Gilbert Mackereth

Who was Gilbert Mackereth?

Sir Gilbert Mackereth KCMG MC was a decorated British Army officer of the First World War who subsequently served as a British diplomat, most notably as Ambassador to Colombia from 1947 to 1953.

He began his army service in the ranks in 1914 but after being commissioned in 1916 rapidly rose through the ranks and became a battalion commander. As a subaltern he was decorated for the rescue of a group of soldiers under heavy fire in 1917.

He left the army on 24 April 1919 and joined the diplomatic service. He held several consular positions in northern Africa and the Middle East before and during the Second World War. Post-war he was posted to the newly liberated Dutch East Indies, before being posted to Bogotá in 1947.

In retirement he lived in Spain, where he died and was buried. Although his grave was saved from disturbance following threats from Spanish authorities in May 2010, in November 2011 his remains were reburied in a garden of remembrance at the Fusilier Museum in Bury, Greater Manchester. Mackereth is believed to be the first soldier from World War I to be repatriated to England since the burial of the Unknown Soldier at Westminster Abbey in 1920.