Harry G. Armstrong

Ambassadors doubtless have their importance but it can reasonably be argued that the right Consul General can accomplish more in aid of international good will than any embassy. There could be no question of the rightness of Sir Harry Gloster Armstrong for the post in this city. An Irishman by birth, soldier with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, actor with Maurice Barrymore at the Haymarket, he came to this country in 1891 and for more than twenty years was a highly successful business man in this city. Like so many of his countrymen he retained his British citizenship, and Americans can well afford to applaud this loyalty for it made possible his appointment to the consulate here. It was an inspired choice. An unmistakable Briton, Sir Harry had lived so long in this city that he seemed a New Yorker by taste and by sympathy. Whether he was lunching at the Century or addressing the Pilgrims, he was completely at home. His farewell to the American breakfast and especially American coffee (upon his retirement and departure for England) was an elegiac masterpiece. In his hearty person and reticent words, he could and did express for countless Americans all that is basic and must necessarily be unspoken in the friendship of the two nations.

Geoffrey Parsons
1938 Century Memorials