Arthur Vincent Aston (1896–1981), was a colonial administrator in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

(later the

Malayan Union The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administratio ...

and then the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

). He was the first British adviser for

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

after the abolition of the post of British Resident of Perak, and

Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

from 1948 to 1951.

Education and career

Aston was educated at

The King's School, Chester The King's School, Chester, is a British co-educational independent day school for children aged 4 to 18. It is one of the seven 'King's Schools' established (or re-endowed and renamed) by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of ...

and Queen's College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

cadet, being promoted to 2nd lieutenant in July 1916. He was then employed in the Malayan Civil Service from 1919 until 1951. During his pre-war career, Aston served as the district officer of

Telok Anson Teluk Intan is a town in Hilir Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. It is the district capital and largest town in Hilir Perak district and fourth largest town in the state of Perak with an estimated population of around 172,505, more than half of ...

, as the Malayan Civil Service Chairman of Kinta Sanitary Board, as the Acting Resident Councillor of

from 1 April 1933 to 20 April 1933, as the Acting Resident Councillor of

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

and as the British Adviser for Perak from 1946 to 1948. During World War II he was an internee at Changi and Sime Road during the Japanese occupation of Malaya and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. After the war, Aston was the Resident Commissioner of Penang from 1948 to 1950 and 1950 to 1951.

Family

Aston married Patricia Williams and had two sons. He lived at the Mill House,

Swallowcliffe Swallowcliffe is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southeast of Tisbury and west of Salisbury. The village lies about half a mile north of the A30 Shaftesbury- Wilton road which crosses the parish. Geography S ...

, Wiltshire, England. He died in 1981.

Honours

Aston was decorated with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in July 1917: "When acting as artillery liaison officer he took command of a body of infantry at a critical moment when their commander was wounded and the advance held up, and led them to the attack with great dash and promptitude, thereby enabling our advance to continue". In 1950 he was appointed Companion of the

Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(CMG).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aston, Arthur Vincent 1896 births 1981 deaths Administrators in British Malaya History of Perak British people in British Malaya Malayan Civil Service officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Military Cross