Hubert Rance
CB | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Trinidad and Tobago | |
| In office 19 April 1950 – June 1955 | |
| Monarchs | George IV Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Sir John Valentine Wistar Shaw |
| Succeeded by | Sir Edward Beetham |
| Governor of British Burma | |
| In office 31 August 1946 – 4 January 1948 | |
| Monarch | George VI |
| Preceded by | Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith |
| Succeeded by | Sao Shwe Thaik as President of Burma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 July 1898 |
| Died | 24 January 1974 (aged 75) |
| Nationality | Administrator |
Early life
Rance was born in Plymouth on 17 July 1898,[2] the son of Frederick Hubert Rance (1862 – 29 March 1942)[3] and his wife Minnie Florence Eleanor nee Shaw (1871–1964).[4]
Rance was educated at Wimbledon College,[5]
In Q1 1927 in Hastings, Sussex, Rance married Mary Noel nee Guy (1905–1997).[6] Their daughter Elizabeth M was born in Richmond, Yorks, in Q2 1931,[7] and their son David E. in N.W. Surrey in Q3 1935.[8]
Career to 1945
Rance joined the
Burma
In 1945, he was appointed Director of Civil Affairs in Burma, restoring British control after
British policy started to move away from an attempt at a slow, gradual transition to independence, and it was decided that Rance should co-operate with Aung San and his Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League. Aung San was believed to be less hostile to British interests, and less radical in his nationalism than some other political figures, like the communists, for example.
Rance became Governor on the last day of August 1946, and on 27 January 1947 Attlee made an agreement with Aung San that independence would come as soon as possible, with elections in April. British hopes of a smooth handover of power allowing the UK to retain some influence were threatened when Aung San was assassinated in July 1947. Rance's prompt action in making
In a formal ceremony on 4 January 1948, Governor Rance handed over to
West Indies
 |
He acted as British governor of Trinidad and Tobago between 19 April 1950 and June 1955. He is author of two reports published by the Colonial Office in London in 1950: Development and welfare in the West Indies, 1947-49 and Report of the British Caribbean Standing Closer Association Committee, 1948-49. In May 1956, he published an article on Burma’s Economic Problems in the Eastern World.
Hubert Rance Street in Vistabella, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago was named in his honour.
Death
Rance died on 24 January 1974 at the age of 75.[12]
References
- ^ "Current Biography". 1953.
- ^ FreeBMD
- ^ FreeBMD
- ^ FreeBMD
- ^ Poole, Anthony; Potter, Simon; Austin, John (2016). Wimbledon College: The First 125 Years. The History Press. p. 112.
- ^ FreeBMD
- ^ FreeBMD
- ^ FreeBMD
- ^ Smart 2005, p. 261.
- ^ DNB article on U Nu
- ^ "The Architect of Sovereignty, and Myanmar's First Independence Day". mdn.gov.mm. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Sir Hubert Rance, Ex-Burma Governor". The New York Times. 26 January 1974.
Sources
- Clive Christie, The Karens in Turbulent Times and Enduring People (2000) ed. Jean Michaud
- William Roger Louis, Dissolution of the British Empire in The Oxford History of the British Empire (1999) ed. Brown, Louis, Low
- Burma: The Curse of Independence (2001)
- British in Burma (Encyclopædia Britannica)[permanent dead link]
- King's College Military Archives
- DNB articles on U Nu and Dorman-Smith
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. ISBN 1844150496.