Addis, Sir John Mansfield

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0102 PP MS 25
Held at	: School of Oriental and African Studies   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.soas.ac.uk/Archives/home.html ›
Full title	: Addis, Sir John Mansfield
Date(s)	: Created 1914-1983
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 35 boxes
Name of creator(s)	: Addis | Sir | John Mansfield | 1914-1983 | Knight | diplomat

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

John Mansfield Addis was born on 4 June 1914. He was the twelfth child and fifth son of Sir Charles and Lady Addis. He was educated at Rugby from 1928 to 1932 and then at Christchurch College, Oxford. He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1938 and served for a while as Assistant Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary, Sir Alexander Cadogan. Between 1942 and 1944 he worked as Civilian Liaison Officer at the Allied Force Headquarters in the Mediterranean, London, Algiers and Caserta, and in 1944 as Second Secretary, HM Embassy Paris. Between 1945 and 1947 he served as Assistant Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.

In 1947, he began his service in China, as First Secretary and Head of Chancery, HM Embassy Nanking and then in 1950, HM Embassy Peking. He remained in Peking for the next seven years and his postings included Assistant in the China and Korea Department, Foreign Office (1951-1954), Member of the UK Delegation to Geneva Conference on Korea (1954) and Counsellor and Consul General, HM Embassy Peking (1954-1957). He left China in 1957. Subsequent postings included Head of Southern Department, Foreign Office (1957-1959); HM Ambassador Vientiane, Laos (1960-1962); Fellow at the Harvard University Centre for International Affairs (1962-1963); HM Ambassador, Manila (1963-1969); and HM Ambassador, China (1970-1974). He retired in 1974.

In 1975 he was elected as Senior Research Fellow in Contemporary Chinese Studies at Wolfson College, Oxford, and held this position throughout his retirement. He was also a member of the Advisory Council of the V&A Museum, a Trustee of the British Museum, Board Member of the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, Adviser to the Barclays International Bank and Great Britain China Centre. He died on 31 July 1983. He never married.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers, 1914-1983, of Sir John Mansfield Addis, comprising correspondence relating to Addis's education at Rugby and Oxford (1925-1936); correspondence, including that with his sister Robina Addis, diaries and research material relating to his diplomatic career (1933-1974); and material relating to his retirement years (1975-1982) including reports of South East Asian Tours, lecture notes, research and scholarly work. Also includes personal items (1914-1983) and photographs (1933-1974).

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

The material has been sorted into sections corresponding to the chronological periods in Addis's life: education at Rugby and Oxford, 1925-1936; establishing his diplomatic career, 1937-1959; JMA the Diplomat, 1960-1974; retirement, Asian tours, memberships and committees, lectures and scholarly work, 1975-1982; miscellaneous: personal and the JMA photograph collection, 1933-1974. Within each section, material is arranged in chronological order.

Conditions governing access:

Unrestricted (with the exception of 4 files).

Conditions governing reproduction:

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

Finding aids:

Unpublished handlist.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Donated in 1984.

Allied Materials

Related material:

The School of Oriental and African Studies also holds the papers of Sir Charles Stewart Addis (Ref: PP MS 14).

Correspondence and papers (1932-1986) of Robina Scott Addis are held at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, Contemporary Medical Archives Centre (Ref: PP/ADD); Victoria and Albert Museum (artefact collections/documentation); British Museum (artefact collections/documentation).

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:

Date(s) of descriptions:
15 May 2000