Arthur Frederick Richards, 1st Baron Milverton (21 February 1885 – 27 October 1978), was a British colonial administrator who over his career served as Governor of

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, Jamaica, and Nigeria.

Early life and education

Richards was born in Bristol in 1885, the son of William Richards. He was educated at Clifton College in Bristol, and graduated from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, in 1907 with a BA.

Colonial service

Richards entered the Malayan Civil Service in 1908. By 1921, he had become the Acting 1st Assistant Colonial Secretary for the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

. He served as Acting Under-Secretary of the

Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...

in 1926, and became full Under-Secretary from 1927 to 1929. He was the Acting General Advisor in Johore between 1929 and 1920, and from 1930 to 1933 he served as the Governor of Northern Borneo. Following this, he served as Governor of the Gambia from 1933 to 1936. He served as Governor of Fiji from 1936 to 1938, holding this office concurrently with the position of High Commissioner of the Western Pacific. From 1938 to 1943, he served as

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jamai ...

. From 1943 to 1948, he served as

Governor of Nigeria The Governor-General of Nigeria was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in Colonial Nigeria from 1954 to 1960, and after Nigerian independence in 1960, the representative of the Nigerian head of state. The office was create ...

. He was known in the Colonial Service as 'Old Sinister'. He became the first Colonial Office official to be raised to the peerage while still in office. In 1986, his former private secretary in Nigeria, Richard Peel, published a memoir of Richards, titled ''Old Sinister: A Memoir of Sir Arthur Richards''.

Honours

He was made a

CMG CMG may refer to: Companies * Capitol Music Group, a music label * China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC * China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector * ...

in 1933, elevated to KCMG in 1935, and again to GCMG in 1942. In 1947 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Milverton, of Lagos and of

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

in the

City of Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. He was also appointed as K.St.J., and was awarded the US Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm.

Family

In 1927, Richards married Noelle Bënda Whitehead (18 December 1904 – 11 September 2010), daughter of Charles Basil Whitehead. He died in October 1978, aged 93, and was succeeded in the Barony by his eldest son Fraser Arthur Richard Richards.

Arms

References

, - 1885 births 1978 deaths Civil servants from Bristol Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of Fiji Governors of Jamaica British Governors and Governors-General of Nigeria People educated at Clifton College Governors of the Gambia High Commissioners for the Western Pacific Governors of North Borneo Place of birth missing Place of death missing Barons created by George VI {{UK-baron-stub