Philippa Treadwell who lived in Oman from 1975-79, died in England on Friday 19thApril 2013 after a very short hospital stay.
Philippa was born in Istanbul on 2nd June 1927 and has been associated with the Middle East since then; as British Consul’s wife in Jeddah from 1963; British Ambassador’s wife in the UAE from 1968-1973 (the critical period of the formation of the UAE in December 1971) and Oman from 1975-1979 (and from 1946 till 1955 in Sudan and later a run of countries including Nigeria. From 1973–1975 she was High Commissioner’s wife in the Bahamas) – Charles Treadwell, her husband, died on 10th January 2010 aged 89.
Philippa was an indefatigable explorer of Oman – achieving many unreported probable firsts for a non-Omani including her find of the Tower Tombs at Jaylah and creating awareness of the the vast Green Turtle nesting beach at Ras Al Jinz and was a European pioneer of the north face ascent from Wadi Saatan to Jebel Shams.
Philippa as a diplomat’s wife also dealt with key visits into Oman, including that by Queen Elizabeth in 1979. My abiding memory of her is a visit by her into Oman which started at Heathrow, where a minor accident caused one of her ribs to be cracked; yet her determination to re-visit Oman overcame the pain for some three weeks of travel, usually off road. Philippa made many friends in Oman who, like me, will no doubt remember her charm, strength of character and passion for life.
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