Sir Arthur Charles Cosmo Parkinson

GCMG 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 ...

KCB OBE (18 November 1884 – 16 August 1967), known as Sir Cosmo Parkinson, was a British civil servant who held the position of

Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook Other uses *Permanent (mathematics), a concept in linear algebra *Permanent (cycl ...

from 1937 to 1940 and from 1940 to 1942.''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Parkinson, Sir (Arthur Charles) Cosmo
Retrieved 11 November 2020.National Portrait Gallery, Sir (Arthur Charles) Cosmo Parkinson
Retrieved 11 November 2020.

Family and education

Born in

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poo ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, Parkinson was the only son of Sidney George Parkinson (1852–1890), a surgeon, and Elizabeth Trench (1859–1940). He was educated at

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a boys' school to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orph ...

, where he was head prefect, before going up to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Career and retirement

Parkinson joined the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

as a clerk in 1909, marking the beginning of a 36-year career in the British Civil Service.Sir Cosmo Parkinson, ''The Colonial Office from Within, 1909–1945'', London: Faber & Faber (1947). 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 served with the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

and was awarded an OBE in 1919 for his service in East Africa. Returning to the Colonial Office, he gradually rose through the ranks, working as Assistant Secretary in the Dominions Office (1925–1927), Head of the East Africa Department (1927–1931) and Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies (1931–1937). In 1937 he was appointed to the position of

, which he held from 1937 until 1940. He then served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, but was soon recalled to the Colonial Office after his successor there, Sir George Gater, was transferred to the Ministry of Supply.Foreign and Commonwealth Office, ''British Diplomats Directory, Part 2 of 4'', 2014. Parkinson's second term as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (1940–1942) coincided with several military defeats during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, resulting in the loss of various colonies, including British Somaliland,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and British Malaya.The British Empire, Sir Cosmo Parkinson.
Retrieved 11 November 2020 In 1942, after Sir George Gater returned to the Colonial Office as Permanent Under-Secretary, Parkinson was seconded for special duties, which allowed him to visit colonies and discuss local issues with Governors and colonial administrators. He visited the Caribbean and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

in 1942–1943; the Gambia,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, Northern Rhodesia,

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

, Aden and British Somaliland in 1943; and Ceylon and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1944. He retired in 1944, but was re-employed during 1945 as an adviser on the post-war reorganization of the colonial service, during which time he visited Fiji and the other Pacific colonies. Parkinson was the author of ''The Colonial Office from Within, 1909–1945'', which was published in 1947. He died on 16 August 1967 at the age of 82.

Honours

Parkinson was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

, a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1935, a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in 1938 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkinson, Cosmo 1884 births 1967 deaths People educated at Epsom College Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Civil servants in the Colonial Office Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies King's African Rifles officers People from Wimborne Minster