Samuel Falle

Sir Samuel Falle

KCVO DSC (19 February 1919 – 20 February 2014)^[1]

Career

Falle was educated at Victoria College, Jersey. He served in the Royal Navy 1937–48 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross "for gallantry in the face of overwhelming odds whilst serving in HMS Encounter during her last action in the Java Sea on 1st March, 1942".^[2]

Encounter had taken part in the Second Battle of the Java Sea, suffered major damage and was scuttled by her crew. They were subsequently rescued by the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Ikazuchi commanded by Shunsaku Kudō. Falle spent the next three and a half years as a prisoner of war.

Falle joined the

Swaziland

in 1986.

Falle was appointed

King of Sweden made him a Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star

Falle sought out the location of the grave of Shunsaku Kudō, to whom he held enormous gratitude for rescuing him during the 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.^[9]

My Lucky Life : In War, Revolution, Peace and Diplomacy (autobiography), Book Guild, Lewes, 1996.
ISBN 1857761219

FALLE, Sir Sam, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012

^ "Requiem". Fcoa.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^ "No. 37448". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 1946. p. 719.
^ "No. 39451". The London Gazette. 29 January 1952. p. 579.
^ "No. 44798". The London Gazette. 27 February 1969. p. 2175.
^ "No. 46357". The London Gazette. 1 October 1974. p. 8113.
^ "No. 43343". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1964. p. 4941.
^ "No. 45667". The London Gazette. 9 May 1972. p. 5535.
^ "No. 47723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1978. p. 3.
^ Officer tells of extraordinary rescue, BBC Somerset, 18 December 2008

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Geoffrey Arthur	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Kuwait 1969–1970	Succeeded by Sir John Wilton
Preceded by Sir Arthur de la Mare	High Commissioner to Singapore 1970–1974	Succeeded by Peter Tripp
Preceded by Sir Guy Millard	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Stockholm 1974–1977	Succeeded by Sir Jeffrey Petersen
Preceded by Sir Martin Le Quesne	High Commissioner to Nigeria 1977–1978	Succeeded by Sir Mervyn Brown

Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF
National	Germany United States