Gilbert Laithwaite
Sir John Gilbert Laithwaite
Early life
Gilbert Laithwaite was the eldest of two sons and two daughters, born in Dublin. His father was John Laithwaite of the Post Office survey. His mother was Mary Kearney whose family hailed from Castlerea, County Roscommon. Laithwaite was a first cousin of the Irish Republican leader Ernie O'Malley.[1]
Laithwaite went to Clongowes Wood College, where he won a scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford, going on to achieve a second-class degree. He received an honorary fellowship from that college in 1955.[2]
Laithwaite was a homosexual.[3]
War service
In the First World War, Laithwaite served in the British army in France as a second lieutenant with the 10th Lancashire Fusiliers. He was wounded in 1918. In 1971 he published an account of part of his war experience entitled 21 March 1918: Memories of an Infantry Officer.[2]
Career
Following the war, Laithwaite joined the India Office. In 1931 he was attached to Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald for the second Indian round-table conference in London.[2]
Work in India followed, on the
In 1943 he returned to Britain as assistant under-secretary of state for India. In 1947 he took part in London talks on Burmese independence, also attended by
Honours
Laithwaite was appointed CIE in the
References
- ^ Lysaght, Charles (16 July 2006). "The excellent honour of ambassador suits you, sir". Irish Independent.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39882. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Anthony Summers, Stephen Dorril The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward, Headline 2013, chapter 13: "Laithwaite... was a homosexual intimate of Lord Astor's brother Bobbie Shaw, and had had involvements with numerous Foreign Office officials scattered around the world as senior diplomats. Laithwaite and Shaw both had Stephen Ward to thank for introductions to homosexual partners, and both had visited him at his Cliveden cottage".
- ^ "News of the Day". The Age. 10 September 1954. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- ^ "London Talks For Independence Begins". Back to the Past-Today – London Tal. 13 January 1947. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- ^ McCullagh, David A Makeshift Majority - the First Inter-Party Government 1948-1951, Institute of Public Administration Dublin 1998 p.113
- ^ "PRO File: PREM 11 1520". Salaam.co.uk. 1956. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- ^ "No. 34119". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1934. p. 7.
- ^ "No. 34469". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1937. p. 5.
- ^ "No. 35029". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1940. p. 6.
- ^ "No. 38161". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1947. p. 6.
- ^ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2944.
- ^ "No. 40669". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1955. p. 3.
