Makins was the son of Brigadier-General Sir
Ernest Makins (1869–1959) and Florence Mellor. He was educated at
Winchester and
Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, in 1927.
Early diplomatic career
However, he never practised and instead joined the Diplomatic Service in 1928. Makins was later appointed to be Minister Plenipotentiary at the
British Embassy in Washington in 1945,[2] and served until 1947. He was Assistant Under-Secretary of State at the
Foreign Office from 1947 to 1948 and as Deputy Under-Secretary of State from 1948 to 1952.
Ambassador to the United States
In 1953 he was appointed to be the
Ambassador to the United States,[3] a post he held until 1956. On the eve of the
Suez Crisis, he was present at the crucial meeting on 25 September 1956 where
Harold Macmillan was apparently persuaded that US President
Dwight D. Eisenhower had offered the British Government tacit support; Makins, on the other hand, correctly concluded that Eisenhower would not support the intervention.[4]
Mary Makins (b.1935, twin). Married firstly, as his second wife, Hugo John Laurence Philipps, later 3rd Baron Milford, with whom she had four children. Married secondly, as his second wife,
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, without issue;[7]
Cynthia Makins (b. 1935, twin). Married Oliver James Colman, with whom she had two children;[7]
Virginia Makins (b. 1939). Married David Michael Shapiro, with whom she had three sons;[7]
Patricia Makins (b. 1946). Married, firstly, Michael Ordway Miller, without issue, married, secondly, Loring Sagan, with whom she had two children;[7]
Dwight William Makins, 3rd Baron Sherfield (b. 1951). Married firstly Penelope Jane Collier, daughter of Donald R. L. Massy Collier. Married secondly Jenny Rolls.[7][9]
In the
1964 Birthday Honours, Makins was raised to the peerage as Baron Sherfield, of Sherfield-on-Loddon in the County of Southampton.[15]
He was elected to be a Fellow of the
Royal Society (FRS) under Statute 12 (for those "who have rendered conspicuous service to the cause of science, or are such that election would be of signal benefit to the Society") in 1986.[16]
Arms
Coat of arms of Roger Makins, 1st Baron Sherfield
Crest
A Dexter Arm embowed in Armour proper encircled by an annulet Or and holding a Flagstaff therefrom flowing a Banner Argent charged with a Lion's Face Gules
Supporters
Dexter: a Lion Sable pendent from a Chain about the neck Or a Bezant charged with a Model representing an Atom of Lithium 6 Sable; Sinister: a Bald Headed Eagle rising proper adorned likewise about the neck the Bezant charged with a Lawn Tennis Racquet erect gules
^{{Risse-Kappen, Thomas (1997) [1995]. Cooperation among Democracies: The European Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-6910-1711-2 p 85.}}
^"Reading welcomes its new chancellor". Bulletin. University of Reading. 17 January 2008. pp. 6–7.