Leonard Ray Morgan (1894–1967) was the first permanent Secretary for Education in the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

Biography

Early life and education

Morgan, whose father was a Sergeant in the Royal Artillery, was born on 11 January 1895 in the Panmure Barracks,

Montrose, Angus Montrose ( , gd, Monadh Rois) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated north of Dundee and south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers. It is the northernmost coastal town in Angus ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He emigrated to the newly established town of Umtali, Rhodesia at about the age of eight years and spent the rest of his life there. He was educated at

Prince Edward School , streetaddress = , city = Harare , country = Zimbabwe , coordinates = , type = State school, boarding and day school , established = , headmaster = Dr. Aggrippa G. Sora , gender = Boys , lower_age = 13 , upper_age = 19 ...

in Salisbury,

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

. He subsequently graduated (BSc) from Rhodes University College in Grahamstown, South Africa before joining the Rhodesia Regiment from January 1916 to April 1917. He served with the British forces in the East Africa campaign in the

First World War 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 ...

where he saw action in Wami and other locations. In 1918 he transferred to the Royal Air Force as a Cadet Pilot, with No. 2 Cadet Wing, No. 5 Training Depot Station at Easton-on-the-Hill Aerodrome in Lincolnshire. In March 1919, he received a commission as an Honorary 2nd Lieutenant. However, the war ended before he had an opportunity to fly operationally. Following his discharge from the military, he won a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, where he obtained a degree in civil engineering. During his time at Oxford, he was a close personal friend of the poet,

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

(and his brother, John, both fellow students at St. John's College) with whom he remained in contact for the remainder of his life.

Career

While in England, he met, and subsequently married, a Swiss French governess, working for Lord Halifax, Mlle Madeleine ('Madi') Petitmaitre, the daughter of a butcher from

Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...

in the

Canton de Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital c ...

. They returned to Rhodesia where he took up a schools career as a mathematics teacher. He advanced rapidly and was successively Headmaster of three famous Rhodesian schools; Milton High School in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

and

Chaplin High School Chaplin High School is situated in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and was started in October 1902. It was started in a building of the Trinity Church (Gweru), Trinity Church, Gwelo and first named as the Trinity Church School (1). The school caters for boys and ...

in Gwelo (where he was Headmaster of the future Prime Minister of Rhodesia,

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

) and in Salisbury at Prince Edward School. He was then transferred to the Ministry of Education and subsequently appointed as the first permanent Secretary for Education in the Federal Government. Morgan modelled the Rhodesian school system on the English grammar schools and they were considered to be some of the finest

state schools State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

in the world at the time. He also played a prominent role in the advancement of African (i.e. black) education during the years of Federation (1953–1961).

Marriage and children

While in England, he met and subsequently married, a Swiss French governess, working for Lord Halifax, Mlle Helène Annette ('Madi') Petitmaitre, the daughter of a butcher from

in the

. The couple had two daughters, Anne (b. 1926, d. 2002) and Denise Helene (b. 1931, d. 2012).

Death and afterward

Morgan died on 5 June 1967. Morgan High School 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 Wil ...

(today Harare) was named after him.

Awards

1956 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1956 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 2 January 1956 to celebrat ...

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

References

The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31365, pp. 6662–6663. 30 May 1919. National Archives Ref. No. AIR 76-356-76, pp. 1–3 Royal Air Force AF (n.d.). Royal Air Force Wittering: The first ninety years – 1916 to 2006. Peterborough: Author. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Leonard Ray 1894 births 1967 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire White Rhodesian people Rhodesian military personnel of World War I Rhodesian politicians People from Montrose, Angus British emigrants to Southern Rhodesia