Sir Roland St. John Braddell (20 December 1880 – 15 November 1966) was a historian and colonial adviser in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

. He was considered "one of Malaya's foremost legal authorities".

Early life

Roland St. John Braddell was born in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in 1880. His father, Thomas de Multon Lee Braddell, had served as

Attorney-General of Singapore The attorney-general of Singapore is the public prosecutor of Singapore, and legal adviser to the Government of Singapore. The functions of the attorney-general are carried out with the assistance of the deputy attorney-general and the solicito ...

, as had his father before him. He was educated at

King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

, and then

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1905.

Writing career

Braddell wrote several books on the history of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, as well as a two-volume legal work called ''Laws of the Straits Settlements'' and a book titled ''Gaming Laws''. Alongside this, he published several essays concerning the legal status 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 ...

from a series of lectures he had given to the Singapore Rotary Club. He worked as an editor on ''One Hundred Years of Singapore'' with Walter Makepeace and Gilbert Brooke. Alongside editing the book, he contributed several chapters to it. In 1934, he published ''The Lights of Singapore'', an anecdotal work on life in the region.

Educational career

Braddell served as Chairman for the Council of the

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

in Singapore from 1949. He was later knighted for his work in this position, and also granted the degree of Honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

. Following his retirement from the university in 1951, he returned to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. In 1953, alongside

R. G. D. Allen Sir Roy George Douglas Allen, CBE, FBA (3 June 1906 – 29 September 1983) was an English economist, mathematician and statistician, also member of the International Statistical Institute. Life Allen was born in Worcester and educated at t ...

, Braddell was appointed to "submit a scheme of courses and organisation for consideration by Senate and Council" at the University of Malaya. In March 1955, they published the Braddell-Allen Report and recommended the creation of two new departments for Social Sciences and Law. Braddell proposed a four-year programme with various elements to it, and consulted with legal experts like the Bar Committee of Singapore over what to include. He also suggested that a Professor of Law be hired by the university to develop a curriculumm, and Lionel Astor Sheridan was hired soon after. He was a Life Fellow of The

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

since 1934, and served as President of its Malayan branch for several years.

Colonial career

Braddell served as Municipal Commissioner in Singapore for several years during

World War I 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 ...

, and later became a member of the Housing Commission and the Executive Council. From 1932 to 1940, he was a Constitutional Advisor and member of the Executive Council to the

Sultan of Johore Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a Royal and noble ranks, position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" ...

. Following

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 advised the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...

(UMNO) and the

monarchies of Malaysia The monarchies of Malaysia refer to the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation. Nine of the states ...

Personal life

Braddell died on 15 November 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braddell, Roland St. John 1880 births 1966 deaths People from Singapore Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford 20th-century British historians People associated with the University of Malaya British people in British Malaya