Ernest Wilton

Sir Ernest Colville Collins Wilton, KCMG (born 6 February 1870 in Singapore; died 28 December 1952 in Ashington, England) was a British diplomat and President of the Commission for the Government of the Saar Basin between 1927 and 1932.[1]

Sir Ernest Wilton KCMG
President of the Commission for the Government of the Saar Basin
In office 1927–1932
Preceded by	George Washington Stephens, Jr.
Succeeded by	Sir Geoffrey George Knox
Personal details
Born	February 6, 1870 Singapore
Died	December 28, 1952 (aged 82) Ashington, England
Education	Bedford Modern School
Occupation	Diplomat

Life

His parents were both naturalized British, the Danish-born mother and father born in the Netherlands. He was educated at Bedford Modern School.[2]

In 1890, he joined the British diplomatic service in China and worked in various diplomatic posts for the next 30 years. For his service in the British missions to Tibet and the related negotiations with China in 1904 as he was appointed Companion in the Order of St. Michael and St. George. During World War I, he continued serving in various diplomatic and customs posts in China. He returned to Europe in 1919 and served as one of the Allied Arbitration Commission for 1919/20 Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts for the border town Cieszyn (or Teschen). Subsequently, he was a British envoy in all three Baltic States. In 1923 he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael's and St. George. From 1923 to 1926, he was a member of an International Commission to the Chinese Salt Trade before he was in 1927 appointed President of the Commission for the Government of the Saar Basin. In 1932, he resigned from that office to retire for health reasons.

References

1. Obituary in The Times, Sir Ernest Wilton, 30 December 1952, p.8
2. "Bedford Modern School of the Black And Red" by Andrew Underwood, 1981

External links

• Dix Noonan Webb: Wilton's Biography