Born in 1890, Dr Ifor Rees rose from humble beginnings in Bow Street to become the first British Ambassador to Bolivia.
This article was written by Gwenllian Ashley, Assistant Curator at Ceredigion Museum, to accompany a special exhibition held at the Museum.
"Dr T. Ifor Rees attended Ardwyn School and graduated in Welsh from UCW Aberystwyth in 1910. After a period at the Foreign Office in London, he was appointed Vice-Consul in Marseilles in 1913 and a year later became acting Consul-General there.
Before being transferred to Mexico City in 1932 he also served as Charge-d'Affairs successively in Caracas, Nicaragua and Bilbao. After holding a similar appointment in Havana for two years, he was appointed HM Special Envoy for the inauguration of President Gomez in 1936. He was Consul General in Milan 1937-38 and in Mexico City again from 1938 to 1943.
By 1947, Dr. Rees was the Special Ambassador for the inauguration of President Herzog and from 1943-47 was British Minister to Bolivia and the first Ambassador there from 1947-1949. He then retired to his native area of Rhydypennau.
Dr. Rees played a leading part behind the scenes in activities which led up to the battle of the River Plate and the destruction of the German battleship Graf Spee. He also wrote a number of books such as 'In and around the Valley of Mexico', 'Sajama', and 'Ilklimani'.
He was awarded a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and Saint George (C.M.G.) for his services and the University of Wales conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (Ll.D.)
He kept a comprehensive archive of photographs, books, letters and paintings as well as samples of textiles and other mementoes from his travels. He built up a spectacular collection of artifacts over his years of diplomatic service.
I first knew Dr Rees when I was young as I grew up in the Rhydypennau area myself. I know his daughter Morfudd, who still lives in Bow Street. She very kindly lent the collection of objects and photographs to the museum for the exhibition, 'From Bow Street to Bolivia' showing items that related to each of his positions abroad, together for the first time.
There are some wonderful photographs featuring himself and his family and the beautiful textiles and paintings he collected help us to appreciate the culture of those lands in which he lived."
Written by Gwenllian Ashley from Ceredigion Museum.
Click through a collection of Dr Rees' photos
Find out more about Dr Rees...
Dr T. Ifor Rees had a distinguished career in the diplomatic service and was the first British Ambassador to Bolivia.
