62 Facts About Peter Penfold

Peter Penfold's career began in 1963, when he joined the Foreign Service as a clerical officer.

From 1970 to 1972, Penfold served as a "floater" in Latin America, filling in as necessary for staff at British missions in the region.

Peter Penfold served in Mexico during the 1970 football world cup, and on St Vincent, where he was responsible for organising an evacuation after a volcanic eruption.

Peter Penfold earned early promotion to second secretary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was responsible for reporting on the Organisation of African Unity and the Eritrean War of Independence and was still in the country during the revolution, in which the pro-Western emperor was overthrown.

Two months later, Obote was overthrown in a coup, after which Peter Penfold led an evacuation of foreign citizens to Kenya.

The high commission remained open, and Peter Penfold was still present six months later when a second coup took place.

The main issues of Peter Penfold's tenure were the establishment of the territory as an offshore financial centre and the smuggling of drugs through its waters until the sudden death of the chief minister.

Peter Penfold resolved the subsequent constitutional crisis by appointing the deputy chief minister as an interim replacement.

Later in the year, violence began to intensify again in Sierra Leone, and Peter Penfold was ordered to evacuate foreign nationals over Christmas 1998.

Peter Penfold requested an extension to his term as high commissioner, but the request was denied and he left Sierra Leone in April 2000.

Peter Penfold spent the last year of his career working for the Department for International Development and retired in 2001.

In retirement, Peter Penfold spoke on issues concerning Africa, particularly Sierra Leone, and was critical of the FCO.

Peter Alfred Penfold was born to Alfred and Florence in 1944 and educated at Sutton Grammar School for Boys, where he stayed on until 19.

Peter Penfold left school with A-levels in French, German, and geography, and took casual employment to earn money.

Peter Penfold applied to Civil Service and passed the civil service exam, but was keen to join the Foreign Service.

Peter Penfold took and passed a second exam to join the Foreign Service, but had to enter at a lower grade than he would have held in the Civil Service.

In 1965, two years into his career, Peter Penfold was posted to the British embassy in Bonn, West Germany, where he served as a clerical officer until 1968.

Peter Penfold spent two years in Kaduna as one of the three junior staff who, unlike the senior staff, had no diplomatic privilege.

Peter Penfold was in Ecuador for six months, after which he was sent to Uruguay to assist in the aftermath of the kidnapping of Ambassador Geoffrey Jackson.

Six weeks later, he was ordered to Paraguay, where the British mission was staffed by a single diplomat, for whom Peter Penfold would cover while they took leave.

Peter Penfold's final posting as a "floater" was to St Vincent, which at the time relied on the United Kingdom for defence and foreign policy matters.

Three weeks after his arrival, the volcano on the island erupted, and Peter Penfold was responsible for co-ordinating an evacuation by the Royal Navy.

Peter Penfold arrived to find that there had been a misunderstanding regarding the passport officer's health.

Peter Penfold stayed to assist for three months before returning to London, where he became a desk officer in the Pacific and Dependent Territories Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

In 1975, while serving at the FCO, Peter Penfold volunteered to learn a difficult language in the hope of advancing his career.

Peter Penfold was responsible for monitoring and reporting on internal Ethiopian affairs and the Organisation of African Unity, as the latter was based in Addis.

Peter Penfold believed Mugabe to be difficult to work with, but later stated that it should have been obvious that Mugabe would come to power in Zimbabwe and that the British government could have made a greater effort to work with him.

Peter Penfold remained in Ethiopia until 1978, when he was sent to Port of Spain as information officer, with responsibility for editing a magazine aimed at promoting British trade.

Peter Penfold returned to London in 1981, serving as first secretary in the West Africa Department of the FCO.

Peter Penfold had attended an OAU conference in Uganda in the 1970s and was pleased to be posted there.

Two months after the birthday party, Peter Penfold was still acting high commissioner when he was informed of an impending coup.

Peter Penfold notified the American, French, and UN representatives, after which he instructed all the British staff to move into the high commissioner's residence until the fighting was over.

Peter Penfold met a Ugandan Army major, to whom he expressed his concerns about the security situation and explained that foreign citizens would likely be evacuated, which happened three days later when Penfold led an evacuation by road to Kenya.

The Ugandan military began forming a government and attempted to include all tribes in the country, to which end Peter Penfold assisted by meeting with Yoweri Museveni, leader of the National Resistance Army.

Peter Penfold was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1986.

Peter Penfold returned to the FCO in 1987, where he was appointed to a position in the West Indian and Atlantic Department, which was responsible for the Caribbean and South Atlantic.

Peter Penfold identified several posts which could be used for training potential governors, including the one he occupied and deputy governor posts such as that in Bermuda.

The governor represents the monarch and the British government, as well as presiding over the cabinet, but is required to swear an oath to the constitution of the territory, which Peter Penfold believed complicated the governor's role as a representative of the British government.

The constitution of the territory contained no provision for the chief minister dying in office, and the death left the governing party without a majority in the assembly, so Peter Penfold asked Deputy Chief Minister Ralph O'Neal to become "Chief Minister ad interim" to provide political stability.

Peter Penfold was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1995 Birthday Honours for his service in the British Virgin Islands.

Peter Penfold applied for a post as high commissioner in Namibia, but the post was downgraded and the application fell through.

Peter Penfold later stated that he believed his previous experience in Africa, particularly in Uganda, stood him in good stead for the events of his posting to Sierra Leone.

Peter Penfold found it remarkable that they all attended, but believed it epitomised the esteem in which the office of British high commissioner was held in Sierra Leone.

Peter Penfold was able to see the firefight from the high commission building, and telephoned the Sierra Leonean defence headquarters to demand an end to the violence, threatening to request the deployment of US Marines from the USS Kearsarge, which was anchored offshore.

Peter Penfold continued to run the British diplomatic mission in Freetown; the high commission continued to pay its local staff and began smuggling food and money into Sierra Leone.

Sandline had been contracted to provide assistance to the Nigerian-led forces in Sierra Leone at a time when relations between the UK and Nigeria were poor, so Peter Penfold used Sandline personnel to liaise with the Nigerians to provide intelligence for Kabbah and the British High Commission.

Peter Penfold was ordered back to the UK, where he was investigated by HM Customs and Excise for allegedly assisting Spicer in violating the embargo.

In Sierra Leone, Peter Penfold was widely considered a hero for his role in restoring Kabbah.

Shortly after his return, Peter Penfold was again summoned back to London to face an investigation by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

Peter Penfold gave evidence in a televised session in which he stated his belief that the Sandline controversy was a peripheral issue and that the FCO should be focusing on supporting the newly restored Kabbah government.

Peter Penfold stated after his retirement that he felt Sierra Leone became a "political football" in the UK and that, had the FCO's focus not been distracted by the Sandline issue, later problems in Sierra Leone might have been avoided.

Peter Penfold flew to Freetown for daily meetings with Kabbah, but was not allowed to move back into his residence and so temporarily lived on the ship.

Peter Penfold opposed power-sharing with the RUF, and believed he was excluded from the talks in Lome because of his views.

Peter Penfold requested a British military adviser be sent to Sierra Leone, as well as an extension to his own term, both of which were denied.

Peter Penfold was asked to take early retirement, but was keen to retire on his own terms.

In retirement, Peter Penfold has been critical of the FCO's attitude towards Africa, and has expressed the view that it does not give high enough priority to the continent.

Peter Penfold stated in an interview that he felt the FCO was keen to develop experts in other areas, such as Europe and the Middle East, but "Africa is the place where anybody can do it so long as they have average intelligence".

Peter Penfold is considered a folk hero in Sierra Leone, and continues to speak on issues relating to Sierra Leone.

Peter Penfold described the special court as an "expensive and divisive piece of judicial machinery" which served little purpose following the deaths of most of the prominent defendants, and believed that its continuation "could undermine the fragile peace" in Sierra Leone.

Peter Penfold met his first wife-to-be while serving on St Vincent as Latin American floater.

Peter Penfold was planning his wedding at the end of his term in Latin America but was persuaded to postpone it due to the urgency with which he was required in Canberra, and the wedding eventually took place later in 1972.

Peter Penfold died from cancer on 1 October 2023, at the age of 79.