Christopher Noble (18 August 1902 - 20 July 1986) was an English

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

who served as the ninth

Surveyor-General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor gen ...

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 ...

, from 1953 to 1956.

Early life and education

Christopher Noble was born on 18 August 1902 in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, the oldest of two children to William Hobkirk Noble (Chief

Lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

- Survey Department, Kuala Lumpur) and Jane Annie née Ward. He attended Hanson Grammar School,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

before travelling to Australia, where he qualified as a licensed land surveyor at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

in March 1925.

Professional career

On 18 April 1925 he was appointed as a surveyor in the Singapore Survey Department and on 30 April 1934 was promoted to senior surveyor. Until 1930 he worked mainly with the Toposurvey Branch, in Pahang, before working with the Survey Department in Kuala Lumpur, serving as the acting Assistant Surveyor-General between February 1940 and June 1941. On 13 July 1942 he enlisted in Melbourne in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and served as a flying officer. He was honourably discharged on 24 June 1944 and returned to Malaya. Noble was appointed as deputy Surveyor-General of the Federated Malay Straits in August 1949, and then Surveyor-General on 26 January 1953. He retired on 25 March 1956 and was succeeded by

Luis Sigismund Himley Luis Sigismund Himley (28 November 1906 – 18 April 1984) was an English surveyor, who served as the tenth Surveyor-General of the Federated Malay States between 1956 and 1960. Luis Sigismund Himley was born in Macagua, Cuba on 28 November 190 ...

. Upon his retirement he returned to England, where he died 20 July 1982 in Little Common,

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, at the age of 79.

Personal life

Noble married Barbara Constance Watherstone (1908-2001), the daughter of Charles Watherstone (Assistant Under- Secretary of State and Director of Finance at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

) and Constance Eva née Clarke, on 3 November 1934 at

St Mary's Church, Harrow on the Hill St Mary's, Harrow on the Hill, is the Borough and Parish Church at Harrow on the Hill in northwest London, England. It is a Grade I-listed building. History Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, began the construction of a church on this site in ...

in northwest London. Noble's sister, Maude (1912-2003), was married to Watherstone's brother, David Charles, who served as the Chief Secretary,

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 ...

and was knighted for his service in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Christopher 1902 births 1986 deaths People from Middlesbrough English surveyors Australian surveyors University of Western Australia alumni Administrators in British Malaya Military personnel from North Yorkshire Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II

Early life and education

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References