Terence O'Brien

Terence John O'Brien, CMG, MC (13 October 1921 in Ranchi, India – 22 December 2006 in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England) was a British career diplomat. Background Born in India, the son of Joseph O'Brien, he belonged to a long line of British civil servants who served the Indian Empire. When he was eleven his father retired and settled in the English county of Norfolk. Education and war service O'Brien was educated at Gresham's School, Holt and Merton College, Oxford, where he was a Postmaster Scholar. He arrived at Oxford in 1939, and his university career was soon interrupted by the Second World War. He served as a captain in the Ayrshire Yeomanry and took part in the Normandy Landings, being awarded the Military Cross in 1945 for his survey work between Allied and enemy lines. After the war, he returned to Oxford to complete his degree and was an active member of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Career