Sir Raleigh Grey (24 March 1860 – 10 January 1936) was a British coloniser of

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 ...

who played an important part in the early government of the colony.

Early career

Grey, the great-grandson of 1st Earl Grey, was educated at

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils a ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

. In 1881 he joined

The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons) The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the ...

and saw service in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

. When the war ended he was in command of the Bechuanaland Border police, and in the

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

rebellion of 1893 he commanded a column of the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. From 1894 to 1897 his kinsman the 4th Earl Grey was Administrator of Rhodesia, and Grey accompanied

Leander Starr Jameson Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, (9 February 1853 – 26 November 1917), was a British colonial politician, who was best known for his involvement in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. Early life and family He was born on 9 February 1853, of ...

on the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched Raid (military), raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the emplo ...

in 1895; in the aftermath of the raid, Grey served five months' imprisonment.

Southern Rhodesia Colony

When Southern Rhodesia was granted a part-elected Legislative Council, Grey was elected at the first election in 1899 to represent

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

. It was subsequently discovered that his supporters had committed

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

and

treating :''This is an article about treating in the sense of provision of food, drink, and refreshments for a person or group of people. For treating in the context of social dating, see treating (dating).'' Treating is the act of serving food, drink, and ...

of potential voters, and Grey resigned in order to be re-elected free of the taint of electoral corruption. Following the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in late 1899, Grey volunteered for active duty as a special service officer, and left

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the SS ''Moor'' in March 1900, arriving in Cape Town the next month. He was promoted to

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 ...

in March 1901 "for command of mounted troops on the occasion of the capture of Boer guns by Major-General Babington's column". After the war he retired from the Army in 1904, but remained Commandant of the local Volunteers. He established the company Rhodesia Lands, Ltd. to develop mining and farming interests: the 'Jumbo' mine owned by his company became one of the most profitable. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919.

Political development

In the early 1920s the Southern Rhodesians decided to break away from the sponsorship of the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

. The issue among the leading figures of the colony was whether to obtain their own 'Responsible Government' or to seek membership of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

. Grey strongly believed that joining South Africa would be preferable, and argued forcibly for it in the Legislative Council. However the majority there and among the public was against him, and as a result he lost his seat in the 1920 election.

Later life

Grey took this repudiation in good heart but did not participate in politics again, turning his attention to his business interests. In the late 1920s he returned to Britain, and died in a nursing home 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 ...

in 1936.

References

* Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 11 January 1936 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Raleigh 1860 births 1936 deaths People educated at Durham School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Rhodesian politicians Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order