The Hon Sir Peter Ramsbotham GCMG GCVO DL - TrustNews June 10
The Trust owes a great debt of gratitude to Sir Peter, who died aged 90 on 9th April. Apart from his unfailing interest in our activities over 20 years, we remember especially his repeated help to the several chairmen and other officers of the Trust during that period. It was always a pleasure to meet him with his mixture of wisdom, challenge and humour.
Although he spoke for the Trust at important events, Sir Peter was much more than a figurehead, often attending the regular meetings of the Trustees when he would provide new ideas or ways of dealing with current issues. His wide experience of the ways of the world enabled him to put his finger on the nub of a problem and to propose a simple and workable solution. This was always done in a way designed not to ruffle feathers and to avoid upsetting those with different views.
With Lady Ramsbotham, Sir Peter entertained members on occasions in his beautiful garden, always conversing with his guests. Due to ill health, he retired as President in 2007 but continued as Patron. His keen interest in the Trust’s activities remained undiminished until shortly before his death.
Vice Chairman, Michael Carden, recalls: Sir Peter became our President following Barbara Carpenter-Turner’s retirement in 1990. He told us that this was on the instructions of our long-serving Vice President, Lady Charlotte Bonham Carter, who gave him no option in the matter! Similarly, Lady Charlotte had told us, before we had even started to think for ourselves, that she had decided Sir Peter was the right person for the job, and how right she was! In his first year we asked him to speak at the AGM so that members would get to know him. He did not hesitate, but said he only had two talks: birds and embassies. We chose embassies and some of you will remember what an excellent talk it was. I particularly recall his account of how, when he had a junior post at the Paris Embassy, the then ambassador if feeling sleepy after lunch, would sometimes sneak into one of the old state bedrooms for a quick nap, removing his jacket and trousers for comfort. On one occasion, having forgotten that it was a guided-tour day, he was awakened by the guide’s sonorous voice saying “this is the original 18th century bed...”; realising he could not escape attention, the ambassador sat up in dignified fashion and continued the sentence, “...and this is her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of France!”.