Gawain Westray Bell
Sir Gawain Bell CBE | |
---|---|
Governor of Northern Nigeria | |
In office 2 December 1957 – 1962 | |
Preceded by | Sir Bryan Sharwood-Smith |
Succeeded by | Alhaji Sir Kashim Ibrahim |
Personal details | |
Born | Cape Town, South Africa | 21 January 1909
Died | 26 July 1995 | (aged 86)
Sir Gawain Westray Bell
Early life
Bell was born in Cape Town, South Africa to an executive of the New Zealand Shipping Company. At 10, his family moved back to Cumberland, England where he attended the Dragon School, Oxford, Winchester College and Hertford College, Oxford.[1]
Sudan, Palestine, and World War II
In 1931, Bell entered the
In 1938, Bell was seconded to the Government of Palestine where he worked with the police in Gaza. He eventually became commander of the Beersheba Camel Gendarmerie.[2]
Bell volunteered for service in the
Following the war, Bell returned to
Nigeria
In 1957 the Colonial Office recruited Bell to become the Governor of Northern Nigeria,[4] where he worked closely with Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. Bello was regarded by the British as difficult to work with; Bell came to his new job with an open mind and won over Bello to the point that he was asked to remain in his post as governor after Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. He stepped down as governor in 1962.[2]
Later life
Bell worked on several political projects in the Middle East following his time in Nigeria. He worked with Sir
After retiring in 1970, he concentrated on voluntary and charity work. He served as vice president and later chairman of
He published two volumes of memoirs. The first, "Shadows on the Sand", was published in 1984 and covers his life through his time in the Sudan. The second, "An Imperial Twilight", details his five years in Nigeria, as well as his time in Arabia.[2]
Awards and decorations
- Member of the Order of the British Empire (Military Division; 1942)[6]
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1955)[7]
- Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (1957)[8]
- Knight of the Order of St John (1959)[9]
References
- "Bell, Sir Gawain Westray". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/59790. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- BELL, Sir Gawain (Westray), Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2015 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
- Daily Times of Nigeria. 1962. pp. 112–113.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Sir Gawain Westray Bell KCMG, CBE". Archived from the original on 8 July 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "No. 35396". The London Gazette. 26 December 1941. p. 7328.
- ^ "No. 41213". The London Gazette. 29 October 1957. p. 6271.
- ^ Woodward, Peter (2011). "SSSUK at 25" (PDF). Sudan Studies. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Kenrick, John (10 August 1995). "OBITUARY : Sir Gawain Bell". The Independent. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ^ "No. 40366". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1954. p. 22.
- ^ "No. 41136". The London Gazette. 26 July 1957. p. 4427.
- ^ "No. 41604". The London Gazette. 13 January 1959. p. 308.