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Sir Harold Baxter Kittermaster,
KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...
, KBE (14 May 1879 – 20 March 1939) was governor of British Somaliland (now
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: ๐’ˆ๐’๐’‘๐’›๐’๐’˜๐’•๐’–; ar, ุงู„ุตูˆู…ุงู„, aแนฃ-แนขลซmฤl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
),
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
(now
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
), and then of the
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 ...
protectorate (now
Malawi Malawi (; or alรกwi Tumbuka: ''Malaลตi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
) in the period before 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 countriesโ€”including all of the great powersโ€”forming two opposi ...
.


Early years

Kittermaster was born at Belmont, Shrewsbury,
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
on 14 May 1879, son of the Reverend Frederick Wilson Kittermaster (died 1906) of
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was the same year that his father moved from Coventry to take up his last post as Vicar of
Bayston Hill Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road. Occupied continuously since before the Middle Ages, ...
near Shrewsbury. He was educated at
Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 โ€“18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...
and at Christ Church, Oxford. He married, in 1923, Winifred Elsie, born on 25 April 1899 in Coventry, daughter of Richard Alexandra Rotherham, by whom he had one son and one daughter. At a height of he was reckoned to be one of the tallest men in the British Colonial Service.


Kenya

Kittermaster was a colonial official in
British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
, now
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...
, before
World War I 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 ...
, and assisted
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 โ€“ January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
on his 1909 safari. Kittermaster was the officer-in-charge of the
Northern Frontier District The North Eastern Province ( so, Gobolka Woqooyi Bari, ๐’Œ๐’™๐’๐’™๐’๐’๐’– ๐’“๐’™๐’Ž๐’๐’•๐’˜ ๐’๐’–๐’‡๐’˜) is one of the former provinces in Kenya. It has a land area of 127,358.5 km2, with its capital at Garissa. Previ ...
during the Aulihan Somali uprising, which started with a major cattle raid on the Samburu in December 1915 and was followed by the sack of the British post at Sarinley in Jubaland. The British had limited forces in the area and were distracted by military operations in German East Africa. Kittermaster was unable to persuade the authorities to undertake serious reprisals until September 1917. After ruthless military action and many deaths the Aulihan were forced to capitulate and pay compensation in cattle. Kittermaster said: "no further trouble need be feared from the Aulihan for some time to come". Kittermaster established the administrative boundary later called the Kittermaster Line separating the Samburu grazing lands of the Leroghi plateau from the larger Laikipia plateau, which had been reserved for white settlers. He was appointed the first acting district commissioner in the
Turkana District Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan an ...
in the northwest of what is now Kenya.


British Somaliland

Kittermaster was Governor of British Somaliland from 1925 to 1931. He was handicapped by strict limits of expenditure by the Treasury, usually limited to ยฃ200,000 annually. As far as possible, he made sure this money was used productively, setting up an agricultural department and distributing groundnuts and cowpeas to prospective growers. In 1927 he decided that the livestock industry was crucial to the economy, and introduced measures that included launching a compulsory inoculation program, building stock dips and organizing the market for animal products. He also obtained funding for well-boring from the Colonial Office.


British Honduras

Kittermaster took office as Governor of the British Honduras on 9 March 1932. Although there were labor grievances against the British administration during Kittermaster's tenure, he undertook few reforms since the situation did not appear to be deteriorating. The colony was poor, but Kittermaster refused to believe that some people were close to starvation. He did nothing to introduce a minimum wage or to reform laws that prevented the formation of unions and imposed a land tax paid mostly by smallholders. A report on education in the
British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...
during this period concluded that primary education was the least progressive of any part of the
empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, and the school buildings were in very poor condition. Kittermaster said it was unfortunate that the report did not cover the British Honduras, but noted that it "has not been found practical to take any action with a view to improving the present situation due to the impossibility of providing increased appropriations for education". He did however recommend "missions to establish schools wherever there is a minimum of children", perhaps with a view to shifting responsibility for funding to the church. In 1932 he commented on secondary schooling that "the high rate of fees is far beyond the means of an ordinary parent of a primary school pupil".


Nyasaland

Kittermaster was 55 years old when appointed Governor of Nyasaland in 1934. He sponsored limited development of the Native Authority system and enacted rules to regulate emigrant labor. Otherwise, he did not introduce any major innovations. He said "So far as my own policy is concerned I may say it has been to carry on the policies of my predecessors, ... and it seemed to me that the last thing the Protectorate would require was another new broom". At the time of his appointment, Native Associations of educated Africans were attempting to become recognized by the colonial administration as alternative representatives of the people to the Native Authorities, which were headed by conservative chiefs and headmen. Kittermaster did not entirely reject this concept. After some debate, the Native Associations were allowed to send their views to the Secretariat, which would acknowledge their receipt, but any action would still be taken through the Native Authorities. Kittermaster met with Levi Z. Mumba, the leader of the Native Association movement, on 12 May 1935. He took a conciliatory approach and encouraged the Associations to continue their activity on useful lines. Kittermaster inherited the controversial issue of land rights. Landlords who had acquired title to estates were entitled by statute to evict 10% of resident Africans every five years. The government had to find land of equal value nearby. The subject was complicated by non-disturbance clauses for the original occupants of the land, who could remain without paying rent. Although the question was not urgent due to a shortage of labor, Young had proposed various changes to clarify the laws, which Kittermaster supported, essentially leading towards the acquisition of land from private estates for permanent settlement of Africans. However, the Secretary of State directed that no changes to the laws be made. Consistently siding with indigenous Africans instead of the European settlers led to Kittermaster becoming unpopular with the white settler community while he was in office. The colonial government decided in 1934 to encourage the
Nyanja language Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for ...
as the lingua franca in Nyasaland, since it was the most widely spoken. Kittermaster ordered immediate implementation of this policy. The missions opposed the decision, as did ethnic groups such as the
Yao people The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, ngฦฐแปi Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in t ...
and the Tumbuka speakers led by Levi Mumba. After the
London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
appealed to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, Kittermaster was told to suspend the decision and hold a conference to resolve the issue. In the end the decision was to encourage use of Nyanja but allow free use of other languages. Kittermaster's administration had little positive impact. While he was in office, annual internal revenue declined from ยฃ511,000 to ยฃ506,000. The civil service remained static, growing from 3,437 to 3,534 officers. Early in 1939, Kittermaster was taken ill and was diagnosed to be suffering from
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...
. His condition became serious and the doctors were unable to save him. He died on 20 March 1939. His wife, Winifred Elsie, lived to advanced old age, dying in 1993. Kittermaster's administration was one of many criticized by Nazi Germany because of its liberal attitude towards the colony's African majority. Similarly, the Sierra Leone administrations of
Henry Monck-Mason Moore Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore (18 March 1887 โ€“ 26 March 1964) was British Governor of British Sierra Leone, Kenya and Ceylon. The son of Rev. Edward William Moore, he was educated at Rokeby, KCS, Wimbledon and Jesus College, Cambridge, gradu ...
,
Arnold Hodson Sir Arnold Wienholt Hodson (12 February 1881 – 26 May 1944)"Sir Arnold Hodson"
Geni.com. ...
and
Douglas James Jardine Sir Douglas James Jardine (13 October 1888 โ€“ 11 December 1946) was a British colonial administrator, holding the posts of Governor of North Borneo, Sierra Leone and the Leeward Islands during his career. Biography Douglas was educated at ...
were condemned by the Nazis on the same grounds.Strobl, Gerwin The Germanic Isle, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2000 page 91


References

Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kittermaster, Harold Baxter K K K K K K 1939 deaths 1879 births