Sir Frank George Sly (1866 – 16 July 1928) was the first British governor of the Central Provinces of India and instrumental in the

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more briefly known as the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, th ...

Early life

Frank Sly was born in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

1866 to Thomas Sly and Clara Moore. He studied at

Oxford University 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 ...

before entering the Indian Civil Service towards the end of 1887.

Career

After joining the

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 ...

in 1887, Sly was appointed Under-Secretary in the Department of Revenue and Agriculture in 1894. He became officiating Secretary in 1896, before becoming Commissioner of Agriculture and Settlements and later Inspector-General of Agriculture. From 1908–1912, he was Commissioner of

Berar Province Berar Province, also known as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province in British India, ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad. After 1853, it was administered by the British, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the provin ...

where he was tasked with remodeling the administration of the province, to bring it in line with the other Central Provinces into which it had recently been amalgamated. In September 1912, he was appointed a member of the Royal Commission on the Public Services. After a brief spell as Commissioner of

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

, he was appointed Chairman of the Public Works Department Re-organisation Committee. Sly then went to

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

as Chairman of the Champaran Inquiry Committee. He was later appointed Deputy Chairman of Lord Southborough's Franchise Committee. In January 1920, Sly returned to the

Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the B ...

as Chief Commissioner, and later that year was appointed Governor. In January 1922, Sly hosted

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

when he visited Nagpur on his tour of India.

Advocate for reform

Sly played a prominent part in shaping the Government of India Act, as a member of the India Office Committee and a witness before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, where he was a strong advocate of the 1919 changes, which became known as the

Family

Sly married Sophie Louisa Dane on September 4, 1900 at Christ Church, Simla in Bengal. Dane was born in India where her father Sir Richard Morris Dane worked in the Indian Civil Service and was in charge of export. They had one child, Joan Clara Sophia Sly, born in 1902. On 28 July 1910, Sir Frank was granted a divorce from Dane on the grounds of "adultery with

Hubert Druce Hubert Druce (May 20, 1870 – April 6, 1931) was an English actor and producer involved with English and American theater for over forty years. Druce was born as Benjamin Hubert Druce in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, in 1870. His stage debut ...

". Sly's daughter Joan joined him in India, where she met her future husband John Ray Geddes.

Daughter's suicide

Joan Sly and John Ray Geddes committed suicide on 8 August 1924 at Gordon Street Chambers on

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...

, London. The inquest into their deaths noted that the couple had taken out extensive loans to fund their wedding and subsequent honeymoon, and had run into financial troubles.

Death and memorials

Following his daughter's suicide Sly tendered his resignation and returned to London leaving Nagpur on 26th January 1925. He died in London on July 16, 1928. and is buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

. He inaugurated

Nagpur Railway Station Nagpur Junction (station code: NGP) is a railway station in Nagpur, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is an important junction station on the Howrah–Mumbai and Delhi–Chennai trunk line of the Indian Railways. It belongs to A1 categ ...

on 15 January 1925. A plaque at the station bears his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sly, Frank 1866 births 1928 deaths People from Salisbury British civil servants Central Provinces