Sir Alexander Fraser Russell, (21 October 1876 – 28 March 1952), publicly known as Sir Fraser Russell, was three times acting

Governor of Southern Rhodesia The Governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The Governor was appointed by The Crown and acted as the local h ...

as well as its long-serving Chief Justice. Born at St Andrew's Church, Somerset Road,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, to

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

J.M. Russell and his wife Nancy, Russell attended Normal College,

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...

, Scotland, and the

South African College The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS). History The process that would lead to the formation of t ...

. At the South African College he obtained a double degree in Arts and Science and was awarded the Ebden Scholarship to study overseas for three years.

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

had obtained the same scholarship three years previously. He went first to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, where he gained a first class Law Degree in 1900,''The Times'', "Sir Fraser Russell", 29 March 1952. and secondly to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, London, to study law. Russell was called to the

bar in 1901 and later that same year was admitted to the South African Bar. From 1902 to 1915 he was editor of the Supreme Court Reports of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

and

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

before his elevation to the bench in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

. Russell married Winifred Robertson in 1904 and together they had two daughters and two sons. In 1931 Russell was appointed Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia and, in 1939, President of the Rhodesian Court of Appeal. While serving as Chief Justice, Russell acted as

from 1934–35, 1936–37 and 1942. He was invested as a

Knight Commander 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 ...

(KBE) in the

1943 New Year Honours The 1943 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1942.United Kingdom (additiona ...

. Russell died in 1952 aged 75, survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, with one son killed in action in 1941. Their daughter Ida married the West Indian

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

captain, and later teacher and missionary in Africa,

Jackie Grant George Copeland Grant (9 May 1907 – 26 October 1978), known as Jackie Grant, was a West Indian cricketer who captained the Test side from 1930 to 1935. He was later a missionary in South Africa and Rhodesia. Appointed to the Test captainc ...

.Jack Grant, ''Jack Grant's Story'', Lutterworth, Guildford and London, 1980, pp. 11–26.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Fraser 1876 births 1952 deaths Politicians from Cape Town People educated at Merchiston Castle School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Governors of Southern Rhodesia Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Chief justices of Rhodesia South African knights South African Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire