Sir Ralph Champneys Williams (9 March 1848 – 22 June 1927) was a British colonial governor.

Life and career

Williams was educated at The King's School, Chester, and at

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania ...

. He joined the colonial service in 1884 and his first post was to Bechuanaland. He then served at

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, South Africa,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1901 New Year Honours List. In early 1901 he returned to Bechuanaland as Resident Commissioner at the height 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 South ...

. Williams was governor of the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea No ...

prior to his appointment as governor of Newfoundland in 1909. While governor of Newfoundland Williams travelled throughout the island and the coast of

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

. He was opposed to

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

with Canada and desired to maintain Newfoundland's individuality and hold fast

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

's last tie to North America. In 1913 he published his memoirs, ''How I Became a Governor''.

Legacy

Two Newfoundland towns were renamed for him: Salmon Cove, Trinity Bay, became

Champneys Champneys is an English country house and its associated estate near Tring, Hertfordshire. The mansion is run as a destination spa by a business using "Champneys" as the brand name for a group of spa resorts and day spas. History The earlies ...

, and Greenspond, White Bay, became Williamsport.

References

External links

Biography at Government House
''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador'' *Neil Parsons

at University of Botswana History Department site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ralph Champneys 1848 births 1927 deaths People from Holyhead Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commissioners of the Bechuanaland Protectorate Governors of the Dominion of Newfoundland People educated at Rossall School People educated at The King's School, Chester Colonial Secretaries of Barbados

Life and career

Legacy

See also

References

External links