Alexander Grantham
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Sir Alexander Grantham Sir Philip Mitchell | ||
---|---|---|
Succeeded by | Sir Brian Freeston | |
15th High Commissioner for the Western Pacific | ||
In office 1 January 1945 – 1947 | ||
Monarch | George VI | |
Preceded by | (vacant) | |
Succeeded by | Sir Brian Freeston | |
Personal details | ||
Born | Alexander William George Herder Grantham 15 March 1899 London, England | |
Died | 4 October 1978 London, England | (aged 79)|
Spouses | Maurine Samson, Lady Grantham
(m. 1925; died 1970)M. E. Lumley, Lady Grantham
(m. 1972) | |
Relations | Hanyu Pinyin Gě Liànghóng | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Jyutping | got3 loeng4 hung4 |
Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG (Chinese: 葛量洪; 15 March 1899 – 4 October 1978) was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji.
Early life, colonial administration career
Grantham was born on 15 March 1899 and was educated at Wellington, the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and Pembroke College, Cambridge.
He was gazetted in the
Grantham became Colonial Secretary of Bermuda from 1935 to 1938, and of Jamaica from 1938 to 1941. He then served as Chief Secretary of Nigeria from 1941 to 1944 and as Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific from 1945 to 1947.
Immediately after his tenure as High Commissioner ended, he became Governor of Hong Kong, until 1957. He opposed his predecessor, Sir Mark Young's proposal of expanding social services on the grounds that the local Chinese population cared little about social welfare.[1] Instead, he proposed the election of Unofficial members of the Legislative Council among British subjects only with the Governor holding reserved power to override LegCo decisions.[2]
Legacy of governorship
His tenure marked the beginning of a unitary housing policy by the Hong Kong Government. In December 1953,
Honours
- Honorary Fellow, Pembroke College, Cambridge
- Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree, Hong Kong University
- CMG, 1941
- KCMG, 1945
- GCMG, 1951
Personal life
Grantham grew up partly in Tianjin, where his father practised law. Both his father and brother were killed in World War I. His mother then remarried, to Johan Wilhelm Normann Munthe, and the family moved to Beijing.
Grantham was married twice. His first marriage, in 1925, was to the well-travelled Maurine Samson, daughter of the late Amos Roland Samson and Liberty "Libby" Cole (Neal) of Champaign County, Illinois. The Governor's official yacht, a Hong Kong health clinic, and a locomotive, were named "Lady Maurine" after her.[3] His first wife died in 1970, and Grantham married (Mrs) M.E. Lumley in 1972. He died on 4 October 1978.
Honours
- United Kingdom :
- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (C.M.G.) (1941)[4]
- Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (K.C.M.G.) - Sir (1945)[5]
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (G.C.M.G.) - Sir (1951)[6]
Places/facilities named after him
- Grantham Hospital in Aberdeen, Hong Kong
- Grantham College of Educationin Hong Kong
- Fire Services Departmentof the Government of Hong Kong
- Sir Alexander, an EMD G12 Diesel-electric locomotive No. 51, introduced in Hong Kong in 1955 and on display at the Hong Kong Railway Museum[3]
Bibliography
- Alexander Grantham (1965). Via ports, from Hong Kong to Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press.
See also
References
- ^ Goodstadt, Leo F. (2004). "The Rise and Fall of Social, Economic and Political Reforms in Hong Kong, 1930–1955". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch. 44: 66.
- ISSN 0305-7410.
- ^ a b The Kowloon Canton Railway (British Section) Part 5 – The Post War Years (1945 to 1978), Tymon, IHHKG, 9 June 2016.
- ^ "No. 35029". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1941. p. 5.
- ^ "No. 37119". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 1945. p. 2938.
- ^ "No. 39243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1951. p. 3064.
External links
- A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Sir Alexander Grantham" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive