Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and

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 ...

Life and career

Born in England, Stanley was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and Balliol College, Oxford,''The Times'', 6 June 1955 "Sir Herbert Stanley", p. 8. and worked in the foreign service in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

before serving as the Resident Commissioner for Southern and Northern Rhodesia from 1911 to 1914. Stanley proved controversial in this role when he refused to allow settlers to take land from Africans, instead assigning in perpetuity exclusively for the use of Africans. Based in South Africa 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 ...

, Stanley married Reniera Cloete, from a leading

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 ...

family, in Cape Town in 1918. She was described as ''"one of the most beautiful women of the century in any country of the world"''. In 1918, Stanley was appointed Imperial Secretary in South Africa, a position he held until 1924, when he was appointed the inaugural

Governor of Northern Rhodesia The Governor of Northern Rhodesia was the representative of the British Monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign rei ...

. As Governor, Stanley sought an amalgamation of the central African colonies and an extension of the Northern Rhodesian railway into Southern Rhodesia. He was also active in establishing and promoting Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. In 1927, Stanley was transferred to Ceylon as its Governor, which drew criticism due to his lack of background knowledge of Asian affairs, although he is reported to have acquitted himself well. Whilst in Ceylon he served as President of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1929–30. In 1932, he was made Knight of Grace 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 ...

He returned to Africa in 1931 to serve as High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in South Africa before his appointment as Governor of Southern Rhodesia in 1935, initially for a two-year term, but he was persuaded to remain 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 ...

until 1942, when he retired from active service. Upon his retirement, Stanley settled in Cape Town and was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of South Africa. He died a widower in a

nursing home, aged 82, survived by two sons and two daughters.

Family

Herbert Stanley married Reniera Cloete, second daughter of Henry Cloete, in

in 1918. Reniera, Lady Stanley, was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1941. She predeceased her husband and was survived by their four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Herbert 1872 births 1955 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Governors of British Ceylon Governors of Northern Rhodesia Governors of Southern Rhodesia Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to South Africa Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians from Cape Town Scouting and Guiding in South Africa 1920s in Northern Rhodesia 1920s in Ceylon 1930s in Ceylon 1930s in Southern Rhodesia 1940s in Southern Rhodesia 20th-century British politicians Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon