Berkeley Ormerod

Berkeley Ormerod   (spook, soldier, diplomat, sportsman)

Sir (Major) Cyril Berkeley Ormerod (1897 Oct 3 - 1983 Nov 1), was a soldier, sportsman, journalist, financier, diplomat, and sometime propagandist with British Information Services.

According to an obituary in The Associated Press:

Ormerod, who spent his retirement in Nassau, London and Monte Carlo, died Tuesday at King Edward VII Hospital for Officers in London. He was admitted to the hospital Oct. 15 after falling ill in Monte Carlo, and underwent an operation last week. The cause of death was not given by members of the family.

Ormerod was born in London in October 1897. He was educated at St. Paul's school and later joined the Royal Military Academy and obtained a commission in the Royal Regiment of Artillery. He saw active service in World War I and fought in the battles of Arras and Ypres, ending the war with the rank of major. In 1927, he joined the London Stock Exchange and became editorial columnist for the Financial Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and the Investor's Chronicle.

In 1940, during World War II, he was appointed financial adviser to the British Information Services in New York. Ormerod set up the office of director of public relations in the United States and became its director in 1945. He accompanied Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on their tour of the United States in 1957. In 1962, he was public relations adviser to the government of the Bahamas during the Nassau talks between British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, President John Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker of Canada.

Always a keen sportsman, Ormerod won the British Army Golf Championships in 1924 and played against Bobby Jones in the British Amateur Championships in 1926. He married the former Mrs. Frederick Sigrist in 1962. Lady Ormerod died in Nassau on Dec. 21, 1981. Services will be held in London on Friday.

British Information Services

In 1945 Ormerod was appointed director of public relations in Manhattan's British Information Services, a role he retained until 1962. He was knighted in the 1960 New Year's Honours List. As Time observed: 'Henceforth, Major Bill Ormerod will be Sir Berkeley.'

Resources

• Sir Cyril Berkeley Ormerod, director of public relations, British Information Service (New York): papers c1940-69 (ORMD) Cambridge University: Churchill Archives Centre: 2008 Accessions

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