User:Kaliforniyka/Richard Sykes scratch

Sir Richard Adam Sykes  (9 May 1920 – 22 March 1979) was an English diplomat who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in The Hague where he was serving as British Ambassador to the Netherlands. Others suspected of the assassination were Palestinians or Iraqis, although no evidence was ever put forward. It was ultimately confirmed that the PIRA had carried out the killings. Sykes' valet Karel Straub, 19, was also killed. Both men were shot in the head as they left the ambassador's residence for the short trip to the embassy.

Sykes' position as ambassador to the Netherlands had been strained due to certain Dutch groups which were sympathetic to the IRA, and consequent arms smuggling activities.

Sykes had served in Havana, Peking and Washington, and was Deputy Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office prior to his appointment to the Netherlands in 1977.

Early life and family
Sykes was born in Oxfordshire into the prominent Sykes family, the first child of Major Arthur Clifton Sykes and Lorna Evelyn Stanier, who were married in 1919. His father had served in the Royal Corps of Signals with distinction during the First World War.

career
Deputy Undersecretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Assassination
Others suspected of the assassination were Palestinians or Iraqis, although no evidence was ever put forward. It was ultimately confirmed that the PIRA had carried out the killings. Sykes' valet Karel Straub was also killed. Both men were shot in the head as they left the ambassador's residence for the short trip to the embassy.

Sykes' position as ambassador to the Netherlands had been strained due to certain Dutch groups which were sympathetic to the IRA, and consequent arms smuggling activities.

Sykes had served in Havana, Peking and Washington, and was Deputy Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office prior to his appointment to the Netherlands in 1977.

Family
Married to Ann, Lady Sykes; the couple had three children.

Honours
MC 9 October 1945 The London Gazette, Supplement 37302, Page 4999

14 February 1950 The London Gazette, Issue 38841, Page 785 …ian Downing, Esquire. (12th December, 1947.) Donald McDonald Gordon, Esquire. (15th December, 1947.) Richard Adam Sykes, Esquire. (8th May, 1948.) Henry Butler McKenzie-Johnston, Esquire. (10th July, 1949.) John Grigor …

He was knighted in the 1977 New Year Honours.

(c. 1921 – 22 March 1979) was an English diplomat who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in The Hague in 1979 while he was the British Ambassador to the Netherlands. A 19-year-old Dutch embassy worker was also killed in the assassination.

11 September 1964 The London Gazette, Issue 43432, Page 7669 …The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to appoint, with effect from the dates respectively indicated: Richard Adam Sykes, Esquire, M.C., to be Her Majesty's ConsuI-General for Continental Greece,