Negara Brunei Darussalam: obituary 2014.

Horton, A.V.M.

Introduction

The sample this year includes a broad spectrum of humanity, ranging from royalty and aristocracy to persons of more modest social status. There are those who reached a grand old age, but others who were cut off in youth or at the prime of life. Some met a violent death, because of either murder or accident, but most died peacefully at home.

Among the many professions represented here are administration, business, diplomacy, history, journalism, religion, sports, and translation, as well as all three main branches of military life.

The royal family mourned the demise of YAM Pengiran Anak Saerah, a daughter of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin (r 1924-50). Otherwise the most prominent departure was probably Pehin Mohd Abbas Al-Sufri, a civil servant and courtier, besides being brother to the current Speaker of the Legislative Council. AH Mohd Tahir Umar, member of a distinguished local family, was active in the field of religion. Cedrina Clark was a noted local journalist whilst Peter Gautrey was British High Commissioner to Brunei from 1972 until 1975. Some other people have been chosen because of their interesting family connections.

Besides those who died in 2013-14, the listing also includes departures from a more distant past, notably Professor A.P. Thornton (1921-2004), a Canadian scholar; Major-General David Noel Hugh Tyacke (1915-2010), a Cornish soldier; Professor J.A.C. Mackie (1924-2011), the Australian historian; and Dr. Frederick Cornelius Hummel (1915-2012), a prominent forester.

Finally, a number of errors in the 2013 edition must be corrected here:

page 26, lines 1-2: According to the ASEANSAI (ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions) website, accessed at 1426h GMT on Tuesday 17 March 2015, Dato Paduka GT Hambly (1927-2013) was Auditor-General of Brunei/NBD from 1965 until as late as 1989.

page 26: Pehin Hussain was born in 1933 (as stated in the text proper), not in 1993 (as appears in the headline, line 3).

There are also problems with the quotation marks in note 75 on page 31.

On the last line of page 351: it was Keith Botterill (rather than Richard Braithwaite) who died in 1997.

The obituaries now follow in alphabetical order:

ABU BAKAR bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mohamad, Pengiran Haji

Deceased in NBD nit (1) February 2014; cf. application for probate by his son, Awangku Mohamad Ismail Ali Muda bin PH Abu Bakar, reference No LA/25/2014 in PB Is.3.3.2014:20a #1. (2)

CHIN MEI FONG (d. 2014)

Chinese woman, 39, found dead (believed murdered; strangulation after sexual assault) at Bukit Shahbandar on Sunday 7 September 2014 between 4 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Police issued photo-fit pictures of a suspect, 30-40s, 5ft 7in, short-haired, dark-skinned (berkulit gelap), perhaps a foreigner. (3)

CLARK, Cedrina Gerradine (d. 2014)

Also known as Norlila binti Abdullah. Found dead on Sunday 6 July 2014 at her rented home along Jalan Sungai Tampoi in Kampong Sengkurong; aged fifty-five; a former reporter at one of the local news agencies. The cause of death was under investigation. The corpse was sent to RIPAS Hospital for a post-mortem examination, due to be conducted on 7 July. (4) Application for probate by her younger brother (adik), Zainuddin bin Abdullah, previously Christopher Jason Clark, reference K.B/LA/71/2014 in PBI R.5.11,2014:8b #1.

"Cedrina Clark" was a reporter for the Borneo Bulletin, certainly in the 1990s (5) and on into the twenty-first century; (6) also a photographer. (7) Alternative bylines: "Cedrina A. Norlaila"; (8) "Cedrina Norlaila A. Clark"; (9) and "Cedrina Norlaila Abd. Clark." (10) Evidently a convert to Islam.

COOKSON, Lieutenant-Commander Philip Francis (1931-2014)

British naval officer who commanded the submarine, HMS Oberon, (11) 1965-7, based at Singapore: "At the start of the Konfrontasi there was no covert way to launch the Special Boat Squadron from submarines--as in the Second World War, they had to surface and launch inflatable craft or canoes. Cookson perfected a technique whereby marines of the SBS left the boat two at [a] time from the escape trunk while the submarine was still submerged. They would breathe from air bottles attached to the outside of the boat until their party was complete, and then swim ashore. One of his SBS passengers was the young Royal Marines officer, Paddy Ashdown, later leader of the Liberal Democrats." (12)

Born on 25 October 1931; died on 28 June 2014; survived by widow, Nicola (m. 1962); 2s. Educated at Dartmouth. Volunteered for submarine service, 1953. His last appointment in the RN came in 1971-3 when he helped to establish a new NATO command structure in Portugal. Served in the Sultan of Oman's Navy, 1980-8, including a spell as a head of the naval arm of the Omani Intelligence Agency. (13)

COOPER, Air Commodore Geoffrey Strickland (1925-2014)

"An excellent solo aerobatic pilot, he formed an aerobatic team of five Venoms; (14) it gave numerous displays at events including the opening of the new [1950s] Brunei Airport. The local press described Cooper's solo display as 'breath-taking.'" (15)

Born on 25 October 1925, Essex; died on 13 December 2014; survived by widow (Noreen, daughter of A.V.M. Don Bennett, RAF Pathfinder Force), 2d 1s. (16)

Educated at Winchester. RAF, 1944-78 (OBE). Fighter pilot who saw action in the Middle East and in Malaya during the Emergency. Air Correspondent of the DT for eleven years from 1990.

DAWOOD, Nessim Joseph (1927-2014)

Born on 27 August 1927 in Baghdad; died on 20 November 2014, aged eighty-seven; survived by widow (m 1949) Julie Abraham and three sons. Obituary, "Iraqi-Jewish translator whose lively and poetic English translation [sic] of The Koran [1956] has never been out of print," DT F.12.12.2014:37.** Translated The Thousand and One Nights: The Hunchback, Sindbad and Other Tales (1954). Edited and abridged the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun (Princeton UP, no date).

GAUTREY, Peter (1918-2014)

British diplomat; High Commissioner to Brunei, 1972-5; DK (Brunei) 1972, CMG 1972, CVO 1961, FRS A 1972; born on 17 September 1918, died on 7 February 2014; m. 1947, Marguerite Etta Uncles; Is Id.

Educated at Abbotsholme School in Derbyshire. Joined Home Office, 1936. Served in Royal Artillery (Captain), September 1939-March 1946. Re-joined Home Office after the war; switched to the Commonwealth Relations Office, 1948; served in British Embassy, Dublin (1950-3) and at the High Commission in New Delhi (1955-7, 1960-3); Deputy High Commissioner to Bombay, 1963-5; Corps of Diplomatic Service Inspectors, 1965-8; High Commissioner to Swaziland (1968-71) and Guyana, 1975-8 (concurrently non-resident Ambassador to Surinam, 1976-8). (17)

GRACIDA, Carlos (1960-2014)

Top-ranked Mexican polo player with NBD connections. (18)

Died on Tuesday 25 February 2014 due to injuries caused by a falling horse at Wellington, Florida; (19) inducted into the Polo Flail of Fame, 2012; the best player produced by Mexico and one of the best anywhere in the world. (20) Field the sport's maximum handicap (ten goals) for fifteen years from 1985. (21)

HENDERSON, Colonel Michael Gordon Douglas (d. 2014)

Died at Haworth, (22) West Yorkshire, on 6 October 2014 at the age of eighty-nine; sometime Commandant of the Gurkha Reserve Unit in Negara Brunei Darussalam.

Youngest son of Brigadier Howard Gordon Henderson CBE (Royal Corps of Signals) and Beryl Douglas (nee McCraith) of Cheltenham and Cleeve Hill. Widower of Deidre Christine (nee Hawley) of Stone, Staffordshire. Father of Charles, Hamish, and Colleen. Served with the 8th GR (Indian Army) and 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own GR. Also worked (nd) as Deputy Director of Save the Children Fund in Nepal. Educated at Cheltenham College. Old Decanian. The fourth and last generation to be a servant of the Indian Empire. For forty-eight years in the East he served King, Emperor, Queen, and Sultan. "Jo Hukum." (23)

HUMMEL, Dr. Frederick Cornelius (1915-2012)

MA, DPhil, BSc. Dr. he Munich, 1978. Alexander von Humboldt Gold Medal, 1995. Contributor to Brunei Museum Journal, 1995; son of Cornelius Hummel OBE (18801972), Deputy Conservator of Forests, FMS, who reported on the timber resources of Brunei and Labuan in 1914.

Born on 28 April 1915; died on 21 October 2012, having reached the splendid age of ninety-seven; (24) married (1) 1941, Agnes Rushforth (diss. 1961), Is (and Is deed); (2) 1961, Floriana Hollyer, 3d.

Educated at St Stephan (Augsburg) and Wadham College, Oxford. District Forest Officer, Uganda Forest Service, 1938-46; Forestry Commission (UK), 1946-73 (except 1961-6, when he was employed by the FAO in Mexico); Head of the Forestry Division, Commission of the European Communities, 1973-80. Lived in retirement in Guildford.

Publications: Forest Policy (1984); Biomass Forestry in Europe (1988); Forestry Policies in Europe: An Analysis, 1989; Memories of Forestry and Travel (2001).

Further details: Born in Switzerland. Served in the King's African Rifles during the Second World War. BSc (1951), DPhil (Wadham College, 1953). Co-director of the National Forest Inventory in Mexico, 1961-6. Survived by his widow (Floriana), their three daughters, and one son from his first marriage. (25)

JABERUDIN bin Pengiran Haji Md Salleh, Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji

Deceased in NBD nit January 2015; nit 2014 judging from the probate reference number, LA 286/2014, in PB Is.26.1.2015 (5 Rabiulakhir 1436):21bc. Application for probate by his daughter, Dayangku Hajjah Adawiyah. (26)

PH Jabarudin bin PH Mohd Salleh, aged fifty as at PB 17.8.2005:4*, was a former Ambassador of NBD to Saudi Arabia, (27) having previously been Consul-General at Jeddah. (28) Earlier still he had been a kadi in both Brunei-Muara (29) and Belait Districts. (30) He was promoted Assistant Director of the Pilgrimage Department, Ministry of Religious Affairs, 1 May 1992. (31) Alternative usage: "Jaberuddin"; "Jaberudin."

JIJAH binti Raya, Hajjah

Deceased in NBD nit [not later than] July 2013; cf. application for probate by her son, Haji Abdul Wahab bin OKMD Haji Abdul Gapar, reference LA/68/2013 in PBI 12.8.2013:10b #2. (32)

KELLY, Lieutenant Colonel James Niblock (1929-2014)

British Gurkha officer; transferred to 6GR, 1970, serving as commanding officer in HK and Brunei (dates not given). (33)

Born at Asansol, Bihar, 29 March 1929; British Army, 1948-83; commissioned into the Suffolk Regiment, 1948 (sent to Greece, during the civil war there); posted to Malaya (MC, 1950), Trieste, and Germany. Seconded to 1st Battalion 7th Gurkha Rifles (1/7GR), 1955 (served in Malaya and HK); transferred to the Permanent Cadre, Brigade of Gurkhas, 1958; subsequently commanded a company in Borneo during the Confrontation with Indonesia. After retiring from the Army, continued for the next ten years in his appointment as Civil Service staff officer responsible for the administration of UKLF overseas detachments in Belize, Canada and Kenya.

Crack shot and all-round sportsman (boxing, cricket, football, rugby, hockey, tennis). Pre-deceased by spouse (Ellen O'Hea), m. 1956, but survived by their three daughters. (34)

KELLY-LEWIS, Terupe Poata Patiare Temarii (d. 2013)

"A true Cook Islands woman" who died in Negara Brunei Darussalam on "Saturday 30 August 2013" [s/c] (35) after a four-year struggle against cancer; a child during the Second World War; wife of an NBD government official; had been resident in the sultanate for twenty-five years; "one of the most respected expatriate women ever in her new country"; "she was no celebrity" [intended as praise]; (36) application for probate by her widower, David Morgan Lewis, reference LA/09/2014, in FBI Sa. 15.2.2014:20b #1.

KONG NYET KHYUN, Celestina

Deceased in NBD nit September 2014;cf. application for probate by her son, Dato Paduka Steven Chong Wan Oon, (37) reference number LA/209/2014 in PBI Sa.4.10.2014:20c #last.

MACKIE, Professor James Austin Copland (1924-2011)

Historian of Konfrontasi: The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute 1963-1966 (1974); editor of The Chinese in Indonesia: Five Essays (1976).

Australian scholar; died on Thursday 21 April 2011 at his home near Melbourne at the age of eighty-six. (38)

Born at Kandy in Ceylon (precise date not given), (39) the second son of an Australian manager of a tea plantation. Educated at Geelong Grammar School and at the University of Melbourne, interrupted by military service (1943-nd) with the Royal Australian Navy; graduated after the war with a first-class degree in history. Subsequently studied PPE at Oxford.

Under a "Volunteer Graduate Scheme" established by an Australian-Indonesian intergovernmental agreement in 1953, he worked at the National Planning Bureau (Biro Perancang Nasional) in Indonesia; also took up a part-time position at Gadjah Mada University where he taught economic history. Spent the subsequent two years at Cornell University. Joined the Immigration Reform Group in Melbourne, 1960. Subsequent posts: (no dates): Founding Head of the Department of Indonesian and Malayan Studies, University of Melbourne; Research Director, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University; and Professor and Head of the Department of Political and Social Change, ANU.

MARATANDI bin Khatib Duraman, Haji

Son of a khatib (reader/preacher in a mosque); deceased in NBD nit January 2014 [nit 2013, judging from the code number, below]; cf application for probate by his daughter, Maznah binti Haji Maratandi, reference No LA/182/2013 in PB Is.3.3.2014:20c #1.

MASHARIT @ MARIAM binti Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Pengiran Haji Damit, Yang Mulia Pengiran Siti (d. 2014)

Departed from this temporary world to a more permanent one on 3 January 2014 or 1 Rabiulawal 1435. (40) Daughter of a Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja, a high-ranking nobleman. (41)

MISBAK bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Laila Haji Yusof, Haji

Deceased in NBD nlt (42) September 2014; cf. application for probate by his widow, Hajjah Isah @ Aishah binti Abdul Karim, reference number LA/127/2014, in PBI Sa.4.10.2014:20a #3. There is another application for probate from as long ago as December 2005 by his "daughter" (anak) [sic, ? widow], Hajjah Dayang binti Haji Mohd Tahir. (43)

"AH Misbak bin OKML Haji Yusof' was appointed PKL in November 1989. (44) Son of an OK Maharaja Laila, traditionally one of the menteri darat (land chiefs) in Temburong District. (45)

Haji Misbak's grandfather, Mokti bin Abdullah of Batu Apoi, was appointed OKML Setia Di Raja on 13 May 1951. (46) His father, Tuan Haji Yusof bin OKML Haji Mokti, was appointed '[?OK] Maharaja Lela' on 31 May 1960; 47 probably the same as 'OKML Haji Awang Mohd Yusof', whose children include AH Abdul Aziz, DH Aisah, DH Aminah,

and Hajjah Zainon, siblings (presuming the identification is correct) of Haji Misbak. Alternative usage: "Lela"; "Mohd Yussof."

MOHD ABBAS AL-SUFRI bin Pehin Datu Perdana Manteri Dato Laila Utama Haji Avvang Ibrahim, Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Penggawa Laila Bentara Diraja [cr. 1968] Dato Laila Utama Haji Avvang (d. 2014)

Brunei/NBD civil servant and courtier; died on Saturday 8 March 2014 (48) aged eighty-eight. (49) Funeral (Monday 10 March 2014) attended by HM the Sultan and conducted by the State Mufti; buried at Kianggeh Muslim Cemetery. (50)

Brother to YB Pehin Isa, currently (2014) Speaker of the Legislative Council. Resident at Batu Satu, Jalan Tutong.

One of the two officers who accompanied the Grand Chamberlain to present the "Proclamation of Independence" to HM the Sultan of the new Negara Brunei Darussalam on 1 January 1984. (51)

Probationer, Brunei Administrative Service, 1 January 1951. (52) Member of HH Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Ill's entourage at the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II, June 1953. (53) Ceased to be ADC to HH the Sultan, 26 April 1956; resumed, 18 September 1956. (54) Acting Private Secretary to HH the Sultan, 29 September 1959 to 10 September 1961. (55) Attended the Brunei Constitutional Conference in London, April 1959. (56) Member of the Privy Council. (57)

Created POK Sanggamara Seri Diraja, 23 September 1958; promoted YD POK Penggawa Laila Bentara Diraja, 7 May 1968; (58) DK (59) SPMB DSNB (60) POAS (61) PHBS (62) PJK as at 1997; (63) also held the MVO and the very rare epithet 'Al-Sufri'.

Photographed (as at 1959): Zaini 1984:23.

The alternative "Abbas" (rather than "Mohd Abbas") may be encountered. The patronymic varies over time in line with successive titles accorded to his father.

MOHAMMAD AFIQ FADHLI bin Kefle, Rekrut (d. 2014)

ABDB recruit, intake No 152, 15 August 2014; killed in a firearms accident at the Binturan Shooting Range, Penanjong Garrison, Tutong District, November 2014; due to be buried in the Islamic Cemetery at Kampong Terunjung. The incident was being investigated by the Royal Brunei Police Force and the ABDB Military Police to ensure that a similar event never happens again. Lived at Kampung Lambak Kiri; eldest (anak sulung) of four adik-beradik; survived by his parents. (64)

MOHAMMAD ISMAEL bin Dato Setia Haji Mohd Samid

Deceased in NBD nlt January 2015; actually nit 2014, judging from the reference number, LA 195/2014, in PB Is.26.1.2015 (5 Rabiulakhir 1436):21ab.

Mohammad Ismael's father, Dato Setia Haji Mohd Samid bin Haji Abdul Aziz, is a distinguished military officer (Leftenan Kolonel, as at PBA 23.8.2000:15) and sportsman (winner of a gold medal for skeet shooting at the South-East Asian Games in Kuala, Lumpur, August 1989, PBA 17.3.1999:6). Dato Mohd Samid was aged forty-one as at BB 2.9.1989:32. SNB 1990, DSNB 1995. (65)

MOHD TAHIR bin Begawan Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Seri Padua Haji Awang Umar, Awang Haji (1923-nd)

Deceased in NBD nlt (66) September 2014; cf. application for probate by his daughter, Hajjah Zainon binti Haji Mohd Tahir, code number LA/182/2014 in PB I Sa.4.10.2014:20a #1.

Member of a most distinguished family in Negara Brunei Darussalam; son of a Pehin Udana Khatib, one of the highest Islamic offices in the sultanate; brother or half-brother to a former Minister of Education (Pehin Abdul Aziz Umar) and to the country's dominant historian (Pehin Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri Umar).

Born on 5 April 1923 at Kampong Sungai Kedayan, Brunei Town. Government service, 1961-78. Public Prosecutor, Kadi Court (Pendakwa Raya, Mahkamah Kadi), 1961 (according to PS 12.3.2003:16). Anugerah Bakti Hijrah 1424. (67)

Sent to Singapore and Malaysia to report on the collection and distribution of zakat revenue, his recommendations (central collection and distribution, official appointment of a mil) being implemented in 1969; appointed Pengelola Baitul Mai, Zakat dan Fitrah, nd (first holder of the post); active in promoting classes for converts, 1970s; played a role in PERKASA, Persatuan Kesatuan Islam. (68)

"Haji Mohd Tahir bin PUK Haji Umar" is listed in 1996 as sole proprietor of Brusin Trading Company, est. 1976, currently at Beribi Light Industrial Complex, Jalan Gadong, BSB; staff strength 120 at the end of 1994. (69)

"Awang Mohd Tahir bin PUK HA Damit": Religious Prosecutor in the Religious Affairs Department, 1 August 1962. (70) Religious Prosecutor, heretofore stationed at Brunei [Town], shall wef 1 April 1963 be officiating in Belait and Tutong Districts. (71)

NORLILA bind Abdullah

See C.G. Clark.

O'LEARY, Denis Oswald (1924-2014)

British military officer, born on 24 July 1924; died on 13 March 2014, aged eighty-nine; survived by widow (m 1960), Jan Tedstill; 4d Is. MBE (Military) 1947, OBE 1968, MC (and bar). (72)

"In January 1964, during Indonesia's confrontation with the new Federation of Malaysia, he was commanding a company of 1/GR in Sarawak. When a raiding party of about thirty Indonesians and Chinese was reported to have landed on the coast, two companies set off down the Rajang river in launches and longboats to find them. O'Leary learned that about eight of them were lying up on Lobe Island and embarked two assault platoons in longboats to attack. The island was about 600 yards long and 250 yards wide and the terrain consisted of thick mangrove trees and palms growing out of slimy mudbanks and swamp. The only approach was by a tributary of the Rajang, and the last thousand yards was in full view of where the enemy was likely to be. O'Leary, in his launch, Jolly Bachelor, made a perilous dash to the northern end of the island where he opened fire on the enemy's supposed position from a machine gun mounted on ration boxes in the bow. As the assault went in, he ceased fire, sped off in a boat and led one of the platoons in an attack. In a fierce action that lasted four hours, the enemy fought with tenacity. When a Gurkha section commander was wounded, three attempts, one by O'Leary himself, were made to reach him in the face of incoming fire from three positions. A difficult outflanking movement enabled the Gurkhas to lob grenades into the enemy position. The citation for the award to O'Leary of a Bar to his MC stated: 'Cries and groans of wounded and dying men were heard. Major O'Leary moved forward and called on the enemy to stand and surrender. They replied that they were no longer able to stand. Major O'Leary then personally led a final rush on the enemy position and secured it.'"

Commander, 1/7GR, Hong Kong, 1966-9 (OBE 1968). Retired from the Army, 1979. Worked as a firing range liaison officer in Norfolk for the next ten years before settling in Suffolk and then in North Yorkshire.

Recreations: watching rugby and cricket; walking; bird-watching.

Born at Srinagar, 24 July 1924 (father an officer in sixth Rajputana Rifles; MC); educated at Cotton College, Staffordshire. Joined the Royal Scots (the Royal Regiment); six months training at Bangalore; commissioned into 3/6 Rajputana Rifles, commanded at the time by his father.

Sent to Burma, 1944 (MC 1945). Company commander, 1946. MBE 1948 following an operation against Burmese dacoits in March 1947. Commissioned into Royal Artillery, 1948; eighteen months on operations in Malaya, followed by service in Syria, Libya, Suez; posted to l/7'h Duke of Edinburgh's own Gurkha Rifles (1/7GR), 1952 [thus; 71962].

PARRY, Richard Geoffrey Wynne (d. 2014)

Worked for Shell International in Brunei, 1974-9; died on 15 June 2014; age not given. (73)

Also served in Indonesia 1958-62, Venezuela 1962-9, Gabon 1969-70, Qatar 1970-3 ("led discovery of the gas field that now provides the UK's fuel security"), Lagos 1979-81, The Hague 1981-4. Retired to Brecon.

Husband of Tess. Father to Richard, Christopher, Edward, Dorcas, James, Robert. Grandfather to Nicholas, Gabriella, Edward, James, Robert, Rachel, Lauren.

Requiem Mass due to take place at 1500h on 21 June 2014. Donations to SPUC. (74) Online reference: A178546.

PUNGUT binti Metamit, Hajjah

Deceased in NBD nit January 2014; cf. application for probate by her son, Haji Abdullah bin Datu Derma Wijaya Haji Tamit, reference LA/02/2014, in PBI Sa. 15.2.2014:20a #2. (75)

ROAD DEATHS (2014)

The number of fatalities on NBD's roads during 2014 numbered twenty-four, a twenty-five per cent reduction from the thirty-two recorded during the previous year. (76)

SAERAH binti Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Akazul Khairi Waddien, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Datin Seri Setia Hajjah Siti (d. 2013)

Member of the Brunei/NBD royal family; daughter of His Highness Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin (r 1924-50); a first cousin to HM Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Returned to the mercy of Allah at 2141 h local time on 4 November 2013, equivalent to 1 Muharram 1435, at Jerudong Park Medical Centre; aged eighty-two; precise date of birth not available. (77)

His Majesty attended the funeral, which was conducted by the State Mufti, 5 November 2013; interred at the Royal Burial Ground, Jalan Tutong.

Twenty days of mourning. The Majlis Membuka Naubat took place on 24 November 2013 in the presence of YAM PLCSN PAH Abdul Aziz, Yang Di-Pertua Adat Istiadat Negara (Guardian of State Custom and Tradition) [and brother-in-law to HM the Sultan], Lapau, BSB. (78)

Application for probate by her daughter, Huzaimah binti Haji Mohd Ali, reference LA/163/2014 in PBI Is.28.7.2014:16bc.

Married (1949) AH Md Ali bin Haji Md Tamin; four children followed by thirty-four grandchildren and thirty-seven great-grandchildren (according to PB R.6.11.2013:24).

Resident in Jalan Ong Sum Ping, BSB. (79)

Educated at George School, Jalan Tutong; worked as a nurse and then as an officer in the Royal Customs and Excise Department. After retirement from the government (no date), became an entrepreneur.

Married (1) Tengku Muhammad Khalid Shah al-Haj ibni al-Marhum Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah, Tengku Indira Bijaya di-Raja, of Kuala Langat and Scpang, Selangor; (2) 1949 Haji Muhammad Ali bin Tamin,

Eldest of four daughters of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin from his first marriage to Kadayang Amas binti Ampuan Salleh; "generous, caring and humble person who always strived to keep her family together," according to one of her sons. During the Second World War she and her siblings fled with their father deep into the jungle to hide from the Japanese. (80)

Her own daughter, Hajjah Rohani binti Haji Ali, survived her by only a few weeks, dying on 19 December 2013. Lived in Kampung Sungai Bululi, Jalan Muara; due to be buried at the JAHB Islamic Cemetery. According to a report on the Maharum Bugis Syah website, 19 November 2013, accessed on Tuesday 6 January 2015 at 1345h GMT.

Another daughter of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, YAM PAH Siti Halimah, is also in the Royal Burial Ground (Maharum Bugis Syah website); no further data here.

SHAHBUDIN bin Orang Kaya Periwira Abdul Rashid, Haji

Deceased in NBD nit July 2014; cf. application for probate by his son, Aminurashid bin Haji Shahbudin, reference No LA/152/2014, in PBIR. 13.8.2014:21a #2.

This is an interesting case. Haji Shahbudin was a son of an OK Periwira. One Abdulrasid bin Orang Kaya Yussoff of Danau was appointed Orang Kaya Peri Wara on 9 April 1951. (81) There is also a 1928 reference to "Abdul Rashid," a headman of Tutong District, who might be the same person. (82) OKP Abdul Rashid was the father of several children, including YB Pehin Abidin (1939-2010), Deputy Minister of Home Affairs from 21 October 1986 until his retirement on 9 August 2002. (83) If this identification is accurate, Haji Shahbudin would have been the brother of Pehin Abidin. (84)

SOAMES, Lady (1922-2014)

MBE 1945; (85) 86 LG2005. (86) Last surviving daughter of Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965);

born on 15 September 1922, (87) died on 31 May 2014. (88) Visitor to Brunei, November 1971; present at the official opening by HH Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of the B$4.5m Churchill Memorial Building, BSB, Tuesday 23 November 1971. (89) Biographer (1979) of her mother, Baroness Spencer-Churchill of Chartwell GBE (1885-1977). Married (1947), Captain Christopher Soames, later (1978) Lord Soames (1920-87), Governor of Rhodesia, 1979-80.

A memorial service was held in Westminster Abbey on Thursday 20 November 2014; (90) attended by more than a thousand mourners, headed by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as Sir John Major. (91)

TEO ENG TECK

Son of Teo Cheng Oi and Goh Hak See; husband of Khadijah Low Peng Eng @ Maning; many children; also many half-siblings. (92) Deceased in NBD nit November 2014; cf. application for probate by his sons, both converts (Haji Mohd Syarifuddin bin Abdullah and Muhd Izzaluddin Teo bin Abdullah), code number Probate No 9/2014, in PBI Sa.22.11.2014:7c-d.

THOMPSON: Merryn, Lady (1925-2014)

Widow of Sir Robert Thompson (1916-1992), the counter-insurgency expert knighted in 1965, whom she married on 10 October 1950; Is Id; (93) died on 16 December 2014, aged eighty-nine. (94) Daughter of Sir Alexander Newboult (1896-1964), Chief Secretary, Malayan Union/Federation of Malaya, 1946-50 (OAG July-October 1948). (95)

THORNTON, Professor Dr. Archibald Paton (1921-2004)

Canadian scholar (Fellow of Royal Society of Canada), born in Glasgow; works include The Imperial Idea and its Enemies: A Study in British Power (1959); Doctrines of Imperialism (1965); For the File on Empire (1968); and Imperialism in the Twentieth Century (1978); died on 19 February 2004.

Festschrift: Studies in British Imperial History: Essays in Honour of A.P. Thornton (1986).

Educated at Kelvinside Academy, 1929-39; University of Glasgow (MA, 1947); Trinity College, Oxford (Ph.D. 1952). Military service in the British Army (including the D-Day landings) during the Second World War; Captain in the East Riding Imperial Yorkshire Yeomanry.

Lecturer in modern history. Trinity College, Oxford, 1948-50; lecturer in Imperial History, University of Aberdeen, 1950-7; Professor of History, University College of West Indies, 1957-60. Professor of History, University of Toronto, 1967-72; attached to the University of Toronto, nd; retired 1987. (96)

THORNTON, Brigadier John Michael Chetwynd-Talbot (1927-2014)

Gurkha officer, 1946-82; MC 1953 (Malayan Emergency), OBE 1968. Born on 21 September 1927 at Lucknow; died on 5 November 2014, aged eighty-seven. Commanded a company of 2/7 GR in Brunei and elsewhere in Borneo during the Confrontation era.

Educated at Downside. Officer training at Bangalore, 1946; commissioned into the second battalion, third Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles; transferred to the seventh Gurkha Rifles, 1948, which continued in British service after Indian independence. Instructor, Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School, 1956-9. In the 1970s he headed the Gurkha recruiting and welfare body at Dharan in Nepal.

Married (1) 1953 Leslie Watts (d. 1972), 3d 2s; (2) 1974 Patricia Morecombe, who survives him. (97)

TURNER, Sir Colin William Carstairs (1922-2014)

Kt. 1993, CBE 1985, DFC 1944. Businessman and Conservative Party politician. MP, Woolwich West, 1959-64; visitor to Brunei, January 1961.

Born at Enfield on 4 January 1922, son of another Colin Turner, a journalist and founder of a public relations firm. (98) Educated at Highgate School. Joined RAF, 1940. Commissioned, 1943. Whilst serving in Italy, his aircraft crashed, breaking his back, both arms, and both legs; recovery took fourteen months. Worked for his father's firm after the war. Married Evelyn Buckard (1949), 3s 1 d.

Career highlights: Editor, Overseas Media Guide, 1968-74. Chairman, Conservative Commonwealth and Overseas Council, 1976-1982. Chairman, The Colin Turner Group, International Media Representatives and Marketing Consultants, 1985-8; President of the same, 1988-97. Lived in retirement in Norfolk. (99)

Sir Colin recalled that in the early 1960s the family company, The Colin Turner Group, "were the British Advertising Representatives of many of the newspapers and cinemas in Malaya, Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei, and Singapore, and roughly every two years I toured the whole area visiting the newspapers and cinemas." Sir Colin adds that on one occasion, he "watched Azahari address a large open air meeting in the padang in Brunei Town. I was so impressed with his hold on the crowd and the potential danger to the sultan, I asked Mr. White, the British High Commissioner, [100] to arrange for me to meet him next day. Mr. White was rather reluctant to do this, but the meeting was arranged and I had a very interesting private meeting with Azahari and as a result I was convinced that an uprising was most likely in the near future." (101)

Died peacefully at West Runton, 21 March 2014, aged ninety-two; survived by widow (Evelyn, Lady Turner), daughter Susan, and sons Anthony, Nigel and Christopher; sister Elizabeth; half-brothers Ian and Bruce; fourteen grand-children, two great-grandchildren. Funeral service due to take place at llOOh BST on Monday 31 March 2014 at the Holy Trinity Church, West Runton, NR27 9QT. (102) Donations to RAF Association Wings Appeal. Cromer & District Funeral Services, 32 West Street, Cromer, NR27 9DS; telephone 01263 514814. Online reference: A175272. (103)

TYACKE, Major-General [cr. 1966] David Noel Hugh (1915-2010)

Cornish soldier (Major-General, 1966), born on 18 November 1915.104 GOC Singapore

District, 1966-70; visitor to Brunei, October 1967. (105)

OBE 1957, CB 1970; retired in 1970. Controller, Army Benevolent Fund, 1971-80; Colonel, The Light Infantry, 1972-7. (106)

Educated at Malvern College and at Sandhurst. British Army, 1935-70 (served at Dunkirk and with the Chindits during the Second World War), originally with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry; served in India, 1936-9, France and Belgium, 193940; General Staff Officer Grade 3, HQ 4 Div, 1941-2; Bde Maj, 1942-3; GS02, Long Range Penetration force (Chindits), HQ Special Force, Burma, 1943-5; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, General HQ, India, 1946; GS02, War Office, 1947-8; Major, 1948; GS02, Staff College, Camberley, 1949-52; GSOl, HQ Northern Army Group, 1955-7; Commanding Officer, 1 Bn, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 1957-9; Commander, 130 Infantry Bde (Territorial Army), 1961-3; Director of Administrative Planning (Army), 1963-4; Brigadier General, General Staff (Operations), Ministry of Defence, 1965-6.107

Died on 10 February 2010 at Winchester. Predeceased by wife; survived by their son. Buried at Breage (Wikipedia).

Extracts from his private memoirs relating to Chindit operations in Burma 1944-5 arc held at the Liddell Hart Military Archives, KCL, ref GB 0099KCLMA Tyacke.

ZULKIFLI bin Haji Ismail

Deceased in NBD nit February 2014; cf application for probate by his widow, Aneta binti Pehin Dato Haji Hussin, (108) reference No LA/184/2014 in PB Is.3.3.2014:20bc.

Selected Abbreviations

*                  monochrome photograph.
**                 polychrome illustration.
2d 1s              two daughters, one son.
8b #4              page 8, column two, paragraph four.
AVM                Air Vice Marshal.
BBO                Borneo Bulletin (online).
BBY96              Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 1996.
BGG                Brunei Government Gazette.
BTO                Brunei Times (online).
DH                 Dayang Hajjah.
DT                 The Daily Telegraph (London).
GR                 Gurkha Rifles.
GS02               General Staff Officer, Grade 2.
nit                not later than.
OAG                Officer Administering the Government (acting
                   Governor).
ODNB               Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
OK                 Orang Kay a.
PBA                Pelita Brunei (Aneka section).
PB1                Pelita Brunei (Iklan section).
POK                Pehin Orang Kaya.
TD97               NBD Telephone Directory 1997.
UP                 University Press.
WKNB               Warta Kerajaan Negeri Brunei.

References

Brown, D.E. 1970 Brunei: The Structure and History of a Bornean Malay Sultanate. Bandar Seri Begawan: Brunei Museum; copy received by courtesy of Professor Brown.

Colledge, J.J. and B. Warlow 2006 Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present. Fourth edition. London: Chatham Publishing.

Gilbert, Martin 1991 Churchill: A Life. London: Heinemann.

Harfield, Alan G. 1977 Askar Melayu Di-Raja Brunei, 1961-1976. Bandar Seri Begawan: Perchetakan Bintang; copy by courtesy of Major Harfield.

Zaini Haji Ahmad Al-Haj 1984 Brunei Kearah Kemerdekaan 1984. Kuala Lumpur: Haji Zaini Haji Ahmad.

AVM Horton

Thursday 19 March 2015.

Note on the author

A.V.M. Horton has been a contributor to the Borneo Research Bulletin since 1985; a Fellow of the Borneo Research Council since 1988; and Book Review Editor/Current Bibliographer, BRC, since August 2003.

(1) not later than.

(2) PH Abu Bakar's father, possessed of the equivalent of a modern knighthood (Dato Paduka), was clearly an important personage; but 1 have been unable to identify an appropriate candidate from my database.

(3) PB Sa.20.9.2014:24.

(4) BruneiDirect.com report, datelined Monday 7 July 2014:0616h BST, accessed at 1206h GMT on Saturday 10 January 2014.

(5) Sample references: BB W.13.4.1994:12; W.22.2.1995:16; Th.23.2.1995:22; F.10.9.1999:3; Tu.7.12.1999:5; W.26.1.2000:4; BBO Tu. 14.11.2000.

(6) BBO Tu. 17.6.2003:h 13.htm; W.28.4.2004:hl l.htm.

(7) BB W.1.9.1999:3; Tu.28.9.1999:5; Tu.5.10.1999:6; M.8.11.1999:10; BBO W.18.4.2007.

(8) BB W.28.2.1996:19; 20.3.1996:27; M.15.4.1996:3; M.6.1.1997:1.

(9) BBO F.21.6.2002:h 16.htm; M.10.3.2003:h14.htm.

(10) BBO W.18.4.2007.

(11) HMS Oberon (1959-1991): submarine of the Oberon class (i.e. a diesel/electric submarine, 1,610 tons; 295.2 x 26.5 feet; eight torpedo tubes), of which twenty-two were built between 1959 and 1975, thirteen for the RN, six for the RAN, and three for the "CFS," meaning not given); Chatham DY, 18 July 1959; sold in 1987 to Seaforth Group to refit for resale; broken up at Grimsby in 1991 (Colledge and Warlow 2006:xiv, 248).

(12) The Right Honourable Sir Jeremy John Durham ("Paddy") Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon GCMG KBE, was appointed CH (a rare distinction) in the 2015 New Year's Honours List (DT W.31.12.2014:30).

(13) Obituary, "Officer who landed marines in Malaysia and headed the Sultan of Oman's navy," OTM.11.8.2014:31.*

(14) According to Wikipedia, the Venom jet aircraft was produced by de Havilland and was in service with the Royal Air Force from 1952 until 1962. It saw action in, for example, the Malayan and Suez campaigns.

(15) DT Tu. 17.2.2015:31*

(16) Obituary, "Fighter pilot and air correspondent who clashed with Max Hastings over the history of Bomber Command," DT Tu. 17.2.2015:31 .*

(17) Who's Who online, accessed 19 March 2014:1557h GMT.

(18) Google search engine, 7 March 2014:1452h GMT.

(19) Several reports about the tragedy are available online.

(20) Polo+10, 26 February 2014 (online), accessed Wednesday 18 March 2015:1345h GMT.

(21) Sim Sentinel, 25 February 2014 (online), accessed likewise.

(22) Famous as the home of the nineteenth-century Bronte sisters.

(23) Death notice, DTTh. 16.10.2014:32g #6. Online reference: A182575. 1 was unable to obtain any translation of "Jo Hukumit seems to mean something along the lines of "your wish is my command."

(24) WWW online, accessed on 4 November 2014:1214h GMT An obituary is available in The Times (London), online.

(25) Oxford Today: Obituaries 2012 (online), accessed on Tu. 17.3.2015 at 1355h GMT.

(26) There might be at least one more daughter as well. The Brunei Times (online), Friday 16 September 2011, refers to 'Dayangku Hajjah Nabihah binti Pengiran DP Haji Jaberudin', a newly-qualified "People Tools Developer" for BAG Networks.

(27) Presented with his letter of appointment by HM Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on 11 August 2005 (PB 17.8.2005:4*; BBO Th.18.8.2005:h3.htm).

(28) PB 16.2.2000:12; PBA 5.4.2000:12; PBA 4.10.2000:14; PBA 21.3.2001:11*;PBA 30.4.2003:5; GBOW ON Tu.3.2.2004).

(29) PB 14.12.1988:5.

(30) PB 26.8.1989:5.

(31) PB 27.5.1992:16; TD 97:129b. Awarded the PJK in 1996 (PB 17.1.1996:14).

(32) Orang Kaya Maharaja Dinda [cr. 1996| AH Gapar bin Zaman was headman of Sengkurong "A" during the 1990s.

(33) Obituary, "Officer who won an Immediate MC for his pursuit of insurgents in Malaya," DT M.7.4.2014:27.* See also a death notice in the Salisbury Journal, Thursday 27 February 2014 (online), accessed at 1406h GMT on Tuesday 17 March 2015. Husband (later widower) of Ellen. Father of Melanie, Felicity, and Joann. Funeral due to take place on 3 March 2014.

(34) DT M.7.4.2014:27.*

(35) 30 August 2013 actually fell on a Friday.

(36) Based on a rather obscure tribute, lacking in concrete detail, contributed by her widower to Cook Islands News (online), Thursday 5 September 2013 (accessed on Tuesday 17 March 2015 at 1423h GMT).

(37) Dato Chong is a judge (PB 3.1.2001:3); his wife, Datin Paduka Magdalene Chong, became Solicitor-General in Negara Brunei Darussalam on 24 June 1998 or 29 Safar 1419, originally in an acting capacity (PB 1.7.1998:1; PB 10.2.1999:3).

(38) Obituary, "Prof Jamie Mackie, a forceful advocate for close Indonesia-Australia relations," by Thee Kian Wie, Jakarta Post online, Friday 6 May 2011, not accessed until Monday 19 May 2014.

(39) Precise date of birth not given; some time between 22 April 1924 and 21 April 1925, presumably.

(40) PB Sa.l 1.1.2014:24.**

(41) One YAM PMSLD Sahibul Irshad [cr 1972] Pengiran Haji Damit bin PA Sabtu died in 1981 at the age of sixty-seven. Created " YM Pengiran Derma Putera," 26 August 1971; previously styled "YM PH" (WKNB 4.9.1971:199). Promoted PMSLDSI, 2 August 1972 (WKNB 26.8.1971:331). PSB 1967 (BGG 9.9.1967:190). Lived at the third mile, Jalan Tutong; a photograph of the house (subsequently razed) appears in Abdul Latif Ibrahim 1996:100.

(42) not later than.

(43) PBI 28.12.2005:2b #1; were she his daughter, her name would have been "... binti Haji Misbak."

(44) PB 6.12.1989:1 lb #2.

(45) Brown 1970:205.

(46) BGG 16.7.1951.

(47) BGG 25.6.1960:114. According to Pelita Brunei, Sabtu 18 Oktober 2014:11, Batu Apoi was founded in 1925 by a group of migrants from Kampung Peramu in Brunei Town led by Awang Mokti bin Abdullah, who was appointed OKML by Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin. This title was subsequently bestowed upon his son, OKML Haji Mohd Yusof. Situated three miles from Pekan Bangar, Kampung Batu Apoi is currently (2014) inhabited by various ethnic groups, including Malays, Murut, Iban, and Chinese. The etymology of Batu Apoi (Fire Rock) is a mixture of Malay (Batu) and Murut (Apoi). The present headman is AH Daud bin Haji Masri. There are sago palms (rumbia) in the neighborhood; and the village processes ambulung; and more recently an attempt is being made to make ambulung biscuits of five types.

(48) Report by Fadhil Yunus in BTO 9.3.2014.

(49) Precise date of birth not available.

(50) BTO M.10.3.2014.

(51) BTO M.10.3.2014.

(52) BGG 1.2.1951.

(53) BAR 1953, then "Inche Abbas."

(54) BGG 31.5.1956; BGG 31.10.1956:54.

(55) BGG 25.9.1961:176.

(56) Zaini 1984:23.

(57) TD 97:190b.

(58) BGG 8.6.1968:124.

(59) DK first class, 1972 (WKNB 25.8.1973:407); DK second class, 1970 (BGG 26.12.1970:318).

(60) BGG 12.10.1963.

(61) Coronation Medal (POAS), 1951 (CO 985/1 BGG 15.6.1951).

(62) PHBS first class, 1971 (WKNB 25.8.1973:405).

(63) TD 97:190b.

(64) PB Is.24.11.2014:24.

(65) PB 18.7.1990:13; PB 25.7.1995:13. No data are available concerning.

(66) not later than.

(67) PB 3.5.2003:16; PB 12.3.2003:3, 9**, here styled "Awang Haji."

(68) PB 12.3.2003:16.

(69) BBY 96:251c.

(70) BGG 10.11.1962:184.

(71) BGG 27.5.1963:114.

(72) Obituary, "Much-decorated officer who triumphed against dacoits in Burma and led an assault up a river in Sarawak," The Daily Telegraph (London), Tuesday 24 June 2014:31.*

(73) Death notice in DTF.20.6.2014:26g #8.

(74) Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. Mr. Parry must have been Roman Catholic by religion.

(75) Dato Derma Wijaya Haji Tamit bin Aspar was penghulu of Kilanas mukim in the 1980s (PB 18.1.1984:4). Besides Haji Abdullah, he had at least one more son (AH Isa) and a daughter (DH Saidah).

(76) According to PB So. 10.1.2015 (19 Rabiulawal 1436):24.

(77) PBR.6.11.2013:24.**

(78) PB A.25.11.2013:24.**

(79) BBO W.6.11.2013.

(80) BBO W.6.11.2013.

(81) BGG 16.7.1951. The OK Periwira is, I believe, a menteri darat in Tutong District. A list of traditional offices filled as at late 1963 (Brown 1970:203-5) does not list this particular land chief; which suggests that OKP Abdul Rashid might have died before that date.

(82) National Archives (Kew), file CO 717/59/52345.

(83) BRB 2011:56-8. With regard to the "simplified genealogy" on page 58, at the second line of names: there should be a vertical line connecting Dato Seri Setia [cr. 1990] Abang Haji Razali to his daughter, Datin Hajjah Fatimah.

(84) One "AH Shahbudin bin Abdul Rashid" was an auditor (TD 97:90); however the absence of "OKJP" in the patronymic means that identification with the principal is not established.

(85) Gilbert 1991:835.

(86) DT Sa.23.4.2005:2; "the first non-royal father-daughter appointment in the order's 650-year history."

(87) DT F.15.9.2000:28c; W. 15.9.2004:24; F.15.9.2006:26.

(88) Sunday Times (London), 21 December 2014: magazine, page 66.**

(89) BB 27.11.1971:3.

(90) D7 F.21.11.2014:32.

(91) Yorkshire Post (online), Thursday 20 November 2014; accessed on Tuesday 17 March 2015 at 1453h GMT.

(92) Geni.com website, accessed on Tuesday 17 March 2015 at 1418h GMT; access to the complete profile lacking; but Mr. Teo must have been a person of some importance because this post is managed by "Adina Othman."

(93) Article in the ODNB (online) by Ian F.W. Beckett, accessed on Wednesday 18 March 2015 at 1405h GMT; Sir Robert left estate valued at 259,966 [pounds sterling] (ibid.).

(94) Death notice, DT Tu.23.12.2014:30f#last.

(95) WWW (online), accessed on Wednesday 18 March 2015 at 1402h GMT.

(96) Goodreads website; Wikipedia.

(97) Obituary, "Gurkha officer who won an MC for swift action during the Malayan Emergency," DT M.15.12.2014:27.*

(98) C.C.W Turner (1892-1967) was also Editor of Malaya, the journal of the Association of British Malaya (variously titled), 1952-67.

(99) WW 1995: 1941; obituary, "Tory MP who lost his seat after one term but was a force behind the scenes," DT W.26.3.2014:29.**

(100) YD Pehin Dato Sir Dennis White (1910-1983); KBE CMC DK DPMB PHBS; POK Datu Patinggi Mulia Kornia Diraja, 20 April 1970 (BGG 9.5.1970:102). Sarawak Civil Service, 1932-59. 59. Acting British Resident, Brunei, July-December 1956; British Resident, Brunei, July 1958 to September 1959; British High Commissioner to Brunei, 29 September 1959 until 31 March 1963; Brunei Government Agent in the UK, 1967-83.

(101) Letter to the author, 7 September 1995, paragraph 2.

(102) West Runton is a village about three miles west of Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk; equidistant between Sheringham and Cromer.

(103) Death notice in DT W.26.3.2014:28g #last.

(104) WW 1998:2018.

(105) Harfield 1977:60.

(106) WW 7995:2018.

(107) AIM 25 (Archives in London and the M25 area) website, accessed at 1159h GMT on Saturday 10 January 2015.

(108) One Pehin Dato Haji Hussin is an NBD military officer and diplomat; however, because of spelling variations, it would be rash to assert this as a definitive identification.