Laurence Bristow-Smith

Laurence Bristow-Smith gained a doctorate at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for his work on the artist and novelist Mervyn Peake. He spent for years as Maitre de Conferences at the University of Rabat in Morocco befiore joining the British Diplomatic Service. He learned Chinese and spent time in both Taiwan and mainland China, where he witnessed the Tianman Square incident in 1989. He went on to work across Central andEastern Europe, particularly in the Balkans, where he spent time in...See more

Laurence Bristow-Smith gained a doctorate at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for his work on the artist and novelist Mervyn Peake. He spent for years as Maitre de Conferences at the University of Rabat in Morocco befiore joining the British Diplomatic Service. He learned Chinese and spent time in both Taiwan and mainland China, where he witnessed the Tianman Square incident in 1989. He went on to work across Central andEastern Europe, particularly in the Balkans, where he spent time in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo. He then spent five years in Oslo and six as British Consul General in Milan. He is a keen student of history and music. He also enjoys gardening and cooking.A lifetime exploring different countries andcultures strengthened the interest in historywhich has given rise to this study as well as to See less