KIDD, Dr. George Pirkis. Born June 6, 1917 in Glasgow, Scotland; passed away

peacefully on July 22, 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia. Predeceased by

his parents, George and Mary Kidd; his wife, Lola (Calverley) Kidd; his

brother, William Kidd; and his sister, Mary Hood Hutchinson. Survived by his

brother, Dr. James McIntyre Kidd (Portland, Oregon); nephews, David George

Hutchinson (Portland, Oregon) and James F. Hutchinson (Portland, Oregon);

nieces, Ann Kidd/Battye (Ontario), Mary April Lee (Bay City, Oregon), Diane

Marguerite Nusom (Albany, Oregon), Cynthia Hood Hutchinson and Dr. Kathleen

Hutchinson (Portland, Oregon); as well as many great nieces and nephews.

Dr. Kidd attended St. Michael’s School (1928-32), Brentwood College

(1932-36) and Victoria College (1936-37) in Victoria prior to earning a B.A.

and M.A. at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 1941, he was

studying for his Ph.D at the University of Illinois (Fellowship), when he

joined the Canadian army. He served with The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders

of Canada in the U.K. and France, where he was wounded in action in the

Normandy campaign in 1944.

In 1946, Dr. Kidd commenced a distinguished career with the Canadian

Department of External Affairs, including several postings at the

ambassadorial level. He was first posted to the Canadian Legation in Warsaw,

Poland in 1947, followed by a posting to the Canadian Embassy in Paris,

France in 1949. In 1951, he returned to Canada to attend a course at the

National Defence College, followed by a three-year assignment in the

department’s Defence Liaison Branch in Ottawa, which was responsible for

intelligence and security matters.

When the Canadian government agreed to establish diplomatic relations with

the new State of Israel in 1954, Dr. Kidd was sent to Tel Aviv to open an

embassy and become the first Canadian Ambassador there. He returned to

Ottawa in 1957, serving two years in the Political Coordination Branch,

followed by two years on the Directing Staff, National Defence College.

He was posted to Havana as Canadian Ambassador to Cuba and Haiti in 1961,

serving there during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. In 1964, he was

posted to Washington, D.C. as Minister of the Canadian Embassy. From 1967 to

1971, Dr. Kidd served as Deputy Director of the Canadian International

Development Agency (CIDA), followed by a posting to London, England as

Assistant Secretary General, Commonwealth Secretariat. Dr. Kidd’s diplomatic

career culminated with a posting to Lagos, where he served as Canadian High

Commissioner to Nigeria and Sierra Leone from 1974 to 1977.

Dr. Kidd retired to Victoria, British Columbia in 1977, where he gave

generously of his time and talents to the betterment of his community,

province and country.. He served on the Executive and was President

(1978-81) of the Royal Commonwealth Society and President of the Victoria

Branch, Canadian Institute of International Affairs (1981-84). A

knowledgeable collector of art himself, he made a significant contribution

to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria as Chairman of the Finance Committee,

Board of Trustees (1981-83); President of the Board (1983-85). He also

served as