Charles Kenneth Rhodes CIE ICS (5 May 1889 – 6 January 1941) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who worked for the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

(ICS).

Early life

Rhodes was the only sonCharterhouse School Register Vol 2 1872-1910:- 1902 page 709 of William Manfield Rhodes and Mary Eleanor Parish, was born on 5 May 1889, Guildford, Surrey, England. He was educated at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

, and

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

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 ...

. While at Oxford, he was awarded a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

for

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Indian Civil Service

After university he sought a position in the Indian Civil Service, gaining acceptance on 13 October 1913. He transferred to then British India, residing at

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

, Assam, India. A group of British Civil Service officers introduced golf to Shillong in 1898 by constructing a nine-hole Shillong Golf Course. Rhodes served as an infantry

subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

. He was commissioned into the

Indian Army Reserve of Officers Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

as a second lieutenant in 1915 and was attached to the

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

.. In May 1919 he Rhodes was promoted from lieutenant to captain. In 1926 Captain Charles Kenneth Rhodes & Captain Jackson converted Shillong Golf Course from a nine-hole course into an 18-hole course. They had to raise funds for the improvements themselves. Charles infamously sold one of his mother's favorite riding horses. It was sadly missed by her, it would still recognise her and would come towards the roadside as she passed by. In the

1936 New Year Honours The 1936 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1935. The recipients of honour ...

, Rhodes was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE).

Marriage

On 2 September 1916 at All Saints Church, Shillong, he married Margaret Geraldine Herbert, daughter of Douglas Herbert, LA, Inspector General of Police of Shillong. Herbert Pakenham-Walsh, Bishop of Assam, officiated. Mrs Rhodes was a campaigner and lobbyist for women's rights in India, and in particular for the abolition of

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

, the practice of burning alive of widows on their husbands' funeral pyres. Rhodes corresponded with

Violet Markham Violet Rosa Markham (October 1872 – 2 February 1959) was a writer, social reformer, campaigner against women's suffrage and administrator. She grew up near Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Actively involved in community and welfare work, she held ...

, public servant, writer and women's rights activist from 1918 to 1919.

Death

Rhodes was killed on 6 January 1941 when the Indian National Airways plane crashed in flames shortly after taking off from the Delhi aerodrome. The pilot was also killed. He was buried on 7 January 1941 in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

.Deaths. ''The Times'' (London, England), Wednesday, 15 January 1941; pg. 1; Issue 48824. (2025 words)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, C K Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 1941 deaths 1889 births People educated at Charterhouse School British people in colonial India