Dossier RAS FIN/8/12 - Horace Geoffrey Quaritch and Dorothy Clementina Wales Bequest

The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.

Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales was born in 1900 and educated at Charterhouse and Queen's College Cambridge. In 1924 he entered the service of the Siamese government and from 1924-1928 acted as an adviser to King Rama VI and King Rama VII. This led to the publication of Siamese State Ceremonies (1931), and Ancient Siamese Government and Administration (1934), this volume being translated into Thai in the same year. He married and with his wife, Dorothy, began extensive travel particularly in south and southeast Asia. During 1934-6 he served as field-director for the Greater India Research Committee, directing archaeological work on early Buddhist sites in Thailand. From 1937-1940 he and his wife undertook surveys and excavations in Malaya, particularly in the Kedah region. He published The Making of Greater India (1951) and continued to publish books, articles and reviews throughout his career. He died in 1981.