Patrick Devereux Coates was born in 1916. Following his education at Trinity College, Cambridge he entered the Consular Service, having decided to learn Chinese and work for the Chinese Service. Between 1937 and 1941 Coates was posted to Peking, Canton and Kunming. He was then attached to the Chinese 22nd Division in Burma, and to Chinese forces in India from 1941 to 1944.
From 1944 to 1946 Coates was Acting Chinese Secretary to the British Embassy in China. He then returned to Britain and worked first for the Foreign Office in London, and then for the Civil Service in various ministries until his retirement in 1972. In October 1973 Coates obtained a two-year grant from the Nuffield Foundation to work on the research for
The collection comprises papers, created by P.D. Coates as part of the research for his book
The papers are arranged in the following categories: correspondence; list of China Consuls; files containing notes on materials held in the Public Record Office; research from printed sources; research from unpublished materials. P.D. Coates had a careful filing system by which each page of a file was given a running number. He weeded some of the less important letters from correspondence files, and mention is made in the list where it is known that letters were weeded.
Donated in 1994.
No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance
Unrestricted
Unpublished handlist
Related Collections at SOAS: Alabaster, Chaloner [ref. MS 380451] Ogden, Sir Alwyne George Neville [ref. PP MS 47] Pratt, Sir John Thomas [ref. PP MS 5]