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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

13th September 2013

Remembering the Battle of Britain

The “light blue” uniforms were on full display at the High Commission’s annual Battle of Britain Day commemoration this week. Two Royal Australian Air Force Air Marshals were present – Vice Chief of the Defence Force Mark Binskin and Chief of Air Force Geoff Brown – together with a range of serving military personnel and veterans.

Representative from Rolls Royce, Vice Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin, HE Paul Madden
Mark Suller from Rolls Royce, Vice Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin with Wing Commander Tony Bull

My Air Adviser Wing Commander Tony Bull, a pilot himself, gave a moving speech about those few months from July-October 1940 when the Royal Air Force stood between Britain and the tyranny which had overwhelmed much of Europe. It was the period about which Winston Churchill was to remark “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.

Tony pointed out that the RAF crews who made up “the few” included Australians, New Zealanders and those from other nations. He went on to talk about the involvement of Australian airmen and women in Bomber Command during WWII, and the very high casualty rate they endured: 3,486 of the 10,000 RAAF personnel involved. He referred to the Lancaster Bomber, G for George, one of the most popular exhibits at the National War Memorial in Canberra.

About Paul Madden

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017. He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia…

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017.

He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia until February 2015. Prior to this he was British High Commissioner in Singapore from 2007-2011.

A career diplomat, he was previously Managing Director at UK Trade and Investment (2004-2006), responsible for co-ordinating and
implementing international trade development strategies to support
companies across a wide range of business sectors.

As Assistant Director of Information at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (2003-2004) he was responsible for public diplomacy policy,
including managing the FCO funding of the BBC World Service, the British
Council and the Chevening Scholarships programme. He led the team
responsible for the award-winning UK pavilion at the Aichi Expo in Japan
2005.

He was Deputy High Commissioner in Singapore from 2000-2003 and has
also served in Washington (1996-2000) and Tokyo (1988-92). Between
1992-96 he worked on EU enlargement and Environmental issues at the FCO
in London.

Before joining FCO he worked at the Department of Trade and Industry
(1980-87) on a range of industrial sectors and trade policy, including
two years as a minister’s Private Secretary.

He has an MA in Economic Geography from Cambridge University, an MBA
from Durham University, studied Japanese at London University’s School
of Oriental and African Studies, and is a Fellow of the Royal
Geographical Society. His first book, Raffles: Lessons in Business
Leadership, was published in 2003.

Married to Sarah, with three children, he was born in 1959, in Devon.

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Air Marshal Mark Binskin Battle of Britain British High Commission canberra Defence High Commissioner Paul Madden RAAF RAF rolls royce