Sir Hilary Rudolph Robert Blood (28 May 1893 – 20 June 1967) was a British colonial administrator and governor. He served as the

Governor of the Gambia This is a list of colonial governors and administrators in the Gambia from the establishment of a British settlement on St Mary's Island, now known as Banjul Island, in 1816, through to the Gambia Colony and Protectorate's independence from the U ...

from 1942 to 1947, the

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

from 1947 to 1949, and the Governor of Mauritius from 1949 to 1954.

Early life and education

Blood was born in 1893, the son of Alban Francis Blood and his wife Adelaide Therese Feldtmann, in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. His father was the rector of Holy Trinity Church in Kilmarnock. Blood grew up at the

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

and attended

Irvine Royal Academy Irvine Royal Academy is a six-year non-denominational secondary school in Kilwinning Road, Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. History In 1572, King James VI provided funds to found the King's School of Irvine at Kirkgatehead. A new building was e ...

. Blood sat the bursary competition of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and finished in the top 50. He matriculated with an arts degree in 1911, taking distinction in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Hellenistic Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

, and

Moral Philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

. He failed

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

, and re-sat it to graduate with an MA in 1914. Blood served with the 4th Royal Scots Fusiliers 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 achieved the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was wounded in

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and afterwards walked with a limp.

Colonial service

Blood initially wanted to study for the Episcopalian ministry but changed his mind and in 1920 he entered the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

. He served in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

between 1920 and 1930 before being appointed as Colonial Secretary of Grenada in 1930, and then Colonial Secretary of Sierra Leone in 1934. In 1942, Blood became

, the first of three governorships. His administration was responsible for drawing up plans of how the Colonial Development and Welfare Act funds were to be spent. During his time, the modernization of the Bathurst water system, the establishment of a sewage system, paved streets, and improvements to the port all took place. Blood also established the Bathurst Town Council in 1946, introducing a new constitution for direct elections later that year. He then served as

from 1947 to 1949, and Governor of Mauritius from 1949 to 1954. His experience equipped him with an understanding of the problems British territories faced when seeking self-government. His expertise was called on as a constitutional commissioner to help frame governments in

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,

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

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He also wrote a number of articles and reviews in the academic journal ''

African Affairs ''African Affairs'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press on behalf of the London-based Royal African Society. The journal covers any Africa-related topic: political, social, economic, environmental ...

''. In 1944, he was knighted, and in the same year he received an honorary doctor of laws from Glasgow University.

Later life

Blood remained active on retirement, and served as chairman of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

from 1963 to 1965.

Personal life

In 1919, he married Alison Farie Anderson, the daughter William Boyd Anderson, a solicitor and Jacobina Croll. They had a son and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blood, Hilary Rudolph Robert Governors of British Mauritius People educated at Irvine Royal Academy Governors of the Gambia 1967 deaths 1893 births Governors of British Grenada Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George