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Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

5th August 2014

Australia remembers start of the Great War

Wreaths line the Pool of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial, Canberra
Wreaths line the Pool of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Alongside Ambassadors and High Commissioners from many countries, representing both sides of the conflict, I took part yesterday in a moving ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1, at Canberra’s Australian War Memorial. Meanwhile in Glasgow, Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove, one of Australia’s most distinguished former soldiers, represented Australia at the Commonwealth commemoration service. All around the world our embassies turned off all their lights, save a single candle, reflecting then Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey’s remark at the outset of the war that “the lamps are going out all over Europe”.

In both Britain and Australia there has been an increase in the academic and public debate about the causes and conduct of the War in the run up to the centenary. Certainly a conflict that led to 16 million deaths and over 20 million wounded worldwide is not a cause for celebration. But it is an appropriate moment to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many of my grandparents’ generation. Indeed both my grandfathers served in that War.

The Gallipoli campaign, commemorated on Anzac Day, dominates Australian consciousness of the First World War. That’s understandable as, coming not long after Federation, it was the first time Australian soldiers were fighting under an Australian flag. They served with great distinction and have become a symbol of the Australian national character. More than 8,000 Australians died at Gallipoli. It was a tragic campaign for Britain too, with over 21,000 dead. And we should not forget that the Turks lost nearly 70,000. Over the next few years, the Australian government plans to raise the public profile of Australia’s engagement on the Western Front too. Battles like Pozières, Bullecourt and Villers-Bretonneux took a heavy human toll, but were ultimately successful steps on the route to victory.

Some question now why young Australians in 1914-18 travelled to the other side of the world to fight in a “European” war. There was no consensus for conscription, but huge numbers volunteered to participate. Most Australians at the time, including my grandfather’s brother, who had emigrated to Queensland a few years before but went back to fight, did not see it as someone else’s war. Predominantly of British heritage then, their views were summed up by Andrew Fisher who became Prime Minister a month after the outbreak of the war, when he pledged to defend the then mother country “to our last man and our last shilling”.  Australia is a very different country today, with a more diverse demographic and cultural make-up. So is Britain. But, as the last 100 years have regularly demonstrated, we remain staunch friends and allies through thick and thin.

A single candle illuminates the war memorial in the grounds of the British High Commission, Canberra.
A single candle illuminates the war memorial in the grounds of the British High Commission, 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 until F...

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.