Sir Charles William James Orr, (20 September 1870 – 1945) was a British colonial administrator. He was born the youngest son of Major Andrew Orr of Co. Londonderry and educated at Bath College and the Royal Military College, Woolwich. Charles’ elder sister was the astronomer Mary Acworth Orr. He was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 15 February 1889, and promoted to lieutenant on 15 February 1892. Serving in British India, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 7 September 1899. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War later that year, in March 1900 he was seconded for service in South Africa. He was later promoted to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In 1903 he became the British Resident in Northern Nigeria. From 1911 to 1917 he was Chief Secretary to the Government of Cyprus . and from 1919 to 1926 Colonial Secretary of Gibraltar. He was made

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 1921. He served as Governor of the Bahamas from 1927 to 1932 and was knighted KCMG in 1928. Orr wrote two well-received books during his career, ''The Making of Northern Nigeria'' in 1911 and ''Cyprus under British Rule'' in 1918. His daughter Lettice married

Sir Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fictio ...

, founder of Penguin books, becoming Lady Letitia Lucy Lane.The Making of Northern Nigeria, Introduction to the Second Edition, 1965

Publications

Cyprus under British Rule
(1918).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Charles William James 1870 births 1945 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Garrison Artillery officers Colonial Secretaries of Gibraltar Governors of the Bahamas British colonial governors and administrators in Africa British colonial governors and administrators in Europe British colonial governors and administrators in the Americas British Army personnel of the Second Boer War