Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

John Orman Gilbert (21 October 1907 – 1995), sometimes referred to as Tuan J.O. Gilbert, was a

resident minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

and formerly the British Resident to Brunei.

Biography

Gilbert born in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

on 21 October 1907, and was educated at

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

and Pembroke College. In 1928, he began 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 ...

and then became a district officer in 1938, and would later signed up for military service from 1942 until 1946, during the

World War II 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 countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Although some records listed him as serving a year earlier in June 1953. Since 1954, he held the position of British Resident to Brunei. On 20 October 1955, he passed the No.S66 Chinese Marriages Enactment, The Chinese Marriages (Fees) Regulations. From 18 December 1955 until 11 January 1956, Eric Raymond Bevington served as acting British Resident while Gilbert was on leave. Once again in June 1956, Dennis White became the acting Resident to Brunei during Gilbert's

vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

back to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In January 1957, Gilbert had to be flown to

Seria Seria () is a town in Belait District, Brunei, about west from the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The total population was 3,625 in 2016. It was where oil was first struck in Brunei in 1929 and has since become a centre for the countr ...

twice in order assist the Brunei Police Force in diffusing the ongoing

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

carried out by British Malayan Petroleum (BSP) Chinese workers imported from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The strike began after a fight occurred between the local Malays and the Chinese imports, which claimed the life of one Chinese worker. During a discussion together with the Brunei Legislative Council, he affirmed that Gadong was exclusively for the

Kampong Ayer Kampong Ayer is a prominent traditional settlement in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. It comprises neighbourhoods of traditional houses, schools and mosques built on stilts above the Brunei River near the capital's city centre. It ha ...

residents, whom like to relocate to a new area. Additionally, similar projects would also be carried out if the relocation was successful. He attended the opening ceremony of the country's first Automatic Telephone Office on 5 October 1957. On 15 February 1958, he gifted three books to the public, which were; Skin and Bones, Storm and Echo and The Foolish Gentlewomen, which was well received. Later on 6 April, John Gilbert and

Jaya Rajid Pengiran Jaya (1925 – 18 October 2009) was a nobleman and the first Brunei local to be appointed as Brunei's Commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) and appointed as the Brunei High Commissioner to several countries. Notably, he ...

located the body of the murderer Peter Govilon. He had committed suicide in his bedroom after a killing spree that claimed the life of 6 victims at Kampong Padang Baru. Gilbert would be succeeded by Dennis White later that year, and thus he gave a farewell speech to the people of Brunei in hopes of returning to the country in the future. The speech was made at a farewell

banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

for him and his family, sponsored by the

Government of Brunei The Government of Brunei Darussalam is the union government created by the constitution of Brunei where by the Sultan of Brunei is both head of state and head of government (Prime Minister of Brunei). Executive power is exercised by the governme ...

, which took place on 9 July, at the Brunei Sport Club in Brunei Town. Gilbert died in South Africa in 1995.

Honours

Gilbert was bestowed 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. ...

(CMG) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

during the

1958 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1958 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries ...

on 12 July. In 1963,

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien ( Jawi: ; 23 September 1914 – 7 September 1986) was the 28th Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 4 June 1950 until his abdication from the throne on 5 October 1967. He was also Brunei's fir ...

awarded him the Omar Ali Saifuddin Medal (POAS). British Residents in Brunei including John Gilbert were given the honorary title of Yang Berhormat (The Honourable).

National

Companion (CMG) – (12 July 1958)

Foreign

* : **

Omar Ali Saifuddin Medal (POAS) – (1953)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, John 1907 births 1995 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Administrators in British Brunei Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Felsted School