Retirement and Later Life
After retiring from the Foreign Office in 1970, Gilchrist became the Chairman of the Highlands and Islands Development Board, a UK government quango which funded small start-up enterprises in what was a relatively poor region of the country.
In his retirement Gilchrist spent time curling, fishing and writing - in addition to his serious books on his time in Iceland, SOE's work in Siam and the fall of Malaya, he wrote a number of novels, including "Did Van Gogh Paint His Bed?" and some poetry. He was also a prodigious writer of letters to newspapers - principally the Times, the Scotsman and the Glasgow Herald. After his wife Freda died in 1987, he had a letter published in a British newspaper once a week on average until his death in 1993.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Henderson |
UK Ambassador to Iceland 1956–1959 |
Succeeded by Andrew Stewart |
| Preceded by Sir Leslie Fry |
UK Ambassador to Indonesia 1962–1966 |
Succeeded by Terence O'Brien |
| Preceded by Geofroy Tory |
UK Ambassador to Ireland 1967–1970 |
Succeeded by John Peck |
Read more about this topic: Andrew Gilchrist
Famous quotes containing the words retirement and, retirement and/or life:
“Adultery itself in its principle is many times nothing but a curious inquisition after, and envy of another man’s enclosed pleasures: and there have been many who refused fairer objects that they might ravish an enclosed woman from her retirement and single possessor.”
—Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667)
“Convent. A place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the sin of idleness.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“Cities [are] problems in organized complexity, like the life sciences.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)