Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney (27 June 1898 – 6 October 1951) was a British colonial administrator who served in various posts throughout the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. Gurney was killed by communist insurgents during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

, while serving as high commissioner in the

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 ...

Career

As a boy, Gurney was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. During

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 ...

, he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and served with the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

from 1917 to 1920. After a brief spell at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, he joined the British Colonial Service in 1921, and was posted to

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

as an assistant district commissioner. In 1935, after fourteen years in Kenya, he was appointed Assistant Colonial Secretary to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. After a brief stint working at the Colonial Office in London, Gurney served as Chief Secretary to the Conference of East Africa Governors from 1938 to 1944, and Colonial Secretary in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

from 1944 to 1946. In 1946, he was appointed Chief Secretary to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, serving until the end of British rule there in 1948. While serving in Palestine, Gurney was instrumental in crafting British policy during the

Jewish insurgency in Palestine A successful paramilitary campaign was carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine from 1944 to 1948. The tensions between the Zionist underground and the British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 an ...

.Grob-Fitzgibbon, Benjamin: ''Imperial Endgame: Britain's Dirty Wars and the End of Empire''. In the 1947 New Year Honours, he was promoted to Knight Commander () of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

, which is the second highest rank in this order – for his service in Palestine. He had previously been a Companion (CMG) in the same order. In 1949 he was made a Knight of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

. On 1 October 1948, Gurney was appointed High Commissioner to Malaya. Gurney assumed his post as the

was beginning, and over the next three years he became the chief architect of British policy in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

Assassination

On 6 October 1951, Gurney was killed in an ambush by communist insurgents from the Malayan Communist Party while on his way to a resort at Mile 56 ½, Kuala Kubu Road near Fraser's Hill. According to Communist leader Chin Peng, the ambush was routine, the killing by chance, and the guerrillas only learned the High Commissioner was among the dead from news reports. Gurney's funeral took place on 8 October. He was buried in Cheras War Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur, in a ceremony that drew thousands of people.

Honours

Malayans from all classes and nationalities, having already given him their esteem and affection, kept his memory green, and when he died on 6 October 1951 they would mourn him as a friend who "has gone home to the mercy of God". At that moment, his funeral was not only attended by his family members and British Officers in Malaya but also attended by the Malayans from all classes and races. Today, Gurney Road in Malacca, Seremban, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are named after him. The town named

Pekan Gurney Pekan Gurney or Gurney's Town is a small town in Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia. The town was founded in 1952 and named after Sir Henry Gurney, a former British High Commissioner in Malaya History This Chinese settlement began in the early 19 ...

in Perak is also named after him. The popular beachfront

Gurney Drive Gurney Drive (,, ) is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The road is also famous for the street cuisine at the seafront's hawker centre and has been listed as one of the 25 best streets worldwide to visit by the A ...

, in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, is also named after him, as well as the

Henry Gurney Prisoners School The Henry Gurney Schools ( ms, Sekolah Henry Gurney) are centres established in 1949 under Juvenile Courts Act 1947 ct 90to care for young offenders in Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal con ...

in Teluk Mas, Melaka. Gurney was buried at Cheras War Cemetery in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Malaysia. His tombstone is inscribed:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Henry 1898 births 1951 deaths Colonial Administrative Service officers High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malaysia History of Pahang British Army personnel of World War I British people of the Malayan Emergency British people of the Palestine Emergency Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Alumni of University College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College People from Bude King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Assassinated British diplomats People murdered in Malaysia Assassinated Malaysian politicians Deaths by firearm in Malaysia Chief Secretaries of the Gold Coast (British colony) Chief Secretaries of Palestine 20th-century British diplomats 1951 murders in Asia Burials at Cheras War Cemetery People assassinated in the 20th century Politicians assassinated in the 1950s Military personnel from Cornwall