Clan Strachan Patron
Major Benjamin Strachan, CMG
 Born
in Edinburgh Ben Strachan is a former British Ambassador. He saw war service in
the armoured corps in France and Germany, where he was wounded and captured.. He
was wounded again in the Malayan campaign and
eventually commanded a squadron of tanks.
He has studied widely: Classics at school, Applied Science at the Durham
University and the Military College of Science. Arabic in Lebanon, and
Pure Mathematics at Aberdeen University. He served as an intelligence staff
officer in Egypt, and ended his 20 year military career Deputy Head of MI 10
(Technical Intelligence) in London.
He started his diplomatic service as head of the Middle
East Section of the Foreign Office's counter-propaganda department, and went on
to head the information services of the British Colonial Government in Aden.
He returned to the Foreign Office in 1964, where he served
as Deputy Head of the Scientific Relations Department, in which capacity he
represented the British Government at various international scientific
conferences, dealing in particular with nuclear energy and the space programme.
This was followed by posts in the British Embassies in
Kuwait and Jordon, where, as Deputy to the Ambassador he witnessed the civil war
between the PLO and the Jordan Army.
This was followed by six years in Canada: three years in
Toronto (as trade commissioner) and three years in Vancouver (as
consul-general). Here he took advantage of the magnificent Canadian public
libraries to read widely on scientific, philosophical and esoteric subjects.
In 1977, he returned to the Middle East to serve as
Ambassador to Yemen, where is knowledge of Arabic enabled him to enjoy Yemen's
unique and ancient cultural life.
Next followed three years as Ambassador in war-torn Beirut,
scene of the appalling suffering of the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples.
He gained some notoriety in the British media by being the first senior British
official to meet with Yasser Arafat (privately and without government
instruction). The two hit it off surprising well and dialogue prospered,
eventually gaining official acquiescence. Ben likes to think that his
initiative started a dialogue which was crowned years later by the Oslo accords
between Arafat and Prime Minister Rabin.
After three harrowing years in Beirut, he was transferred
to his last post, as Ambassador to Algeria. A more positive era in
British-Algerian was marked by the signing of a wide ranging British-Algerian
Defense Agreement, an event which also marked Ben's 60th birthday and automatic
retirement.
He was made a
Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
(C.M.G) by the Queen. In 1990, he was recalled from retirement to be "Special Adviser
(Middle East)"at
the Foreign Office for the duration of the first Gulf War.
In 1963,
Ben and his Danish wife, Lize, bought the
Mill of Strachan, a small 18th
century farm in the beautiful hamlet of Strachan, which has been their home
ever since. They have five children and 10 grandchildren.
Ben is
the author of a Strachan clan research book, “A History of the Strachans.” The considerable research for this
35-page book was done in London,
where the British Museum Library gave Ben access to all the ancient registers of
Scotland. His conclusions about the early history of the Strachans (“antiquissima
familia Strachensis” as one ancient Latin text has it) are entirely drawn from
original source.
- - - - -
The last Chief of Clan Strachan, Admiral Sir
Richard J. Strachan (Bart.), died without heir in 1828. His title became
dormant in 1854. Since this date, Clan Strachan is considered an
Armigerous clan... one without a Chief.
After the Society polled some 300+ Strachans living worldwide on whom they
wished to be the Patron (Head of the Armigerous Clan Strachan), it
was virtually unanimously decided to honor Ben with the title of Patron.
Obviously, Ben and Lize's hospitality in greeting the many
visitors to the Mill of Strachan did not go without gratitude. In 2005, Ben humbly and quite graciously agreed to be our
interim Chief (aka Patron), and in typical "Ben" fashion stated that he was not worthy.
Obviously, we think otherwise!
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