Sir Reginald Stuart Champion, (21 March 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British

colonial administrator Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

and

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman. He was

Governor of Aden This is a list of British Empire, British colonial administrators of Aden from the 1839 Aden Expedition to the 1967 withdrawal from Aden. They were appointed from British Raj, British India until 1937 when the Chief Commissioner's Province of ...

from 1944 to 1951.

Early life

The son of Philip Champion and Florence Mary Hulburd, Champion was educated at

Sutton Valence School Sutton Valence School (SVS) is an independent school near Maidstone in southeast England. It has 560 pupils. It is a co-educational day and boarding school. There are three senior boarding houses: Westminster, St Margaret's and Sutton. History ...

. In 1912 he enlisted in the

West Kent Yeomanry The Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry was a British Army regiment formed in 1794. It served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. It amalgamated with the Royal East Kent (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Yeomanry (Mounted Rifles) to form the ...

, and in 1913 was commissioned in the

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

Palestine

During 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 ...

, he served in the Middle East; in 1917 he was assigned to the

Occupied Enemy Territory Administration The Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (OETA) was a joint British, French and Arab military administration over Levantine provinces of the former Ottoman Empire between 1917 and 1920, set up on 23 October 1917 following the Sinai and Pale ...

in Palestine. He transferred to the

Colonial Administrative Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

in 1920, and served as District Officer in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

until 1928. He was wounded in Palestine.

Aden

Champion was Political Secretary in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

from 1928 to 1934, Financial Adviser to the Emirate of Trans-Jordan from 1934 to 1939, and District Commissioner in the Galilee from 1939 to 1942. He also carried out political missions to the Yemen in 1933–34 and 1940. He was appointed Chief Secretary to the Government of Aden in 1942, and was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Aden in 1944.

Aden riots

In the Aden riots following UN Resolution 181 (II) in 1947, Champion dispatched the

Aden Protectorate Levies The Aden Protectorate Levies (APL) were an Arab military force raised for the local defence of the Aden Protectorate under British rule. The Levies were drawn from all parts of the Protectorate and were armed and officered by the British militar ...

, a military force of local Arab-Muslim recruits, to quell the disturbances. The APL was responsible for much of the killing in the riot, which resulted in the death of 82 Jews, 33 Arabs, 4 Muslim Indians, and one Somali. He retired from the Colonial Service in 1951.

Retirement

After his retirement from government service, Champion entered the

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a theological college in Lincoln, United Kingdom. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cancella ...

in 1952, being ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in January and a priest in December. The same year, he was appointed a curate at All Saints’,

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

. In 1953 he was appointed Vicar of

Chilham Chilham is a mostly agricultural village and parish in the English county of Kent with a clustered settlement, Chilham village centre, in the northeast, and a smaller linear settlement, Shottenden. Well-preserved roads and mostly residential liste ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He retired from active ministry in 1961. In retirement he lived in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

. Champion was appointed OBE in 1934, a CMG in 1944, and a

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

in 1946.

Family

Champion married Margaret Macgregor, daughter of Very Rev. W. M. Macgregor, in 1920. They had two sons and a daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Reginald 1895 births 1982 deaths Colonial Administrative Service officers Governors of Aden East Surrey Regiment officers Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry soldiers People educated at Sutton Valence School Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century English Anglican priests British Army personnel of World War I Church of England priests