WAS Wood

WAR Wood ( William Alfred Rae Wood , born January 23, 1878 , † January 21, 1970 in Chiang Mai ) was a British diplomat in Siam (today: Thailand ).

Life

He arrived in Bangkok in July 1896 at the age of 18 as "the youngest consular officer to ever come to Siam." In the first two years he learned to speak, read and write Siamese while performing various duties for the consulate: from waiter at receptions to archivist at the British Consulate Court.

In the following years he served as British Vice-Consul in Nan , Chiang Rai , Songkhla and Lampang , before being appointed British Consul in Chiang Mai in 1913 . In 1918 he was appointed consul general.

In 1931 he retired from active diplomatic service. However, after a short stay in England, he returned to Thailand. There he lived until the end of his life in his house on the Mae Nam Ping (Ping River) near Chiang Mai. Wood died on January 21, 1970. He was buried in a mausoleum in the "Chiang Mai Foreign Cemetery". It is written on his tombstone: "He loved Thailand".

Works

William Alfred Rae Wood was connected in many ways with the Thai, especially the northern Thai culture. He published A History of Siam in 1926 , a comprehensive study of Thai history that has been translated into many languages. Later works are the lyric Consul in Paradise (1965) and a collection of short stories in Tales from Thailand (1968). He wrote numerous poems that were published in the Bangkok Post under various pseudonyms .

literature

• WAR Wood: A History Of Siam. From the earliest Times to the Year AD 1781. With a supplement dealing with more recent events. Unwin, London 1926, online edition in the Internet Archives.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ WAR Wood: An English consul in Siam. A memoir, 1896-1932. Kegan Paul, London et al. 2003, ISBN 0-7103-0949-X .
2. ↑ Chiang Mai Photos. The Foreigner's Cemetery - WAR Wood gravestone

Web links

• The Consul Who Loved Fighting Beetles (in English)