Basil Bunting (1900-1985)
Imprisoned and mistreated as a conscientious objector during WW1 (Bunting was a Quaker), he abandoned his conscientious objection during WW2 and was sent to Persia where he stayed on after the war, first in the diplomatic sevice, then as a journalist, before being expelled by Mossadeq.
See the Basil Bunting Poetry Centre at the University of Durham



Upon his return to England he enlisted in the R.A.F., after being turned down by both the Army and the Navy because of his poor eyesight. In 1942 he was transferred to Persia, initially as an interpreter (he had acquired a knowledge of classical Persian with the encouragement of Pound). By the time that the war came to a close he had become a Squadron Leader.

From 1945 to 1948 Bunting held diplomatic posts in Persia, including that of Chief of Political Intelligence.