bout de papier, Vol. 21, No. 2 (2005) — Spring 2005 // Printemps 2005, p. 7
The following text was read by Mr. Menzies at the Memorial service for Benjamin Rogers at St. Andrew’s Church, Ottawa, on January 3, 2005.
Benjamin Rogers joined the Department of External Affairs in July 1938. He had a good preparation, graduating from Dalhousie University in 1933 with a BA, and then, on an IODE scholarship, taking an MSc in 1935 in international relations from the London School of Economics in the University of London. He then served as the secretary of a study group of the Royal Institute of International Affairs and was the principal drafter of a report on “The Structure and Problems of the British Empire,” published by Oxford University Press in 1937.
Returning to Canada, he was invited by his old Professor R.A. Mackay of Dalhousie University to join him in writing a book commissioned by the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIA) on Canada Looks Abroad, published by Oxford University Press in 1938. This was the first general survey of Canadian foreign affairs before World War II. I might add here that Ben was proud of the fact that he had included on page 183 of the book the phrase “it is hardly conceivable that the United States would stand idly by and see Canada invaded.” This phrase was used by President Roosevelt on August
18, 1938 when he visited Canada to open the Thousand Islands Bridge and spoke after receiving an honourary degree from Queen’s University in Kingston. He said, “I give to you assurance that the people of the United States will not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil is threatened.”
As Escott Reid was leaving his post as National Secretary of the CIA to join External Affairs, Ben filled in as Acting National Secretary in 1937-38.
From this background you will see that Ben Rogers had a good solid preparation for the Foreign Service when he joined in 1983.
As the threat of war grew in 1939, Prime Minister Mackenzie King decided to open a diplomatic post in Australia. Ben was posted to Canberra to open the post and serve as Third Secretary under Mr. C.J. Birchall. One of the wisest moves Ben made was to marry, two days before departure, Frances Morrison, a talented soprano from Halifax, whom he had met at Dalhousie and traveled with by ship to England. They were to form a strong team working for Canada during Ben’s long and distinguished career.
One of the stories that Ben told about his early months in Canberra concerned instructions he received to register the cable address “DOMINION.” When he found out that it had been taken, he proposed the substitute “DOMCAN,” and that has been used as the cable address of all Canadian offices abroad
Succeeding postings took the Rogers to Washington and Rio de Janeiro. They returned to Ottawa for the years 1948-50, and that is when I met them personally. I recall that as Head of Information Division Ben traveled across Canada giving a series of lectures for the CIA.
From 1950-52 Ben served as Chargé d’Affaires in Prague, Czechoslovakia at the beginning of the cold war between NATO and the Soviet Bloc.
He returned to Ottawa again from 1952-55 to be Head of Defence Liaison (1) Division, responsible for political-military relations with NATO, the United States, through the Canada-United States Permanent Joint Board on Defence, dealing with such projects as the Distant Early Warning Line.
He served as Ambassador to Peru from 1955-58. I remember Ben telling about the successful visit of a Canadian naval squadron to Callao, the port of Lima. The admiral of the Peruvian Navy was so pleased with this visit that he invited the Rogers to visit Peruvian naval units on the upper Amazon at Iquitos on the far side of the Andes mountains. David Rogers, who was fourteen then, went on the trip. He tells me that they visited a leper colony on the upper Amazon run by French Canadian Franciscan missionaries, led by Father Eliezer Macdonald (apparently the descendant of a demobilized Scottish soldier). I wonder if some of you have seen recently the film The Motorcycle Diaries? It is the based on the diaries of Che Guevara, the famous young Argentinian doctor who was Second-in-Command to Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution of 1959. This recent film portrays Che Guevara and a friend riding across Argentina on a motorcycle, and then up through Chile, Ecuador and Peru. They cross the Andes to the upper Amazon and visit the leper colony that the Rogers visited.
The Rogers went from Peru to Turkey; then Deputy High Commissioner to Britain under the Honourable George Drew. This was a very demanding management assignment. From 1960-64 Ben was Ambassador to Spain at the end of General Franco’s regime. He was dually accredited to Morocco.
From 1970-72 Ben was Ambassador to Italy and concurrently High Commissioner to Malta. He supervised a large staff in Rome as Canada has many Italian connections. Many Canadians visit Italy, so there are many consular problems of lost passports and police cases. There is a large community of Italian origin in Canada and strong commercial connections. Canada and Italy are members of NATO. Cultural exchanges are important.
Ben told me that in 1970-71 Canada and Italy were each negotiating with the People’s Republic of China on terms for recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations. He was responsible for exchanging information on the respective negotiations. Eventually the Canadian negotiators found an acceptable formula to cover the case of Taiwan and the Italians followed it.
The Rogers returned to Ottawa, where Ben’s last job from 1972-75 was Chief of Protocol, responsible for relations with over 100 diplomatic missions, the presentation of credentials to the Governor General and many ceremonies during the visits of Foreign Ministers and Prime Ministers.
In all this long and varied career, Ben and his charming and competent wife Frances demonstrated skills of management and gracious personal relations that won them many friends abroad and in Canada.
In retirement Ben continued his interest in the CIA, the Rotary Club and many discussion groups. He was a keen skier and a warm friend.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 21, No. 2 (2005) — Spring 2005 // Printemps 2005, p. 7. Read the rest of this issue →
