Luis Sigismund Himley (28 November 1906 – 18 April 1984) was an English

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, who served as the tenth

Surveyor-General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor gen ...

of the

Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...

between 1956 and 1960. Luis Sigismund Himley was born in Macagua,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

on 28 November 1906, the son of William Charles Himley (1863-1924) and Violet Emily née Brune (1872-1945). He attended St. John's College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1928. In September 1929 he took up a position with the Survey Department of the Federated Malay States and the

Straits Settlement The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

. On 9 August 1931 he was promoted to assistant superintendent in

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

. Himley married Christine Mary Douglas (1908-1990), in April 1934, in Newton Abbot,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. They had three children. Prior to

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 ...

he was appointed as a captain in the

Straits Settlements Volunteer Force The Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF) was a military reserve force in the Straits Settlements, while they were under British rule. While the majority of the personnel were from Singapore, some lived in other parts of the Settlements, inc ...

. In September 1950 he was appointed the surveyor for Singapore. On 13 March 1956 he was appointed as the Surveyor-General of Federation of Malaysia, following the retirement of

Christopher Noble Christopher Noble (18 August 1902 - 20 July 1986) was an English surveyor who served as the ninth Surveyor-General of the Federated Malay States, from 1953 to 1956. Early life and education Christopher Noble was born on 18 August 1902 in Middl ...

. He remained in that position until 1 April 1960. In February 1961 he travelled to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

where he was commissioned to prepare a report on the cadastral survey of Mauritius to the Directorate of Overseas Surveys, which he completed and presented on 16 May that year. He died on 18 April 1984 in Bovey Tracey, Devon. England, at the age of 77. He was buried in

Manaton Manaton is a village situated to the southeast of Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. The 15th-century church, located in a prominent spot due north of the village green, is dedicated to St Winifred. Three of the six bells in its tower are ...

, Devon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himley, Luis 1906 births 1984 deaths English surveyors Administrators in British Malaya

See also

References