Duck diplomacy: British consul general visits Memphis to boost Bluff City's ties to UK

John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Updated ·4 min read

“Do you think a rubber ducky would be disrespectful?”

This question of diplomacy was posed Tuesday morning by Doug Weatherford, hotel historian and longtime sometime "duckmaster" at The Peabody, prior to the arrival of — logically enough — a diplomat: Rachel Galloway, the (relatively) new British consul general for the Southeastern United States.

Formally, Galloway is His Majesty's consul general in Atlanta, representing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Rachel Galloway, the British Consul General in Atlanta, bows her head and shakes hands with Duckmaster Doug Weatherford after he read the proclamation making her an honorary Duckmaster at The Peabody Memphis in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Galloway will be visiting Memphis through June 3 for a series of roundtables, tours, and meetings with local government, business, and community leaders, as well as a pop-up British Consulate.

Less formally, she was, for the morning of May 30, honorary "duckmaster," leading "the march of the world-famous Peabody ducks" (or so proclaims the hotel loudspeaker) in its time-honored waddle from elevator to lobby fountain, where the celebrity mallards quack and splash with such photogenic charm that even a woman described as a specialist in "deep foreign policy" might wonder if a dash of duck diplomacy could help smooth the ruffled feathers of the world's troublemakers.

"This is what my career has been working toward the last 20 years," joked Galloway, 46, who last watched the Peabody ducks some two decades earlier, when, as a young diplomat, she joined friends on a cross-country trek of the U.S. that included a visit to Graceland.

Duckmaster Doug Weatherford tells spectators the history of the Peabody ducks at The Peabody Memphis in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.
Duckmaster Doug Weatherford tells spectators the history of the Peabody ducks at The Peabody Memphis in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.

This time, Galloway and a delegation of some 20 staff members from the Atlanta-based British consulate-general are in Memphis to preside over what the Greater Memphis Chamber describes as a "Pop-Up British Consulate." An idea rather than a space, "pop-up consulate" is the trendy term applied to Galloway's almost weeklong visit to Memphis, where she and her associates will meet business leaders, politicians and members of the public (pub quiz!) to strengthen Great Britain's ties with the Bluff City.

"The UK is a very strategic partner in the Memphis economy," said Ted Townsend, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, a nonprofit that promotes economic development. He said close to 20 United Kingdom-based firms operate in Memphis, employing close to 3,500 people.

Greater Memphis Chamber President & CEO Ted Townsend introduces Rachel Galloway, the British Consul General in Atlanta, while wearing a pin with the British Union Jack flag and Tennessee state flag at The Peabody Memphis in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Galloway will be visiting Memphis through June 3 for a series of roundtables, tours, and meetings with local government, business, and community leaders, as well as a pop-up British Consulate.

Arguably the most notable of these is Smith & Nephew, the city's largest manufacturer, which produces medical equipment. Some others include AB Mauri Fleischmann's, which makes yeast and bakery products, and ACH Food Companies, home to cooking oils.

One of eight such offices in the U.S., the British Consulate-General office in Atlanta covers six states: Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North and South Carolina. Galloway was appointed the Southeast region's consul general last summer, after stints in such locations as Belgium and Afghanistan. Most recently, she was envoy to North Macedonia, where she was involved in the process that enabled that southeastern European nation to become the 30th country admitted to NATO, in 2020. This is why Caitlin Dean, head of political, press and public affairs for the Atlanta consulate, calls her boss a master of "deep foreign policy."

Many nations have consulates in Atlanta; Japan's is in Nashville; but none are in Memphis. Townsend hopes to change that. He said that whenever a foreign diplomat visits Memphis, he asks: "Because we have such an international presence, would you consider placing something permanent in Memphis?"

This week's Memphis visit — "Brits on Beale," Galloway calls it — is an attempt to strengthen ties between the United Kingdom and the Bluff City. To that end, the British team will take part in an almost nonstop series of meetings with business leaders and politicians, but also participate in several public events. The Brits will host a "UK Trivia" pub quiz from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday at The Brass Door, 152 Madison; attend a "Special Olympics Team Building Activity and Disability Rights Q&A" from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Laurie-Walton Basketball Center at the University of Memphis; and participate in a "Pre-Pride Parade Brunch & Art Bash" from noon to 2 p.m. Friday at Cossitt Library, 33 S. Front. Dean said the attending "Pride Week" events was a priority for the Brits because of the UK's commitment to equal rights.

Greater Memphis Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend and Rachel Galloway, the British Consul General in Atlanta, listen as Duckmaster Doug Weatherford tells spectators the history of The Peabody ducks at The Peabody Memphis in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Galloway will be visiting Memphis through June 3 for a series of roundtables, tours, and meetings with local government, business, and community leaders, as well as a pop-up British Consulate.

Whatever the success of this "pop-up," the Brits won't return empty-handed. Whether the visitors go back to Atlanta with any new Memphis-Britain business deals remains to be seen, but Galloway will have in her suitcase one Peabody rubber ducky, plus an "Honorary Duckmaster" certificate, which declares her a person of "high standards and great distinction."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: British consul general visits Memphis, serves as Peabody 'Duckmaster'