Sir George Beresford-Stooke (3 January 1897 – 7 April 1983) – always known as "Toby" - was Chief Secretary to Northern Rhodesia, and later appointed Governor of Sierra Leone from September, 1947 until December 1952. Beresford-Stooke was born on 3 January 1897 in

Priors Marston Priors Marston is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Daventry. The Oxford Canal and Jurassic Way both run nearby. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the popula ...

, Warwickshire. On 15 January 1914 (just after his 17th birthday) he enrolled in the Royal Navy, with the rank of Paymaster Lieutenant. After the end of the First World War, he joined his Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), serving in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

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

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 incl ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, and as Chief Secretary of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

and then of

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 ...

.http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/dumpextras/othermags/The%20Scouter%20(U.K.%20Monthly)/The%20Scouter%20-%201954/02%20-%20February.pdf He married Creenagh Lydia L. Richards, and in 1944 they adopted Peter, and later, Cara, both from South Africa.

Governor of Sierra Leone This is a list of colonial administrators in Sierra Leone from the establishment of the Cline Town, Sierra Leone, Province of Freedom Colony by the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor which lasted between 1787 and 1789 and the list of colo ...
(September 1947 – December 1952)

While Governor of Sierra Leone, he was also Chief Scout of that country. His time as governor corresponded with a troubling rise of the

Crocodile Society The Crocodile Society was a West African secret society that practised cannibalism. The Crocodile Society existed in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Mitchell, Harry (2002) Remote Corners: A Sierra Leone Memoir The Rad ...

in rural parts of the country. In 1951, Sir George revised the Constitution of Sierra Leone to expand the franchise to women in areas of the "interior" where, up until that point, only men were allowed the right-to-vote on local matters. Beresford-Stooke ordered government resources to go towards building health clinics and repairing roads on Tasso, Kagbeli, and Tumbu Islands which had long been overlooked by the government. Each island had a small handful of facilities run by the British government, however those facilities were all racially segregated into "European" and "African" sections. Beresford-Stooke ordered all of those facilities to be desegregated, and all new facilities to be built without racial segregation in mind with respects to new structures. In the city of Bo, local indigenous leaders requested more funds for school building and road repairs, Beresford-Stooke succeeded in getting those funds allocated and having the repairs completed before leaving office. Beresford-Stooke also requested and received help in increasingly "rural literacy" programs in the colony's interior. He ordered that signs which had hitherto only been painted in English, also be painted in the Sherbro, Mende and Temne languages so that locals who did not speak English were able to read them. Sir

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

later said that if more colonial administrators "had been like Beresford-Stooke, Hodson,

Wilkinson Wilkinson may refer to: People * Wilkinson (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places in the United States * Wilkinson, Illinois * Wilkinson, Indiana, a town in Hancock County * Wilkinson, Minnesota * Wilkinson, Mis ...

and

Ransford Slater Sir Alexander Ransford Slater (28 November 1874 – 1940) was a British colonial administrator, who served as governor of Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Jamaica. Biography The son of Rev. C. S. Slater, Plymouth, Slater was educated at King E ...

, colonialism would have had a better reputation. However, most simply were not." He retired from HMOCS in 1952, aged 55 (the normal retirement age for that Service at that time).

Retirement

Retiring to

East Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retail ...

, Surrey, Sir George became Second Crown Agent for the Colonies. He served as Treasurer to the International African Institute, 1955–1965, and as Vice-Chairman, 1957–1974. In 1954, after six months as Assistant, Sir George, having been a Scout for many years, was appointed Overseas Commissioner for the

Boy Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

Also in 1954, Sir George was appointed a Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. His portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery In 1959, Sir George was part of a team tasked by UK to investigate the detention camps in Kenya. Sir George was a

Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod The Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod is the Gentleman Usher to the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, established in 1818. If the office holder is female, she is referred to as the Lady Usher of the Blue Rod. The office was ...

, 1959–1972. Sir George and Creenagh later moved to Hillfarance, west of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, Somerset, where he died on 7 April 1983. He lies buried in the Churchyad of the Parish Church of the Holy Cross at Hillfarrance. His wife Creenagh (born 14 May 1907) also died there, in November 1998.England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford Stooke, George 1897 births 1952 deaths Governors of Sierra Leone Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Chief Secretaries of Northern Rhodesia Chief Secretaries of Nigeria People from Warwickshire People from Molesey People from Somerset Royal Navy logistics officers British expatriates in Northern Rhodesia

Retirement

See also

References