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Stewart Symes

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Lieutenant Colonel Sir
George Stewart Symes
GCB GCMG DSO
Stewart Symes by Bassano. 12 July 1938
Resident at Aden
In office
1928–1931
Preceded byJohn Henry Keith Stewart
Succeeded byBernard Rawdon Reilly
Governor of Tanganyika
In office
1931–1934
Preceded byDonald Charles Cameron
Succeeded byHarold MacMichael
Governor-General of Sudan
In office
10 January 1934 – 19 October 1940
Preceded byJohn Maffey
Succeeded byHubert Huddleston
Personal details
Born29 July 1882
Wateringbury, Kent
Died5 December 1962(1962-12-05) (aged 80)[1]
Folkestone, Kent
Military service
RankLieutenant Colonel

Sir George Stewart Symes, GBE, KCMG, DSO (29 July 1882 – 5 December 1962) was a British Army officer and colonial governor.[2]

Career

Symes was born in Kent, the son of Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Symes of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, and Emily Catherine (née Shore), daughter of Charles Shore, 2nd Baron Teignmouth.

Symes, as resident at Aden
Symes, as governor-general of the Sudan

Symes was commissioned a second lieutenant in The Hampshire Regiment in August 1900, and served in South Africa during the end of the Second Boer War in 1902, receiving the rank of lieutenant on 21 April 1902. Symes took part in the Battle of Rooiwal and was stationed for a while in Potchefstroom. He later stayed briefly in the town of Hermanus which he described as "peaceful."[3][4] Later that year he was posted in the Aden Hinterland, where he served 1903–1904. He is said to have been the only British army officer to be awarded a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for services in the hinterland.[5]

He was Governor of the Palestine North District from 1920 to 1925, Chief Secretary to the Government of Palestine from 1925 to 1928, Resident at Aden from 1928 to 1931, Governor of Tanganyika from 1931 to 1934 and Governor-General of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan from 1934 to 1940. During his time in Tanganyika he gained a reputation for governing in the interest of the indigenous African population. This led to him becoming unpopular with some of the white settlers in that country and in neighboring Kenya, and he was known as being one of the most "pro-African" colonial governors.

On every issue in which there was conflict between indigenous Africans and European settlers he governed in favor of the Africans. On multiple occasions he had European settlers deported from the country on the grounds they were mistreating Africans. There were British District Commissioners who were administrators under previous governors, and during their time in Tanganyika had learned to speak the Tongwe and Bende languages before being rotated out, Symes had them recalled to Tanganyika and stationed in areas that spoke Tongwe and Bende. He also devoted government resources towards water purification projects, literacy programs and the administration of antibiotics to natives.

On numerous issues he promoted encouraging the native population to vote on matters that affected them. He also insisted, as did his predecessor, that Africans be paid the same wages as Europeans and Indians for the same work. When asked in the 1950s if he supported African independence movements he said that he did.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ^ "R Stewart Symes: Critical Time in the Sudan". The Times. 7 December 1962. p. 15.
  2. ^ Robertson. J.W. (September 2004). "Symes, Sir (George) Stewart (1882–1962)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  3. ^ "No. 27436". The London Gazette. 23 May 1902. p. 3383.
  4. ^ "No. 27488". The London Gazette. 28 October 1902. p. 6806.
  5. ^ "Lieutenant Colonel Sir (George) Stewart Symes". Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  6. ^ Tanganyika: The Development of a Trust Territory Margaret L. Bates International Organization Vol. 9, No. 1 (February 1955), pp. 32-51 - University of Wisconsin Press
  7. ^ POUNDS AND PIASTRES: THE BEGINNINGS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHERN SUDAN Robert O. Collins Northeast African Studies Vol. 5, No. 1 (1983), pp. 39-65, Michigan State University Press
  8. ^ Long, Charles William Richard (2004). British Pro-consuls in Egypt, 1914-1929: The Challenge of Nationalism. Routledge. p. 215. ISBN 0-415-35033-6.
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