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Douglas Busk

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Douglas Busk
Sir Douglas Laird Busk in 1960 (by Walter Bird, National Portraits Gallery: NPG x166281)
Born(1906-07-15)15 July 1906
London
Died11 December 1990(1990-12-11) (aged 84)
Chilbolton, Hampshire
NationalityBritish
Alma materNew College, Oxford
Occupation(s)diplomat, mountaineer and geographer
HonoursKCMG

Douglas Laird Busk KCMG (1906–1990) was a British diplomat, mountaineer and geographer.[1][2]

Personal life

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Busk was born in London[3] on 15 July 1906 and educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, also spending some time at Princeton University.[1] He married Bridget Hemsley Thompson in 1937, and they had two daughters. She was an artist and her line drawings illustrate his books The Delectable Mountains[4] and The Fountain of the Sun . He died on 11 December 1990, aged 84, at Chilbolton.[2][1]

Diplomatic career

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Busk joined the diplomatic service in 1927 and served in countries including Iran, Hungary, Japan and Turkey. Busk served in Iraq from 1946-1948, he was acting head of mission from late 1947- early 1948 because the Ambassador was unwell, this meant that he had responsibility for the Baghdad side of UK-Iraq relations which included the Iraqi monarch's plans to renew the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930, an intention which led to the Al-Wathbah uprising.[5]

He served as Britain's ambassador to Ethiopia (1952–1956), Finland (1958–1960) and Venezuela (1961–1964).[2]

Mountaineering

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Busk was a notable mountaineer, gaining membership of the Alpine Club while an undergraduate, after making the first winter ascent of the north face of Pic du Midi d'Ossau.[1] During each diplomatic posting he found time to explore some of the 'local' mountaineering challenges. He recounted some of his mountain activities in Iran in the Alpine Journal[6] and also those in Ethiopia, including the Batu Range which, as far as Busk could ascertain, had not previously been visited by any European party.[7] Whilst stationed in Ethiopia he travelled by road from Addis Ababa to the Ruwenzori Mountains where, with Arthur Firmin, he climbed two previously unidentified peaks on the south ridge of Mount Stanley.[8] Whilst in Venezuela in the early 1960s, he made regular visits to the Sierra Nevada de Mérida and one of his visits there resulted in the first ascents of the rock spire of El Vertigo and of the south-west face of El Abanic, one member of that party was George Band who had made the first ascent of Kangchenjunga.[1][9] It was not unknown for Busk to recruit mountaineers passing through his postings to join him on such excursions.[10]

His obituary in The Times said that his "greatest contribution" was his work as chairman of the library of the Alpine Club, culminating in the production of a 600-page catalogue and the 1981 exhibition "The Treasures of the Alpine Club".[2]

Recognition

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Busk was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1959 Birthday Honours.[11]

The Royal Geographical Society, of which he was honorary vice-president, awards an annual Busk Medal named in his honour.[12]

Selected publications

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  • Busk, Douglas (1946). The Delectable Mountains: illustrated by 43 of the author's own photographs and with maps by the author; the sketches by Bridget Busk. Hodder & Stoughton.
  • Busk, Douglas (1957). The Fountain of the Sun. Unfinished journeys in Ethiopia and the Ruwenzoi. Max Parrish.
  • Busk, Douglas (1965). The curse of tongues. Pall Mall Press.
  • Busk, Douglas (1967). The craft of diplomacy : how to run a diplomatic service. Praeger Press.
  • Busk, Douglas (1967). The craft of diplomacy : mechanics and development of national representation overseas. Pall Mall Press.
  • Busk, Douglas; Devies, Lucien; Germain, Félix; Germain, Jeanne; Busk, Bridget (1974). Armand Charlet: portrait d'un guide. Grenoble: Arthaud. ISBN 2700300599. On Armand Charlet

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Band, George; Peck, Edward (1991). "Obituary: Sir Douglas Busk, KCMG 1906-1990". The Geographical Journal. 157 (2): 242–244. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 635315.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sir Douglas Busk (obituary)". The Times. 20 December 1990. p. 12.
  3. ^ "Index entry: Busk". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  4. ^ Busk, Douglas (1946). The Delectable Mountains. Hodder & Stoughton.
  5. ^ Louis, William Roger (1984). The British Empire in the Middle East, 1945-51: Arab Nationalism, the United States and Postwar Imperialism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198224891. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  6. ^ Busk, Douglas (1935). "Climbing in the Takht-i-Suleiman Group, N. Persia" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #47: 299–310. ISSN 0065-6569. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  7. ^ Busk, Douglas (1956). "The Simien and Batu Ranges in Ethiopia" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #61: 344–347. ISSN 0065-6569. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  8. ^ Busk, Douglas (1957). The Fountain of the Sun. Unfinished journeys in Ethiopia and the Ruwenzoi. Max Parrish. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  9. ^ Busk, Douglas (1962). "The Sierra Nevada de Mérida" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #67: 280–190. ISSN 0065-6569. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  10. ^ Band, George (1990). "Valedictory Address" (PDF). Alpine Journal. #95 (339): 1–10. ISSN 0065-6569. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  11. ^ "No. 41727". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1959. p. 3701.
  12. ^ "A history of the Society's medals and awards". Royal Geographical Society. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
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